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Some 500K undocumented Filipinos ‘have reasons to be alarmed’: immigration lawyer
By Maricar CP Hampton With less than two months before President-Elect Donald Trump takes over the White House on January 20, 2017, the immigrant community is gripped with fear and worry wondering whether he would really deport 3 million undocumented immigrants – and how. Regina Domingo, a Maryland-based immigration lawyer laid it out there: “Undocumented […]
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Family Reunification for Filipino WWII Veterans
“Yesterday’s announcement from the Department of Homeland Security that family members of Filipino World War II veterans can now apply for parole visas and reunite with their parents here in the United States, is very heartening,” says NaFFAA National Chair JT Mallonga. “Our courageous heroes, who have waited for up to 20 years, deserve […]
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Philippine Embassy addresses allegations of ‘rudeness,’ ‘palakasan’
By Emil T. Fernandez Minister and Consul General We wish to take this opportunity to respond to your article last February 20 regarding complaints against the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. It is unfortunate that some people have aired their sentiments through social media and certain members of the local press, rather than file a […]
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What Obama started, Congress must finish, say FilAm organizations
By Maricar CP Hampton While President Barack Obama’s executive action on immigration was well received by the Filipino community, many of its leaders continue to urge Congress to pass a law that would provide a more permanent solution to the broken immigration system. “This is undoubtedly big news for our community,” said Romeo Ymalay, Co-Chair […]
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What about us? Why didn’t we matter in Obama’s Executive Action?
By JayPee Castro I was disappointed. I belong to the roughly 7 million undocumented immigrants who were left out of President Obama’s Executive Action. Like many, I came to the U.S. to be reunited with my parents and help them in their old age. I do not have a criminal record, I’m not a threat […]
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Manila reminds Washington anew on TPS request shortly before Aquino ends U.S. visit
Saying there is still much to be done, Manila today called on Washington to approve its request for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to allow undocumented Filipinos in the United States to help the Philippines rebuild much faster from the devastation wreaked by Typhoon Haiyan. In letters to Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of […]
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Organizations urge Obama not to treat immigrants like common criminals
Two Washington D.C. organizations voiced their support for detained (now released) Jose Antonio Vargas as well as the minors who have sought refuge at the U.S. border as they fled the violence in their countries. The Kaya: Filipino Americans for Progress said Vargas’s detention highlights the daily struggle undocumented immigrants go through in America. It […]
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Filipino TNTs ‘feel’ Jose Antonio Vargas’s ‘Documented’
Cristina DC Pastor Two Filipinos who watched “Documented” on CNN saw themselves as being similar yet vastly different from its storyteller, Jose Antonio Vargas. Like Vargas, both are living in the country with expired travel documents, and are currently out of status. Unlike Vargas, they remain safely hidden in the shadows protected by the support […]
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Trafficking survivors speak up at summit: ‘We are not slaves anymore’
By Irma Bajar and Zarah Vinola “The officer explained I was a victim of ‘human smuggling’. I said, ‘No sir.’ I did not know at this time that I was trafficked or that you can smuggle people like this.” One teacher, who would not offer her name in fear of retaliation from the recruiter against […]