PRESS
Filipino
Community Champions Passage of Filipino WWII Veterans Equity
Act of 2007
Members
of the National Alliance for Filipino Veterans Equity (which
includes Filipinos for Affirmative Action) are ‘on
the hill’ today to attend a hearing in the House Veterans
Affairs Committee for the Filipino WWII Veterans Equity
Act of 2007, H.R. 760.
With
a sense of urgency, Filipinos nationally and very likely
around the world, are hoping that the 110th Congress will
be the final juncture in a very long road to ending the
discrimination the Filipino WWII veterans have suffered
for the past 60+ years. HR 760 would finally recognize Filipinos,
who were recruited and fought under U.S. command during
WWII, as having served in the U.S. military and therefore
equal to other U.S. veterans and entitled to equal benefits.
For the veterans themselves, who are now in their late 70’s
and 80’s, recognition for their service, and the dignity
and respect that accompanies that, is their primary goal.
Advocates
are hoping to move the bill out of the Veterans Affairs
Committee for a vote this spring. Then similarly pass it’s
sister bill S. 57 in Senate before the summer recess, and
hopefully signed into law before the end of this year.
“The
veterans equity campaign stars are aligned,” says
Lillian Galedo, FAA Executive Director and co-chair of the
National Alliance. “Our strongest supporters in both
he House and Senate are now the Chairs of their respective
Veterans Affairs Committees”, referring to Congress
Bob Filner, and Senator Daniel Inouye. “We’re
hoping that they and Speaker Pelosi, who is another strong
supporter, will make this happen for the 20,000 Filipino
WWII veterans that are alive today. They deserve to know
that we appreciate their bravery in defending democracy
during WWII.”
##
CONTACT PERSON: Lillian Galedo, 510-465-9876,
lgaledo@filipinos4action.org
POSITION
STATEMENT ON IMMIGRATION REFORM BILL
S.
2611 Criminalizes Immigrants and
Offers Unworkable Legalization that Separates Families
June
5, 2006
The
recent Senate Compromise Bill does not fulfill the aspirations
of millions of immigrants to be given the opportunity to
live decent, dignified lives in the United States. Like
H.R. 4437, S. 2611 fails to address the real problems facing
immigrants. Its heavy-handed enforcement provisions will
only foster racist and zenophobic sentiment against those
who were not born in this country. What we need are reforms
that integrate immigrant communities into American life
as equals, not drive them deeper into second-class status.
The Senate's three-tiered legalization program
– its supposed “crown jewel” – is
designed to fail millions of undocumented immigrants.
For those who have been here for less than five years, the
bill creates no meaningful opportunities to be able to stay
in the U.S. For those who have been here for more than five
years, they will be forced to work for up to six years,
then wait an unknown number of additional years for the
backlogs to clear before being given a greencard. In total,
this is a minimum twelve year waiting period before being
able to apply for citizenship. This is not to mention the
fact that all individuals who have an outstanding order
of deportation or have committed fraud are ineligible for
the program.
-
Should this bill be made into law, the deportation
of Filipinos would no doubt increase. Since
9/11, Filipinos are already the largest Asian group facing
criminal deportation. Even more Filipino families would
be separated under the new law and would experience tremendous
economic hardship. Most Filipino families have mixed legal
immigration status: some are naturalized citizens, some
are U.S. born, others legal permanent residents, and some
undocumented. For many, it will be too risky to step forward
because of the impact that deportation would have on the
family unit.
Filipinos currently facing serious obstacles
in the legal immigration system may see their problems continue.
The ineffectiveness of these laws has been thoroughly documented
as, for example, naturalized United States citizens have
to wait for years, some decades, to be reunited with family
members they left behind. This situation would theoretically
improve under the Senate proposal because the number of
available visas for family members and for employers would
increase, as would the per country limit per year. However,
there remains serious questions as to the ability of Citizenship
and Immigration Services (CIS) and other government agencies
to adjudicate the millions of current backlogged cases and
the millions of future cases due to lack of resources in
funding and personnel.
S. 2611 also deprives immigrants of basic rights:
| • |
The
Department of Homeland Security is given the power to
detain immigrants indefinitely in violation of the recent
Supreme Court decision that found that no one in this
country, not even immigrants, can be held in custody
indefinitely. |
| • |
Immigrants
will be held to an unreasonably strict code of conduct.
Minor misdemeanors, like failure to file a change of
address, omitting information on immigration forms,
or petty crimes like shoplifting will be subject one
to mandatory detention and, eventually, permanent banishment. |
| • |
S.
2611 also deputizes local police and the Department
of Motor Vehicles into immigration law enforcers and
initiates a nationalized identification system that
will affect all Americans, particularly communities
of color. |
The temporary worker provision expands the abusive and exploitative
programs in which many Filipinos currently suffer. It is
not uncommon for guestworkers to be paid less than their
American counterparts, to have their documents withheld,
to suffer discrimination from supervisors and co-workers,
and to be forced to work long hours and irregular shifts.
They frequently live in fear of asserting their rights.
Guestworker programs amount to nothing more than legalized
indentured servitude. Additionally, the Senate bill lifts
the cap on skilled nurses and may lead to the deepening
of the health care problem in the Philippines as more and
more professionals leave for foreign shores.
Another supposed centerpiece of the legislation is the expansion
of physical borders at our southern border. However, building
such a fence will not deter migrants from coming. It is
a waste of much needed resources, and only creates the conditions
for more deaths at the border. The pressures to migrate
are a permanent feature of the global economy. As long as
the economies of sending countries like Mexico or the Philippines
remain structurally underdeveloped, people are going to
continue leaving at alarmingly high rates to find work abroad.
The real solution to migration, undocumented or otherwise,
lies in our foreign policy towards sending countries, and
real economic development opportunities for people living
there.
Today, there are approximately 10 million Filipinos living
outside of the Philippines as overseas workers. No matter
how many walls we build or restrictive laws we enact, Filipinos
and other immigrants cannot afford to stop coming.
Though many in the Filipino community hail the bill because
it grants special immigrant status to children of Filipino
World War II veterans, we must view the legislation in its
entirety. We need to recognize that our interests are being
pit directly against the interests of other members of our
community. This deal is divisive and should not be supported.
The struggle for genuine immigration reform is not found
in S. 2611 or HR 4437. We have to reject the notion that
in order to bring the undocumented out of the margins of
society, we have to accept greater restrictions on the rights
of immigrants. We must keep our eyes on the prize and not
settle for false promises nor minor concessions. What we
need is genuine, comprehensive legalization. Undocumented
immigrants must have equal access to legalization regardless
of how long they have been in the U.S. The family unification
backlogs must be eliminated permanently. The expansion of
temporary programs must be wholly rejected. Civil rights
and workplace rights need to be safeguarded. Access to the
courts must be restored. Indefinite detention must remain
illegal.
We must continue to build the mass movement for the rights
and welfare of immigrants until these changes are made real.
