Obama’s Victory and the Future of Immigration Policies -- November 09, 2008

            Lillian and Rosa are both Filipino immigrants residing in San Francisco CA. They arrived in the US more than ten years ago and are now working as caregivers for elderly US citizens.

Lillian and Rosa have something in common. They are both undocumented workers like thousands who are similarly situated. Their visas expired many years ago and they are now being petitioned by their US employer. Their employment petitions have been pending for many years. There is a backlog in the employment based petition for unskilled workers.

Two days after Obama was elected as President, Lillian and Rosa visited out office in San Francisco. As soon as they sat down in my office, they started giggling and whispering words of joy that Obama won as President. When I asked them why they were whispering, they said that their employers are not happy about the election of Obama and that they are afraid to show their feelings towards the result of the election. I told them that even if they are still without status, they can express their feelings of joy freely.

Interestingly, these two Filipino caregivers obviously expressed their optimism that somehow there soon will be changes in immigration policies that will benefit them.

            At present, there are approximately 12 million undocumented immigrants in the US. There is no record of how many percentage of this population are Filipinos. The issue of immigration had always been a hot topic during this Presidential election.

            Initially, Senators McCain and Obama, supported a Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act. Toward the latter part of Presidential campaign, McCain changed his views on immigration and maintained that the solution is to secure the borders first. Obama maintained his position which is to support the passage of a Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR).

            Obama admits that the present US immigration system is broken. Aside from the increase in the number of undocumented each year, there is no legal pathway to obtain legal status. Also, there is severe backlog in processing of most immigration petitions.

            Recognizing a broken system, Obama is supporting the passage of the CIR. He said in one of his speeches that if America fixes the legal immigration system, there will be no problem of undocumented workers because people will be able to actually go on a pathway to citizenship. The solution proposed is that the undocumented will earn citizenship, earn a legal status, start learning English, pay a significant fine, go to the back of the line. Under the proposed solution, but the undocumented may stay and work in the US. This is a better alternative than the mass deportation being proposed by the conservatives.

            There are a number of Filipino children who came to the US and their decision to migrate was not their own. Eventually, these children would lose their immigration status in the US. Parents who failed to legalize their status are not able to pass immigration benefits to these children. Aside from falling out of status, these children usually find themselves unable to obtain higher education.

 Obama is supporting the passage of the DREAM Act. This bill, if passed into law will allow undocumented children to obtain education and eventually legalize their stay in the United States.

Just like the immigration system, Obama is very much aware that there is a need for a reform in the health care system. Part of the problem is the lack of health care workers especially registered nurses.

Realistically, there is still a shortage of registered nurses in the US. It is the immigration policy that limits that number of visas to be issued to foreign nurses. Thousands of Filipino registered nurses are still waiting for their US working visas to be issued. If Obama is true to his promise that a Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act (CIR) should be passed into law, then the foreign nurses including our Filipino nurses will also benefit. There is a provision in CIR that eliminates the quota for nurses’ visas.

The name of President elect Obama represents change and progress. Solving the economic crisis may be one of the major tasks that will face the new administration. But solving the economy means also providing for the rights of immigrants who contribute to the growth of the US economy. Filipino immigrants are looking forward to the genuine solutions to the broken immigration problems.

Obama is one of the few presidents of immigrant descent. As an immigrant President, there is an expectation that he shall continue to promote American’s ideals of justice and equality especially in the enactment and enforcement of immigration laws. With Obama’s election, faith has been restored to this nation of immigrants. Change is forthcoming.