I recently met Nenita, a retired teacher and widow who now lives alone in her 3-bedroon home in California. She has a son who already has his own family and lives in another State. Nenita no longer looks forward to the holiday season and downplays the festive spirit around her. She claims that ‘Christmas is just another day’ and the New Year will just be another year. Relatives rarely visit her and everyone she knows is busy with their own everyday challenges.
Nenita represent the sentiment of many Filipino-Americans. Though her thinking may not be uncommon, I would still say that many of us remain thankful for surviving another year of challenges. For many Filipino immigrants, important legislation passed into law conferred new benefits as well as new hope for what is yet to come.
Legislation Passed
One of the significant bills signed into law by President Obama in 2009 was the American Recover and Reinvestment Act of 2009 or the “Stimulus Bill”. Billions of dollars were appropriated under this law for many US businesses, financial institutions and other government agencies to stir up the economy. Included in this stimulus package is a $198 million allocation for the Filipino Equity Compensation, which is more commonly known as the lump sum benefit for Filipino World War II veterans.
These benefits of $15,000 and $9,000 were released initially in March 2009 and continue to be disbursed to Filipino veterans living in the US as well as those living in the Philippines. This one time payment is considered by some veterans group as their ‘ultimate’ victory in their struggle for recognition. Many other veterans groups and their supporters, however, believe that the lump sum is simply a monetary benefit. These groups are of the opinion that the monetary payment has not addressed their claim for justice and equal treatment. As many widows and veterans continue to be excluded from the lump sum benefit, the more these veterans groups claim that there is still inequity even in the implementation of the lump sum benefits.
In the area of immigration, an amendment to certain provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act was incorporated in a new bill signed by Obama. This new law contains immigration benefits for survivors of deceased petitioners residing in the US as well as widows of US citizens. This law now gives a chance for certain family members to be able to get their green cards even if the spouse or relative who petitioned for them is already deceased.
A Ray of Hope
Loss of jobs for many Filipino-Americans also means loss of benefits like health care insurance coverage. Employees who loose their jobs usually also loose their health insurance coverage. Many uninsured Filipinos are looking forward to the passage of the new health care bill, which promises affordable insurance coverage to an estimated additional 31 million Americans. As of this writing, both the House and the Senate have already approved their respective versions of the health care bill. It is expected that once the two bills are reconciled the health care bill will be signed into law early 2010.
The debate on a comprehensive immigration reform bill will hopefully begin as soon as the health care is passed into law. Without waiting for the health care bill to be passed, one brave legislator from Illinois, Luis Gutierrez, introduced an immigration bill two weeks ago. This is the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity (CIR-ASAP) Act of 2009. So far this bill has 87 co-sponsors.
If this bill is passed into law, there will be an “earned adjustment program” for the undocumented immigrants in the US. Temporary visas for six years with employment authorization and travel documents will be given to eligible applicants who are currently undocumented.
With current high unemployment rates in the US, the immigration issue is expected to become very controversial. Anti-immigrant groups are already opposing any form of legalization for undocumented immigrants. They claim that undocumented immigrants grab jobs from US citizens and legal residents. Those who support the legalization of undocumented immigrants, however, claim that the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants were already employed even before the economic crisis and with the downturn, a big percentage of them have likewise lost their employment as well.
For the Filipino World War II veterans, the introduction of this CIR-ASAP bill also brings new hope that their children’s petitions will soon be processed if the bill is passed. There is a specific provision in the bill, which provides that sons and daughters of Filipino World War II veteran are exempt from the annual numerical limit. This means that the long period of wait for their priority dates to become current will no longer apply if the CIR-ASAP becomes law.
Most of the more than 4 million Filipino immigrants in the US remain optimistic of what it is to come for 2010. There are good indications that we are already on our way to an economic recovery with improvement in the employment rates.
The last couple of years have been challenging for every immigrant. No one has been spared from the effects of the economic crisis. However, in the circle of life good things as well as bad things happen. We just need to hold on to the belief that even when things look the worst, time will always come when things are just going to get better. We just need to take responsibility by taking action and doing our part to adjust to our predicaments in life. Good things are coming our way. Happy and bountiful New Year to all!
(Tancinco may be reached at law@tancinco.com or at 887 7177)
