WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) with several senators as co-sponsors, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, has reintroduced the Filipino Veterans Family Reunification bill to exempt children of Filipino World War II veterans who have already become US citizens from the numerical limitation on immigrant visas.
The other co-sponsors of the bill which was referred to the Senate judiciary committee are Sens. Daniel K. Inouye, Barbara Boxer, Maria Cantwell and Edward Kennedy.
In reintroducing the bill, Akaka said this “will award special immigrant status to the children of naturalized Filipino veterans who fought in World War II thereby allowing these veterans to become reunited with their families."
He continued:
“With the passage of the Immigration Act
of 1990, the courage of many Filipino soldiers who fought alongside our troops
during World War II was finally honored and acknowledged by our government and
they were offered the opportunity to obtain U.S. citizenship. However, the Act
did not extend this opportunity to the sons and daughters of these veterans. As
a result, many of the brave men who defended this Nation may spend the last
years of their lives without the comfort and care of their families.
“For over twenty years, many of the sons
and daughters of these soldiers have been waiting to obtain immigrant visas.
While some have been fortunate enough to have their visas approved, other are
still waiting because of a backlog. This is unacceptable. My legislation will
finally allow them to reunite with their elderly parents.
“I urge my Senate colleagues to honor the
sacrifices of these brave men by supporting this bill and allowing those who
have served our country so valiantly to have their families by their side for
the remainder of their years."
He said the bill is rooted in a chapter
of U.S. military history that remains largely unknown to the American public.
“Before the Philippines became an independent republic on July 4, 1946, the
country was a commonwealth with the United States. During World War II, 200,000
members of the organized military forces of the commonwealth were ordered into
the service of the Armed Forces of the United States," Akaka said.
“Although decades after the fact, the
federal government’s enactment of the Immigration Act of 1990 finally offered
Filipino veterans recognition for their World War II service, by offering then
the opportunity to obtain U.S. citizenship," But he said the Act did not
extend the same opportunity to the veterans’ children. Many of the Filipino
veterans who now reside in the United States have been separated from their
children for many years.
“My bill seeks to reunite the naturalized
Filipino veterans with their sons and daughters, many of whom have been
on the immigration waiting lists for years, by exempting the veterans’ adult
children from the numerical limitations on
immigrant visas," said Akaka.
Last year, the same bill was incorporated
into the Omnibus Immigration Reform Bill, which passed the Senate. However, the
bill was never enacted into law because the House and Senate could not agree on
a compromise bill.
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