WASHINGTON D.C. – The Senate June 7 put on hold the controversial compromise immigration reform bill after more than two weeks of deliberation.
As a result of the stalemate, the Filipino American veterans unification amendment and legalization of thousands of Filipinos along with millions who are illegally in the United States have been placed in jeopardy. The failure of the Senate to approve the bill has also put on hold the Senate’s determination to limit family-based immigration visas to spouses and minor children. The Senate earlier defeated an amendment of Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) to retain the old provision on family unity which allows citizens and permanent residents to also petition for their parents and married brothers and sisters.

The Filipino American veterans’ unification bill, which was already approved by the Senate, is also in limbo because this was appended to the compromise immigration bill.

One advantage of the stalemate is that Filipino and Asian Americans as well as Latinos will now have an opportunity to resume lobbying in favor of the family-based visas advocated by Sen. Menendez.

The Senate bill was stalled June 7 after Democrats and Republicans deadlocked over how many more amendments to debate, dealing a major setback to President Bush which supported the bipartisan compromise legislation.

In temporarily withdrawing the bill from consideration, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) left open the possibility that senators could resume debate on the bill in the near future.

He said President Bush, who fully supported the compromise legislation, could probably get Republicans who are opposed to it to reconsider their stand. Immigration reform bill (S.1348) next week, the National Federation of Filipino American Associations has joined other minority groups organizations in calling for improvements in the bill, S 1348, as a condition for supporting it.

“While we welcome the move to provide undocumented immigrants a path to legalization, we are deeply troubled by drastic changes to this proposed legislation that would do away with family-based visa preferences," says NaFFAA National Chair Alma Kern.

“The American people want Congress and the White House to affirm our nation’s commitment to strong family values by fixing a broken system that has separated family members for as long as 23 years."

Noting that these separations have impeded the full integration of immigrants in U.S. society, Kern adds that America has benefited immensely from the time-honored policy of family reunification. “Unified families are more stable and will most definitely invest in building communities here in the United States. It has been demonstrated over the years that strong communities strengthen cultural diversity, which is the foundation of our country’s greatness." Among the amendments overwhelmingly approved by the Senate two weeks ago during floor debate was a bill introduced by Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI) that would fast track the immigration of eligible children of Filipino World War II veterans.

NaFFAA is calling on Filipino American community leaders and their members to urge their senators to support amendments that would either preserve or improve the current family visa system and put families first. The Menendez-Hagel Amendment which was rejected would have changed the “cut-off” date for legal immigrant applicants from May 1, 2005 to January 1, 2007, the same “cut-off date” set for the legalization of undocumented immigrants; the Clinton-Hagel-Menendez Amendment will re-categorize spouses and children of legal permanent residents as “immediate relatives," thereby eliminating the cap on the number of visas available to these family members; the Dodd-Menendez Amendment would increase the annual cap of green cards from 40,000 to 90,000 for parents; and the Obama-Menendez Amendment would “sunset” or repeal the point system after five years of implementation. The Senate bill proposes a merit-based point system to replace the current systems of family-based and employment-based immigration.

Kern is encouraging the Filipino American community this week to call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. “You will be directly connected to your senators’ offices. Urge both your senators to support the amendments described above. This is very critical to our community."

Rep, Mike Honda (D-CA) said approving the change would “veer away drastically from our nation’s longstanding tradition of family-based immigration." Rep, Honda chair of CAPAC, hailed the senators who took steps to uphold “our nation’s commitment to family values in immigration.”
Rep. Abercrombie (HI-01):* “On the Statue of Liberty are the words, ‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free . . . ,’" said* Rep. Neil Abercrombie (HI-01)*, Chair of CAPAC’s Immigration Task Force. “The Senate immigration bill, particularly with several proposed amendments, would make the Statue bow her head in shame. The question before Congress is whether those words by Emma Lazarus remain a genuine expression of our national ethos or a just a quaint American myth."

“No part of this ‘country club’ approach by the party of family values is more hypocritical than its provisions which devalue family ties.
While I commend efforts to reduce the destructive impact on family-based immigration, I still have grave concerns about the underlying structure of its point system." “This is not really an immigration bill. It is, at best, an attempt to create a permanent indentured servant class with no real hope for upward mobility. If this bill is supposed to advance or protect the American dream, we had better wake up."

President Bush himself is in favor of confining family-based immigration to the “nuclear family,” meaning only spouses and minor children. In his most recent speech, the President said the bill creates a new system for admitting new immigrants. “The system is going to reward applicants based upon skills and education, in addition to family ties, so we can ensure America continues to have the world’s most talented work force,” he said.

Most Democrats, including Sen. Reid, strongly supports the family-based immigration provision without the additional conditions. But Sen. Jon Kyle (R=Arizona), one of the chief architects of the bipartisan bill said the family-based and other amendments proposed by other senators will serve as “killer” amendments, adding he will withdraw his support for the bill if these amendments were approved. Among the chief proponents of the family amendment is Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ). Another controversial “killer” amendment is the reduction of the number of guest workers who can enter the US every year, from 400,000 to 200,000.

Even Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass), one of the architects of the compromise and the principal author of the family-based visas in the existing law, is agreeable to the change in this provision to please Kyle.

Kyl said conservatives believe today’s family unification system is being misused by illegal immigrants, whose U.S.-born children are citizens.
A survey conducted by the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC) revealed that a growing number of Asian American voters are supportive of efforts to legalize the undocumented and reduce the immigration backlogs.

“At this point in time not many are paying attention to the Asian American community especially in the issue of immigration reform," said Dan Ichinose director of Asian Pacific American Legal Center Demographic Research Center, whose organization conducted the survey. “Elected officials, members of the community, and members of the broader community, need to understand that Asian Americans are going to the polls and care deeply about these issues."

The APALC Asian Americans at the Ballot Box report showed that 67 percent of Filipino American voters surveyed during the 2006 General Elections support legalization of undocumented, 55 percent of Fil-Ams opposed criminalization of undocumented, and 86 percent of Fil-Ams support reduction of immigration backlogs. In addition, Filipinos had the second highest voter registration and voters, second only to Chinese Americans.

The report revealed that support for just and humane approaches to comprehensive immigration reform was consistent among all Asian American ethnic groups surveyed. In general, 62 percent of all Asian American voters supported the legalization of undocumented immigrants, 58 percent opposed further criminalization of the undocumented, and 84 percent supported mechanisms to reduce the backlog of immigrants waiting to enter the United States.

APALC officials said because millions of Asian Americans will be affected by immigration reform, legislators should consider the position of Asian American communities as they weigh proposals.

The report is based on the analysis of the 2006 General Elections in Los Angeles County. The organization conducted a survey of 2,181 voters in randomly selected precincts to track Asian American voter registration, turnout and voting behavior.

By the Manila Mail staff

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