[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E449]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

THE REINTRODUCTION OF THE FILIPINO VETERANS FAMILY REUNIFICATION ACT

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HON. MAZIE K. HIRONO

of hawaii

in the house of representatives

Thursday, March 1, 2007

Ms. HIRONO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to reintroduce the Filipino
Veterans Family Reunification Act, a companion to Senator Akaka's bill
of the same name, which will provide for the expedited reunification of
the families of our Filipino World War II veterans. I am pleased to be
joined in this legislation by Representatives Neil Abercrombie, Bob
Filner, Michael Honda, Madeleine Bordallo, Robert ``Bobby'' Scott, Jim
McDermott, Darrell Issa, Sam Farr, Al Green, Raul Grijalva, and Phil
Hare.
As you know, Filipino veterans are those that honorably answered the
call of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and served alongside our armed
forces during World War II. They fought shoulder to shoulder with
American servicemen; they sacrificed for the same just cause. We made a
promise to provide full veterans' benefits to those who served with our
troops. And while we have recently made appreciable progress toward
fulfilling that long-ignored promise, we have not yet achieved the full
equity that the Filipino veterans deserve.
In 1990, the Congress recognized the courage and commitment of the
Filipino World War II veterans by providing them with a waiver from
certain naturalization requirements. Many veterans thereafter became
proud United States citizens and residents of our country. However,
allowances were not made for their children and many have been waiting
decades for petition approval.
The Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act would allow for the
further recognition of the service of the veterans by granting their
children a special immigration status that would allow them to
immigrate to the United States and be reunified with their aging
parents. It is important to note that the Filipino soldiers who fought
under the command of General Douglas MacArthur at this critical time in
our Nation's history represent a unique category. These soldiers were
members of the United States Armed Forces of the Far East. They were
led to believe that at the end of the conflict they would be treated
the same as American soldiers. It took more than 60 years to begin to
make good on our commitment. The Filipino Veterans Family Reunification
Act recognizes the special circumstances of this group of soldiers.
I would like to submit into the record an editorial from the Honolulu
Advertiser that supports the expedited reunification of these families
as a meaningful way to make amends for the injustice experienced by
these brave soldiers. As the editorial frankly states, ``Reuniting
these men with their children is not only the fair thing for the U.S.
government to do, it's the least it could do.''
Last year, my home State of Hawaii celebrated the 100th anniversary
of the first Filipino immigrants to arrive on U.S. soil. We are
exceptionally proud of the accomplishments of our Filipino community
and confident that the next 100 years will be as successful. It is
unfortunate that prospective family-based immigration applicants from
the Philippines face substantial, often decades-long, waits for visas.
In Honolulu, I recently had a meeting with a group of Filipino
veterans from my district. I listened to many heartbreaking stories of
sons and daughters waiting patiently in the Philippines with the hope
that one day they will be able to come to the United States to care for
their aging parents. The need to complete these families of our
veterans is great.
As our Filipino veterans are entering the sunset years of their
lives, Congress is running out of time to fulfill our obligations to
them. I look forward to working with my colleagues by providing for the
reunification of our Filipino World War II veterans with their
families.

[From the Honolulu Advertiser, Feb. 25, 2007]

Filipino Vets' Families Deserve Special Status

Filipino veterans, who fought alongside U.S. troops during
World War II, have waited far too long--more than 60 years--
to get what's due them.
While they still seek full pension benefits from Congress,
another key measure would give them something that could be
more important in their senior years: family reunification.
Senate Bill 671, recently introduced by U.S. Sens. Dan
Akaka and Daniel Inouye, grants special immigrant status to
the children of naturalized Filipino veterans, enabling them
to move up in the visa backlog that has had some family
members waiting for entry to the U.S. for nearly 20 years.
Indeed, this solution is not a simple one. In the aftermath
of Sept. 11, visa policies were rightly revamped and strictly
enforced. To expedite the process for these family members
and not others merits concern.
But let's look at the bigger picture: An estimated 200,000
Filipinos were drafted in 1941 to fight under Gen. Douglas
MacArthur when war broke out. The men were promised
citizenship and benefits by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
But Congress reneged on the promise with the Rescission Act
of 1946.
Not until 1990 did the Immigration Act allow these men
citizenship. But they have yet to receive the same benefits
as their GI counterparts, and the change in immigration law
did not extend the same rights to the veterans' sons and
daughters.
Today, there are an estimated 5,000 Filipino veterans in
Hawai'i and the Mainland, according to the American Coalition
for Filipino Veterans, but most are well into their 80s and
90s--and their number is quickly dwindling.
Reuniting these men with their children is not only the
fair thing for the U.S. government to do, it's the least it
could do.
And Congress shouldn't stop there. The aging veterans
deserve to see the final piece in their struggle for equity:
the granting of full pension benefits that could mean $200 a
month per veteran.
For these men, it's more than just a paycheck--it's a
promise.

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