An estimated 260,000 Filipino soldiers fought alongside American troops during World War II, helping us win one of our most important victories. In recognition of their bravery and sacrifice, they were promised citizenship by the United States government and to give them the same benefits that all of our veterans deserve. Despite this promise, Filipino World War II veterans were not naturalized until 1990 — 45 years after the war had ended. These Filipino soldiers also had to leave their families behind because this hard-earned benefit did not extend to their children. Because of backlogs in our immigration system, it took decades for Filipino World War II veterans to reunite with their families.
It is simply wrong that our veterans have to suffer from our antiquated immigration system, and so I have fought for years to reunite Filipino soldiers and their families by pushing for legislation to help expedite this process. I was pleased when the Department of Homeland Security announced new efforts to modernize our legal immigration system in July, as a result President Obama’s executive action on immigration, because it included a new policy to expedite the reunification Filipino World War II veterans and their families.
This new parole program would allow certain family members of aging Filipino World War II veterans to come to the United States and provide their loved ones with the care they need. This was a step in the right direction, but the Administration still has not yet announced important details about eligibility and the application process. In December, I wrote a letter along with my colleagues, Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, to urge President Obama to quickly implement this new rule.
We cannot keep delaying the reunification of Filipino World War II veterans and their families. They have waited too long for their loved ones because our government didn’t honor its promise. It is time to right this wrong and I hope that the 6,000 Filipino veterans still alive today and living in the country will have the chance to be cared for by their families. We must do everything in our power to ensure that their service is properly recognized.
I am proud to represent more than 100,000 Filipino-Americans in Nevada and I know the contributions they have made to our country. We owe it to these veterans to give them the recognition they deserve. I will continue to advocate for Filipino World War II veterans in Congress to let them know how thankful we are for their service.
