Congressional delegation urges Biden to restore Filipino war veterans program terminated by Trump

Filipino veterans in Hawaii
(FILE) The estimated 6,000 Filipino veterans still alive are among the less than 330,000 World War II veterans who remain, most in their 80s and 90s, according to 2020 statistics by the Department of Veterans Affairs. (Photo by Des Acenas)

 

HONOLULU (Eagle News) – Hawaii congressional delegates Senator Mazie Hirono and Representative Ed Case led a team of lawmakers from both chambers in requesting President Joe Biden to take “immediate action” to restore the Filipino War Veterans Parole (FWVP) Program.

“There is urgency in taking action on this matter as the Department of Homeland Security has estimated that there are fewer than 6,000 surviving Filipino veterans who are now in their 90s,” they wrote in a letter dated February 16. “At a time when many families are apart and the elderly are especially vulnerable to this pandemic, restoring and extending the FWVP Program is a fitting way to honor and care for our veterans who have given so much in service to our country.”

 

Born in Japan, Senator Mazie Hirono (Democrat – Hawaii) is the first immigrant to serve in the U.S. Senate. (Courtesy U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono)

The FWVP Program was established in 2016 to allow Filipino war veterans to petition for humanitarian parole for their children and siblings who have been approved for immigration visas but remain stuck in the backlog. Family members who meet the conditions of the program were issued parole to reside in the U.S. until their immigration visas became available for an adjustment of status. USCIS set the FWVP Program for an initial period of five years and was subject to renewal.

However in January 2017, then President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order calling for the Department of Homeland Security to limit the FWVP Program on a case-by-case basis and only when an alien applicant demonstrates urgent humanitarian reasons or a significant public benefit. The DHS eventually terminated the entire program last December.

The termination did not affect FWVP parolees who have maintained their current period of parole and are still eligible to request re-parole under the original terms of the FWVP Program.

In addition, the signatories expressed hope to work with the new administration in passing and enacting the Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act, a bill that has been continually introduced in Congress since 2003. The said bill would exempt children of Filipino World War II veterans from numerical limitations on immigrant visas, providing a sure and swift pathway for those individuals to reunite with their veterans in the United States.

Congressman Ed Case (Democrat – Hawaii 1st District) previously served in the House of Representatives from 2002 to 2007, serving Hawaii’s 2nd District that included rural Oahu and the islands of Kauai, Maui, and Big Island. (Courtesy U.S. Representative Ed Case)

 

The legislative team concluded, “We would like to work together to ensure the enactment of this bill either as an included provision of your proposed immigration reform package or as a stand-alone piece of legislation.”

Notable legislators who signed the letter with Senator Hirono and Representative Case include former presidential candidates Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, and Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. Hawaii native and Iraq war veteran Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois signed as well.

(Eagle News Service)