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For the past 21 years, The Filipino Express has provided the Filipino American community the best news, arts and entertainment coverage from around the United States and the Philippines.
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This website includes selected articles from this week's edition of the Filipino Express. Not all the stories published in the printed version appear on this site.
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WASHINGTON. D.C. -- Key Republican and Democratic senators are reaching for a deal to resurrect their stalled immigration compromise by requiring that some $4 billion be spent on border security and workplace enforcement.
The mandatory security funding is part of a plan to attract more Republican support for the measure, which grants legal status to millions of unlawful immigrants.
On Monday, President Bush expressed confidence that his stalled immigration overhaul would be revived.
“I’ll see you at the Bill signing,” Bush said confidently about an immigration Bill that has run into deep trouble on Capitol Hill.
Bush trekked to Capitol Hill on Tuesday and had lunch with Republican senators, part of a hands-on approach to persuading party conservatives that the Bill is better than the status quo.
In private meetings Wednesday, the bipartisan group that crafted the delicate compromise was hammering out a plan to allow votes on a limited set of Republican- and Democratic-sought changes in exchange for a commitment from GOP holdouts that they will back moving ahead with the bill.
Republican architects of the measure, which grants legal status to millions of unlawful immigrants, expressed confidence that such an agreement was possible as early as Thursday.
“The list is there,” said Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., adding that GOP senators were ready to present their plan to Senate leaders.
With the tentative package, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid “should have what he needs to move forward,” said Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz. “This is just to let him know that it can be done.”
Reid has said he would revive the measure if at least 20 more Republicans commit to moving ahead with the broad immigration bill. It stalled last week when only seven GOP senators supported a Democratic bid to limit debate and expedite a final vote.
Reid expressed optimism that negotiators would strike a deal that could pave the way.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, the lead Democratic negotiator, said he supported the bid to provide mandatory funding for border security and enforcement.
“You give the assurance that when this is signed, that there are going to be the resources to do the kind of security protections that are in this legislation,” Kennedy said.
Under the proposal by Kyl and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., border security and workplace enforcement would be funded up front, and eventually covered by the fines and fees set out in the broader immigration bill.
“Everybody’s trying to prove that they are willing and able to enforce the law this time, unlike 1986,” Kyl said, referring to the last major immigration overhaul, which established a one-year amnesty program for illegal immigrants who had been in the U.S. at least four years.
“What better way to demonstrate that other than to say, ‘We’re not going to let congressional appropriations dictate this - we are going to put the money up front,’” Kyl said.
As part of the tentative deal, the Senate would vote on a proposal by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, to require all illegal immigrant household heads to return to their countries of origin before obtaining legal status, Graham said. Under the legislation, only those seeking green cards - permanent legal residency - would be required to return home first.
Negotiators spent hours Wednesday huddled in meetings or on the phone. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who with Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez helped craft the bill in a series of intense and secretive talks earlier this year, was again on hand to help broker a deal.
“There’s no question it’s an uphill battle,” Kennedy said. “It’s difficult but not impossible.”
A day after Bush went to Capitol Hill to field criticism from Republicans who derailed the bill, the White House said it would be open to changes to the delicate bipartisan compromise. Architects have argued their so-called “grand bargain” could collapse under the weight of poison-pill amendments.
“You may have a carefully crafted compromise, but on the other hand, you have members of both parties who want to have their say and have their input,” White House press secretary Tony Snow said.
Snow also signaled support for the idea of pumping additional money into border security, which he said was worth pursuing, and played down the bitter divisions among Republicans on the issue. He said that Bush “considers fellow Republicans friends and colleagues.”
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Visa numbers available for nurses,
PTs and other professionals next month
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NEW YORK CITY -- Visa numbers for Filipino workers under the employment-based third preference category (EB-3) will be available in July, according to a State Department release on Wednesday, June 13.
The availability of the visa numbers means the visa processing for EB-3 professional and skilled workers from the Philippines, including registered nurses (RNs) and physical therapists (PTs), will resume by July and the eventual deployment of these foreign workers will not suffer further delay.
EB-3 workers who are in the US waiting for visa availability will also be able to apply for adjustment of status beginning July.
The availability of the visa numbers puts an end, at least temporarily, to the retrogression that has stalled the deployment of skilled Filipino workers to the US since January 2005.
Retrogression occurs when the demand for immigrant visa numbers exceed the available numbers for a given year. In such a case, the State Department fixes a cut-off priority date, and cases with priority dates falling on or after the prescribed cut-off will not be processed.
Filipino healthcare workers in shortage occupations like registered nurses (RNs) and physical therapists (PTs) were spared briefly from the retrogression by the legislated recapture of 50,000 unused visas on May 11, 2005.
The deployment of Filipino RNs and PTs , however, was halted when the unused visas were exhausted in November 2006, subjecting these shortage occupations to the EB-3 retrogression as well.
The July 2007 Visa Bulletin issued by the State Department, however, warns about the possibility that not all employment preferences will remain “current” (meaning, visa numbers are available) for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends September 2007.
The State Department cautioned that retrogression could re-occur in September for EB-3 workers from major sending countries like mainland China, India and the Philippines when the demand for visa numbers become heavy in the coming months.
It also said “severe cut-off retrogression could occur in early Fiscal Year 2008,” beginning October, 2007.
In contrast, visa numbers for the “Other Worker” category worldwide will be unavailable in July.
Visa availability for this category, which includes adult companions, personal aides, home health aides, general housekeepers or child monitors, had been alternately unavailable and retrogressed the past several months.
The unavailability of the visa numbers for “Other Workers” means foreign workers in this category currently in the US will not be able to apply for adjustment of status, while those who are outside the US will have to wait for their priority dates to come up.
CRISTINA A. GODINEZ is a Manhattan-based attorney. For comments or questions, you may send an email to crisgodinez@lawyer.com or crisgodinez@yahoo.com.)
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LOS ANGELES, California -- Yet another Filipino-American was reported killed in Iraq when an improvised explosive device detonated near the vehicle he was riding.
The latest Fil-Am casualty of the Iraq war was identified as Greg P. Gagarin, 38 years old, a resident of Los Angeles, California. The Gagarin family hails from Ilocos Sur.
Gagarin’s death came as the United States government announced that it will give military burial honors to another Filipino American, US Army Sergeant Richard Valiant Correa, who was killed in action earlier when he encountered an improvised explosive device during patrol on May 29, 2007, near Ilbu, Falris, Iraq.
Gagarin was born in Ilocos Sur on January 4, 1970. He left behind a wife and two children, a boy and a girl, who are living in Manila. The soldier’s remains would be brought home and buried near his grandparents’ tombs, according to a GMAnews.tv report.
The US Department of Defense said Gagarin died in Thania, Iraq on June 3 with three other soldiers -- Sgt. James C. Akin, 23, of Albuquerque, N.M., Sgt. Tyler J. Kritz, 21, of Eagle River, Wis., and Sgt. Robert A. Surber, 24, of Inverness, Florida.
The four soldiers were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died in Thania, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Washington, the defense department said.
Gagarin served in the US military for close to 20 years. He was assigned to South Korea prior to his posting in Iraq.
Early this month, Correa, 25, was killed when a roadside bomb exploded while he was on foot patrol in Ilbu Falris.
The anti-war website said he died of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their position during a dismounted patrol. He was assigned to the 2nd Batallion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), from Fort Drum, New York.
Correa left his hometown of Lingayen, Pangasinan in the 1990s for Honolulu where he stayed with his cousin, Mae Correa Acosta Myhre, and pursued his studies. He first joined the Air Force and assigned to Florida before moving to the Army in 2004.
His parents, sisters and a brother are still residing in Pangasinan where his body was arrived on Monday for burial in his hometown.
On May 24, US Army Corporal Mark Ryan Climaco Caguioa died at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland due to severe injuries he suffered when the vehicle he was in struck an improvised explosive device in an attack south of Baghdad on May 4.
He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
Caguioa lost both his legs and an arm from the explosion. Such homemade bombs are said to be the No. 1 killer of US troops in Iraq. He was given a hero’s burial on Saturday, after he would have turned 22 years old on June 1, at the San Francisco National Cemetery.
In November 2006, another FilAm, Army Staff Sgt. Richwell A. Doria, 25, died in Kirkuk after being struck by small-arms fire during an air-assault mission.
The anti-war website estimated that 3, 495 American soldiers have died since the Iraq war began on March 19, 2003, of which 2, 883 died in combat. The number of injured Americans was placed officially at 25, 549 as of June 3, 2007.
Correa obtained his US citizenship in November 2006. The Honolulu Star Bulletin quoted his cousin, Mae Myhre from Honolulu, as saying that Correa considered the grant of his American citizenship a fulfillment of his dream, and a stepping stone to attaining his ultimate goal of being a member of the US Army’s elite Delta Force.
Myhre said she grew up with Correa grew up in the Philippines and considered him her brother. She said becoming a citizen was a prerequisite for Delta Force. But Correa has died before he could be a Delta Force member.
Correa had also planned to marry his fiancée, Corey Dell of Florida, in December after returning from Iraq. They met four years ago when he was stationed in Florida as a mechanic in the Air Force.
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NEW YORK CITY -- A total of 27 elderly Filipino American couples took the opportunity to renew their marriage vows while they were on a pilgrimage tour that took them to a holy shrine in Santarem, Portugal.
“Our renewal of vows was very solemn. I was touched when they gave us flowers at the ceremony. I’m happy I joined the pilgrimage, “ said Esther Andaya of Jersey City.
The priest who officiated the ceremony was Msgr. Octavio Ramos.
The 27 couples renewed their pledges and had their respective marriages blessed at the Shrine of the Most Holy Miracle in Santarem, Portugal.
The church, a famous destination for couples wishing to renew their vows, is located 40 miles North of Lisbon, and 37 miles south of Fatima.
The 27 couple were among 100 people who joined the RTA travel pilgrimage to France, Spain and Portugal from May 24 to June 4.
“I was really touched. It was a very solemn celebration. We also felt the outpouring of affection of all the couples there. I like the church in Portugal,” said Fe Aurellado of Piscataway, NJ.
The group also visited other shrines: They went to Lourdes in France, Barcelona in Spain and the Church of St. Anthony of Padua in Lisbon, Portugal.
Others in the group found significance in the other parts of the tour.
“The most special place for me was when we joined the mass and procession at Fatima. It was so solemn. We felt the presence of the Lord. I joined the pilgrimage to thank God for blessings and ask for favors,” said Teresa Macalalad, from Dover, Delaware.
Aurellado of Piscataway, NJ, just had a knee replacement surgery. She joined the pilgrimage believeingthat bathing in the spring water of the Lourdes grotto would heal her physically.
“I feel renewed and strengthened after we took a bath at the spring water. I felt the presence of the Blessed Mother and I felt I’ve recovered well after the trip, “ Aurellado said.
The Shrine of the Most Holy Miracle, famous for Eucharistic dedication, was the site where 27 Filipino couples renewed their marriage vows in this Portugal’s most historical place of worship.
The Shrine of the Most Holy Miracle is also considered a mecca for queens, kings, princesses and nobility.
The Shrine’s reputation as a famous destination for couples wishing to renew their marital vows or have their marriages blessed stems from the Church’s history.
In the 13th century, a woman was said to have stolen a Host after she was ordered by a sorceress who promised to help her regain her unfaithful husband’s love and save their marriage.
The next morning, the woman and her husband brought the host to the parish priest.
The priest placed the miraculous host in a wax container and returned it to the Church of St. Stephen (the old name of the Shrine).
The next time the priest opened the tabernacle that contained the miraculous host, the wax container was found broken into pieces, and the host was enclosed in a crystal pyx. This pyx was placed in a silver monstrance, where it can be seen today.
After an investigation, the Church approved the recognition of the miracle. The Church of St. Stephen was renamed the Church of the Holy Miracle.
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