A Matter of Conscience

By: Elaine Lehman

 

May. It’s Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Yet amidst the celebrations of our cultures and place in American society, there is one group that has received scant attention. More so, this one group has received little awareness and dignity in spite of their plight. This is the plight of the so-called” Filipino Amerasian.

Many countries in Asia have been visited by the United States military, but the Philippines endured the longest American military presence in Asia – more than a century, from American colonization of the archipelago in 1898 to the post-Cold War closure of American military installations in the Philippines in 1992. American forces returned in 2000, after the Visiting Forces Agreement between the Philippines and the United States was ratified by the Philippine Senate, allowing American forces to reenter the country to conduct joint exercises with the Philippine military. Since then, the US military has maintained a temporary but regular presence in the Philippines. The United State has begun to reinstall of a permanent military presence in the Philippines.1 President Obama, during his visit to the Philippines at the end of April 2014, announced an agreement with the Philippines that will “give American ships and planes the most extensive access to bases there since the United States relinquished its vast naval installation at Subic Bay in 1992.2 President Trump has planned to continue to aid and presence in the country during his presidency.

As it did in the rest of Southeast Asia, the longstanding presence of American military in the Philippines has come with many consequences – including military-sanctioned prostitution, the abuse of local women, and the birth of Amerasians, mixed-race children predominantly fathered by U.S. servicemen. These children, born to American military fathers and local mothers throughout Asia “due to their illegitimacy and mixed race,”3 are largely abandoned and face a life of abject poverty, stigmatization, unemployment and abuse. Facing a dismal future, many mothers have had little choice but to forfeit their children and place them up for adoption – or worse, abandon them outright. “Due to the prolonged military presence of the United States in the Philippines, more Amerasians have been born in the Philippines than in all other Asian countries combined, including Vietnam. Therefore, the American military had been as much, if not more, instrumental in creating the Amerasian problem in the Philippines than in Indochina.”4

In large part due to Amerasians’ political invisibility in the Philippines and the rest of Asia, it is unclear precisely how many mixed-race children were abandoned by their American fathers. While the Pearl S. Buck Foundation estimated that there were 50,000 Amerasian offspring produced and abandoned in Philippines, recent estimates are as high as 250,000.5

In the immediate aftermath of the Vietnam War, the plight of Amerasians in Indochina attracted significant media attention. In 1980, Senator Stewart B. McKinney of Connecticut, in a Senate sub-committee meeting, spoke of the Amerasian issue as “a national embarrassment” and called on America’s patriotic duty to take full responsibility for Amerasians.

After much public criticism, President Reagan signed and passed the Amerasian Immigration Act of 1982 (PL 97-359). The Act gives immigration visas, with the possibility of later naturalization, (first and fourth visa preferences or single or married sons and daughters of a US citizen) to Amerasians who were fathered by a US citizen between 1 January 1950 and 1 October 1982 in Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia (Kampuchea), or Thailand. By contrast, Amerasians in the Philippines – likely the largest population of Amerasians in Asia – have long been ignored. The Philippines and Japan/Okinawa were originally included in the Amerasian Act’s list of Asian countries but deleted at the last minute, for reasons never memorialized in the Act’s legislative history.

Some members of Congress – most notably the late Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii and the late Representative Juanita Millender-McDonald of California – introduced legislation to rectify the inexplicable exclusion of the Philippines and Japan from the Amerasian Act of 1982. Senator Inouye, Representative Millender-McDonald, and other champions of the Amerasian cause, however, have thus far been unable to pass legislation recognizing the plight of Amerasians still stranded in Asia. To date – unlike Amerasians born in Korea and Indochina – Filipino Amerasians cannot immigrate to the United States under a special immigration category; thus, for most Amerasians, moving to their fatherland is nothing but a pipe dream.

In 1988, Congress passed the Amerasian Homecoming Act (PL 100-200), which allowed Vietnamese Amerasians and their relatives to immigrate to the United States. “Spouses, children, and parents or guardians may accompany the alien.”6 In contrast to the earlier 1982 policy, the 1988 Act provides prioritized processing, as well as preservation of family unity. Regrettably, the Act failed to address the immigration needs of Amerasians from any other country, notably the Philippines. It is painfully ironic that for a decade, the Philippines had been a sort of halfway house where Amerasians could spend six months, learning English and preparing for their new lives in the United States.

In May 2013, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) filed an amendment (Hatch7-MDM13393) as part of S.744, the comprehensive immigration reform bill that the Senate passed during the summer of 2013. The amendment was agreed to by a voice vote and terminated the preferential treatment for Vietnamese Amerasians under the Amerasian Homecoming Act of 1988 upon passage of S. 744.7,8

Current immigration law pertaining to Amerasians egregiously excludes vast numbers of Amerasians stranded in Asia, and potential changes to immigration policy threaten to further undermine American immigration policy’s fundamental goal of family reunification. These proposed changes threaten the welfare of all Amerasians – including those already in the United States as well as those still stranded in Asia.

Furthermore, given the increase in the U.S. military’s presence in Asian countries such as the Philippines, a new generation of Amerasians will likely be born over the coming decades. Filipino Amerasians have pointed out “that with America once again taking a close interest in the Pacific and … rotate soldiers through the Philippines as part of its ‘pivot to Asia,’ history may be about to repeat itself.”9

We Filipino American community must acknowledge that these offspring are ours. The Filipino American Council of Greater Chicago is one of the only organizations committed to raising awareness about the Filipino Amerasians and to give voice to this silenced group. In 2017, I introduced my longtime colleague John Haines – a Navy Veteran, to the FACC and he was invited to be an Advisory Board member. John is a proud father of an adult Filipina Amerasian whom he supports and loves: He is fighting hard to unite with her and to bring her to the United States, despite his acknowledgement and a positive DNA test.

While familiar with Filipino Amerasians, I did not become fully conscious of their condition until my last visit to PH. I was happy to join forces when John reached out to me in that same year after he read a piece I had written on Amerasians, inspired by an op-ed written by Christopher Lapinig in The New York Times. Together, we have been working to build awareness about the plight of Filipino and Japanese Okinawan Amerasian children since 2014.

On March 13, 2017, Congressman Ron Kind of the 3rd Congressional District of La Crosse, Wisconsin, introduced House Bill 1520, or Uniting Families Act of 2017, “to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for the admission of certain sons and daughters of citizens of the United States, which citizens served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States abroad.” John Haines, also from Wisconsin, lobbied Congressman Kind and influenced the bill.

This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish a non-immigrant W-visa category for an alien who: (1) is 18 or older and is the genetic son or daughter of a U.S. citizen who served in the Armed Forces on active duty abroad, or (2) is the spouse or child of such alien and is accompanying, or following to join, such alien.

A visa shall not be issued until a petition has been filed in the United States by the applicant’s citizen parent and approved by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Such petition shall include:

DNA evidence establishing that the alien is the petitioner’s genetic child, a written agreement that the parent will provide fi nancial support until the alien’s status is adjusted to lawful permanent resident status, and information establishing that the petitioner is a U.S. citizen who served in the Armed Forces on active duty abroad.

On March 8, 2019, the bill was amended and Congressman Kind reintroduced it to the House of Representatives as Bill HR 1640: Uniting Families Act of 2019-2020. On April 12, 2019, it was referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship:

Requirements For Admission.— Section 214 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184) is amended by adding at the end the following: “(s)

(1) A visa shall not be issued under section 101(a)(15)(W) until a petition has been fi led in the United States by the citizen parent of the visa applicant and approved by the Secretary of Homeland Security. “

(2) The petition shall be in such form and contain such information as the Secretary of Homeland Security shall prescribe, and shall include the following information:

“(A) DNA evidence that establishes that the benefi ciary is the genetic child of the petitioner.

“(B) An agreement in writing that the parent will provide fi nancial support for the benefi ciary until the benefi ciary’s status is adjusted to the status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence.

“(C) Information that establishes that the petitioner—

“(i) is a citizen of the United States; and

“(ii) served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States abroad. “

(3) The period of authorized admission for an alien admitted to the United States as a nonimmigrant under section 101(a) (15)(W) shall be 5 years, which may be extended for one additional 2-year period. “

(4) The total number of principal aliens who may be admitted under section 101(a)(15) (W) during any fi scal year may not exceed 5,000.”.

(c) Adjustment Of Status.— Section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255) is amended by adding at the end the following: “

(n) (1) The Secretary of Homeland Security may adjust the status of an alien admitted to the United States as a nonimmigrant under section 101(a)(15)(W) to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence if the alien—

“(A) is admissible to the United States as an immigrant; and

“(B) satisfi es the requirements under section 312, unless the alien is a child described in section 101(a)(15)(W)(ii) who is under the age of 18.

“(2) The numerical limitations of sections 201 and 202 shall not apply to the adjustment of aliens to lawful permanent resident status under this subsection.”.

(d) Naturalization.—Section 312(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1423(b)) is amended by inserting at the end the following:

“(4) The requirements of subsection (a) shall not apply to any person who has satisfi ed such requirements under section 245(n) (1)(B).”.

This Bill HR 1640 will provide a pathway for overseas children and their U.S. military veteran parent, notably their fathers, to finally unite. We are encouraged by the growing interest in this critical issue. We are grateful that in 2017 the Filipino American Council of Greater Chicago and the American Legion Filipino American Post 509 agreed to support this initiative without reservation.

We also hope to gain more awareness of the Filipino Amerasian and the rightful place of the Philippines in the Amerasian Immigration Act of 1982 (PL 97-359). As McKinney testifi ed about the Amerasians: “It is time we recognize these children for who they are–our children- -and give them an opportunity to live a life where they are not forever condemned as outcasts.” We cannot do anything less. As kababayan and Americans, it is the right thing to do. _____________________

1 Mogato, Manuel, “Philippine, United States reach agreement on new security deal,” Reuters (April 11, 2014) accessed April 22, 2014

2 Sangler, David E. and Lander, Mark, “Obama’s Strategic Shift to Asia Is Hobbled by Pressure at Home and Crises Abroad,” The New York Times, Asia Pacifi c web site (April 21, 2014)

3 Ahern, James M. “Out of Sight, Out of Mind: United States Immigration Law and Policy as Applied to Filipino-Americans,” Pacifi c Rim Law and Policy Association, VOL. 1 No. I, p. 113 (Winter 1992)

4 Ibid (p 120).

5 Lapinig, Christopher M, “The Forgotten Amerasians,” The New York Times, Op-Ed Contributor website (May 27, 2013)

6 US Department of Homeland Security, Definition of Terms web site, accessed April 22, 2014

7 “Amendment (Hatch7- MDM13393),” United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary website (May 7, 2013)

8 “Hatch Introduces Amendments to the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act,” Orrin Hatch United States Senator for Utah, press release website (May 07, 2013

9 Lichauco de Leon, Sunshine, “Filipinos fathered by US soldiers fi ght for justice,” The Guardian web site (December 31, 2012)

Jennifer Espinosa. Filipina Amerasian. Offspring of Filipina and U.S. military personnel veteran.