The Asian reporter., April 20, 2015, Page Page 8, Image 8

U.S.A.
Page 8 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
April 20, 2015
Bill to expedite visa process for families of Filipino vets
DECADES-LONG PROCESS. Filipino World
War II veteran Artemio Caleda shows a family photo
at his home in Ewa Beach, Hawai’i. Although the
shrapnel scar Caleda picked up during World War II
is now seven decades old and faint, it serves as a
stinging reminder that Caleda is still fighting a battle:
to have his three grown sons join him in the United
States. (AP Photo/Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Dennis
Oda)
By Deborah Manog
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
ONOLULU (AP) — Deep
wrinkles crease Artemio Caleda’s
face as he brushes his hand
against a scar on the left side of his chin.
He calls it a souvenir — picked up during
World War II while dodging a cascade of
explosive particles while taking part in the
rescue of an American pilot. Although the
shrapnel scar is now seven decades old and
faint, it serves as a stinging reminder that
Caleda is still fighting a battle: to have his
three grown sons join him in the United
States.
“We have waited for 20 long years and no
visa has been issued,” said Caleda, who
served as an intelligence officer of the U.S.
Army’s 11th Infantry Regiment, part of
the Filipino Organized Guerrillas.
In an effort to address the matter, U.S.
senators Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai’i) and
Harry Reid (D-Nevada) reintroduced
legislation that aims to expedite the visa
process for sons and daughters of Filipino
World War II veterans.
Co-sponsored by U.S. senator Brian
Schatz (D-Hawai’i) and two senators from
Alaska and California, the Filipino
Veterans Family Reunification Act would
exempt Filipino veterans’ children, about
20,000 individuals, from a cap on
immigrant visas. Because of annual limits
on how many green cards are issued, the
wait for an adult child’s visa can continue
for decades. Petitions that Caleda and his
wife filed on behalf of their sons in 1995
have yet to be processed.
As a former president of Fil-Am WWII
Veterans of Hawai’i, Caleda has partici-
pated in rallies in Washington, D.C., and
attended hearings for similar bills
introduced by Democratic lawmakers. All
of the past bills have failed to move
through congress.
Caleda recalled fellow veteran Rizal
H
Agbayani, whom he said died from
exhaustion shortly after returning to
Hawai’i from a five-day rally in Washing-
ton, D.C., in 1997.
“I remember him seated on my left side
in the taxicab, he was complaining, ‘I feel
so weak,”’ Caleda said. “When he was
home, he collapsed, did not recover.”
Hirono told the Honolulu Star-
Advertiser in a statement that ending the
immigration backlog for Filipino World
War II veterans has long been a priority for
the Hawai’i delegation.
Previously, she pushed for a measure to
end that backlog as part of comprehensive
immigration reform. That bill passed in
the senate with an overwhelmingly
bipartisan vote but the legislation was
killed by the leadership in the House of
Representatives.
“I am continuing to look for every
avenue, that we can end the backlog for
these veterans,” Hirono said. “Time is
running out.”
The Filipino veterans who served in
World War II, including survivors of the
Bataan Death March, were offered U.S.
citizenship under the 1990 naturalization
act signed by President George H.W.Bush.
Some veterans immigrated immediately
with their spouses and young children, but
legislation excluded adult children
Reid said in a statement: “Over 260,000
brave Filipino veterans made a great
sacrifice and answered America’s call to
serve in World War II.” He continued, “No
service member should be prevented from
reuniting with their families because of
our antiquated immigration system.”
Caleda and his wife, Luz, moved to Royal
Kunia in 1992. At age 91, he worries that
the green card applications filed on behalf
of his sons will die with him.
His gaze fell to a portrait of his late wife
situated next to a fresh flower bouquet and
a dozen birthday cupcakes. Luz Caleda,
who died last spring, would have turned 85
this month.
Two applications for family-sponsored
visas were filed under Luz Caleda’s name,
but Emmanuel Guerrero, a local attorney,
said a humanitarian policy allows Artemio
Caleda to stand in place of his wife as the
petitioner without penalty.
The couple’s three daughters secured
student visas to study in the U.S. and now
live on Oahu.
Contemplating the dimming prospects
of his three sons receiving their green
cards, Caleda shakes his head.
“My eldest is going to be 61 years old, the
next is 58, and the other one is 54 — there’s
no justice on the matter,” he said.
The applications of Caleda’s sons and
those of many of his World War II
comrades’ children fall into the family
third-preference category.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services is currently processing petitions
of this category dating back to 1993,
according to the latest Visa Bulletin from
the Department of State’s Bureau of
Consular Affairs.
The Philippines is second only to Mexico
in the length of its waiting list for family-
sponsored visas with a queue of 399,061
applicants as of November, according to an
annual report compiled by the National
Visa Center. The worldwide queue stands
at 4,331,750 applicants.
Earlier this year, U.S. representative
Mark Takai (D-Hawai’i) introduced a bill
— his first as congressman — identical to
Hirono’s. While grateful for the support
shown to the Filipino veterans, Caleda is
anxious about the proposal’s chances of
succeeding.
“Are we moving forward, backward,
sideward, or upward?” Caleda asked.
“Time is of the essence.”
Vietnamese move commemoration
after flag barred from base
Non-native fish discovered in
California’s San Joaquin River
Prosecutors seek custody of
$100M in Asian, Indian artifacts
WESTMINSTER, Calif. (AP) — Vietnamese Americans
scrapped plans to mark the 40th anniversary of the fall of
a Saigon at a Southern California Marine base after
learning they could not fly the South Vietnamese flag.
The commemoration expected to draw thousands on
April 25 will be moved to a new location in Orange
County’s Little Saigon, where community members can
use the yellow-and-red-striped flag and play the South
Vietnamese anthem, said Sophie Tran, an event spokes-
woman.
“We know without those two things, our event would
completely lose its meaning,” Tran said. “The event is for
the community and we need to think about them first.”
The shift comes as the country’s 1.7 million Vietnamese
Americans prepare to commemorate the 40th anniversary
of the fall of South Vietnam to communist rule. Thousands
fled the country for the United States, with many arriving
at a refugee camp erected at Marine Corps Base Camp
Pendleton in Southern California.
The flag that belonged to South Vietnam before it fell to
the communists is still widely used by Vietnamese
immigrants at community celebrations in the region.
Jason Johnston, a Camp Pendleton spokesman, said
officials at Marine headquarters told the base that the flag
cannot be flown at federal installations because the U.S.
government can only recognize the current government of
Vietnam.
“We at Camp Pendleton certainly understand their
concerns, but ultimately we have to rely on our rules and
regulations,” he said.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Biologists warn that a
small fish native to China discovered in the San Joaquin
River could be the latest invasive species to have colonized
California. The Sacramento Bee reports the non-native
fish belonging to the loach family was discovered in
October in Madera County.
It could take months to determine the exact species, but
wildlife officials say scientists are certain the fish did not
previously live in any river in California or North
America.
It likely ended up in the river when someone dumped it
from a home aquarium.
Ron Smith with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says
until the species is fully identified, it will be difficult to
predict its invasive potential.
However if it is particularly invasive, Smith says, the
fish could be difficult to eradicate because of the size of the
San Joaquin.
q
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City prosecutors have
asked a judge for custody of more than 2,500 artifacts
seized during raids of storage facilities affiliated with an
imprisoned art dealer.
The antiquities valued at $100 million were looted from
India and other southern Asian countries and smuggled
by Subhash Kapoor, according to court documents.
The New York Times reported that the complaint
accused Kapoor of hiding the objects in the city.
Prosecutors claim the items were seized during raids
between 2012 and last year. They’ve asked the court for
custody of the stolen artifacts so they can be returned to
their countries of origin.
Authorities also hope to prosecute Kapoor in the U.S.
He’s currently awaiting trial in India on charges of
plundering archaeological sites. He has denied any
wrongdoing.
q
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Defense contractor admits
illegally exporting blueprints
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The former owner of two New
Jersey defense contracting firms has admitted she
conspired to send sensitive military blueprints to India.
Forty-nine-year-old Hannah Robert of North
Brunswick pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to
violate the Arms Export Control Act by sending to India
technical drawings without approval from the State
Department.
Robert faces up to five years in prison when she is
sentenced in June. Under terms of a plea agreement, she
must pay more than $181,000 to the Defense Department
and forfeit nearly $78,000.
Prosecutors say the exported technical drawings
included parts used in the torpedo systems for nuclear
submarines, in military attack helicopters, and in F-15
fighter aircraft.
Backlash cancels auction of
Japanese internment camp items
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Protests by Japanese-
American groups and others have led a U.S. auction house
to cancel a sale of 450 photos and artifacts from World War
II internment camps.
The San Jose Mercury News and others reported that
thousands of Japanese Americans, groups, and
sympathizers posted their opposition to the sale on social
media and the auction house’s Facebook page.
The Rago Auction House in New Jersey has declined to
identify the owner of the collection or say how it came into
that person’s possession.
The collection includes 63 photos of people of Japanese
descent who were imprisoned over fears they were spies
and dozens of arts and crafts they made.
Democratic representative Mike Honda of San Jose,
California, who was interned in a camp, says the artifacts
belong with the families or in museums.
Wondering what events are going on this week?
Check out The Asian Reporter’s Community and A.C.E. Calendar sections, on pages 10 and 12.