Obama’s Immigration Policy Benefits Filipinos Too

We recently highlighted how President Obama has created his own immigration policy despite that responsibility being reserved for Congress under the Constitution. We noted how he is using parole to allow Haitians into the country two years in advance of their eligibility under the visa law.

A similar program is just now going into effect for some Filipinos. Using the same parole loophole, Filipinos who are the children of Filipino World War II veterans or their spouses become eligible for immediate immigration outside of the normal waiting period required under the limits of the visa law. Even though the Filipino veteran may be deceased and unable to petition for family members, those family members may bypass that snag by petitioning for themselves.

This is a new program rolled out by Homeland Security in June 2016. See https://www.uscis.gov/fwvp. Who will be next?

FilipinoObama Administration
Jack Martin: Jack, who joined FAIR’s National Board of Advisors in 2017, is a retired U.S. diplomat with consular experience. He has testified before the U.S. Congress, U.S. Civil Rights Commission, and U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform and has authored studies of immigration issues. His national and international print, TV, and talk radio experience is extensive (including in Spanish).