Filipino American

Filipino Americans (Fil-Am for short), the second-largest Asian American community http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/c2kbr01-16.pdf, are Americans who trace their ancestry back to the Philippines, an archipelagic nation found in Southeast Asia south of Taiwan and east of the South China Sea, and have attained United States residency and/or citizenship. There are over 2 million Americans who identified their ancestry as Filipino. Most Filipino Americans reside in California and Hawai'i. In addition to California, Filipinos form the largest group of Asians in Alaska, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming. And in addition to Hawai'i, they are the second largest group of Asians in Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Maine, New Mexico, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia.

21st Century Challenges

Identity Crisis

When people speak of Asian-Americans, they tend to think of Chinese-Americans or Japanese-Americans, but almost never Filipino-Americans. This is partly due to the common misconception that Filipinos are Pacific Islanders, or even Latinos, rather than Asians. Sociologists have used the label of "Invisible Minority" to indicate the identity crisis of the Filipino-American community. Many Filipino-American groups campaigning to increase Filipino-American consciousness by promoting unique accomplishments and talents.

Related Topics:
Asian-Americans - Chinese-Americans - Japanese-Americans - Pacific Islanders - Latinos - Asians

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In June of 2002, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and representatives of U.S. President George W. Bush presided over the grand opening and dedication of the Filipino Community Center in Waipahu, Hawai'i. It is the largest Filipino-American institution in the United States, with the goal of preserving Filipino-American history and culture.

Related Topics:
2002 - Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo - George W. Bush - Waipahu, Hawai'i

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"The Invisible Minority"

Ease of integration and assimilation has gained the Filipino-American the label of "Invisible Minority." Recent Filipino immigrants tend to blend in rapidly, as they speak English fluently, are usually highly educated and economically well-off, and are Christians. The label of "Invisible Minority" also extends to the lack of political power and representation of, by and for Filipino-Americans. In the mid-1990s, only 100 Filipino-Americans held elected office, with all but one serving at the municipal or state level.

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Dual Citizenship

As a result of the passage of Philippines Republic Act No. 9225, also known as the "Citizenship Retention and Re-Acquisition Act of 2003", Filipino-Americans are eligible for dual citizenship in both the United States and the Philippines. Also afforded is the right of overseas suffrage and the ability to vote in Philippine national elections from the United States. Overseas suffrage was first employed in the May 2004 elections in which Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was reelected to a second term.

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In addition, the Philippine government actively encourages Filipino-Americans to visit or return permanently to the Philippines via the "Balikbayan" program. To facilitate this process, and to encourage American business investment in the country, the Philippine government has established consulates in various areas of the United States. These are located in Atlanta; Chicago; Guam; Honolulu; Los Angeles; Majuro; Miami; New Orleans; New York City; Saipan; and San Francisco.

Related Topics:
Atlanta - Chicago - Guam - Honolulu - Los Angeles - Majuro - Miami - New Orleans - New York City - Saipan - San Francisco

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Post 9/11 Immigration

After the attacks on the United States on 11 September 2001, the United States government felt compelled to crackdown on foreign visitors and workers residing in the United States who failed to meet the requirements of their original visas, citing a threat to national security. Many Filipinos have entered the United States on temporary education and work visas but often choose to stay well past their visa expiration dates. The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service was dissolved and replaced with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services in hopes of more aggressive prevention of visa fraud.

Related Topics:
11 September - 2001 - Visas - United States Immigration and Naturalization Service - United States Citizenship and Immigration Services

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Racial Discrimination

Filipino-Americans are working against racial discrimination in the work force. Despite the level of education Filipino-Americans have attained, the community continues to see discrepancies in the way salaries are proportioned among the different ethnicities represented at many firms. Filipino-Americans seek across-the-board pay parity in all industries.

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Due to the Philippine Islamist group Abu Sayyaf being linked to Al-Qaeda, which was responsible for the September 11, 2001 attacks, some Filipino-Americans are under suspicion, and sometimes have been mistreated based on their race and ethnicity. Recent hate crimes against Filipino-Americans have occurred (e.g. the 1999 murder of Joseph Iletohttp://www.cnn.com/US/9908/15/california.shooting.01/ by Aryan Nations member Buford Furrow) and there have been cases of unreasonable deportation and visa rejection against Filipino-Americans. Filipino-Americans today are continuing to be active in the fight against racial discrimination against any race.

Related Topics:
Abu Sayyaf - Al-Qaeda - September 11, 2001 attacks - Joseph Ileto - Aryan Nations

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World War II Veteran Benefits

During World War II, over 200,000 Filipinos fought in defense of the United States against the Japanese in the Pacific theater of military operations, where more than half died. As a commonwealth of the United States before and during the war, Filipinos were legally American nationals. With American nationality, Filipinos were promised all the benefits afforded to those serving in the armed forces of the United States. In 1946, Congress passed the Rescission Act which stripped Filipinos of the benefits they were promised. Of the 66 countries allied with the United States during the war, only Filipinos were denied military benefits.

Related Topics:
World War II - Rescission Act

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Since the passage of the Rescission Act, many Filipino veterans have traveled to the United States to lobby Congress for the benefits promised to them for their service and sacrifice. Over 30,000 of such veterans live in the United States today, with most being United States citizens. Sociologists introduced the phrase "Second Class Veterans" to describe the plight of these Filipino-Americans. Since 1993, numerous bills were introduced in Congress to return the benefits taken away from these veterans. However, the bills died in committee, but the struggle continues today.

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