The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said Friday the Trump administration is ending the Filipino World War II Veterans Parole (FWVP) program, which allows veterans to bring family members to the US before their green cards are available.
"Under these categorical parole programs, individuals have been able to skip the line and bypass the proper channels established by Congress. With the termination of these programs, these individuals will no longer be permitted to wait in the United States for their family-based green card to become available, consistent with the rules that apply to the rest of the world,” USCIS Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli said in a statement.
The (FWVP) program, which took effect in June 2016, allows certain Filipino-American family members awaiting immigrant visa issuance to come to the US and be with their loved ones.
Lawyer Lou Tancinco, president of Bayanihan Equity Center, said the termination of the program is an injustice to the aging Filipino veterans.
"This is a compounding injustice to our aging Filipino veterans and families. This FWVP program is a critical need to our veterans and their spouses. We should as a community do our best to advocate against its termination," she said.
Advocates have lobbied for the program as most veterans are in the twilight of their lives and need the immediate care of their children.
The US Embassy in Manila said in 2016 that there are an estimated 2,000 to 6,000 Filipino-American World War II veterans living in the US.
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