National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA) welcomes

White House report from Visa Modernization Task Force

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA) commends the White House for releasing their report by the Visa Modernization Task Force yesterday.

Earlier this year, NCAPA submitted comments to USCIS in response to the request for information to improve the immigration system. We thank the White House for granting parole to the families Filipino World War II veterans, as we had specifically recommended in our comments. Approximately 250,000 Filipinos fought for the U.S. during World War II, but U.S. citizenship and benefits did not extend to their children. Many of their families have been separated for decades while waiting in the visa backlogs due to the family-sponsored preference limit. Now, certain families will be able to come to the U.S. to care for the aging veterans.

While we join our community in celebrating this accomplishment, NCAPA will continue to advocate for our other recommendations to improve the legal immigration system, including recapturing unused visa numbers and eliminating profiling, and for comprehensive immigration reform.

 “We are heartened that the Administration took these steps to ensure that Filipino Veterans who sacrificed and fought for our country receive the benefits they deserve," said NCAPA Chair Gregory Cendana and executive director of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance. "As these veterans get older, it is more important than ever that they are reunited with their families. We also recognize that Congress still needs to act to pass comprehensive immigration reform and we're committed to keep working with members to push for this reform."

Read the report on the White House website.

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The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), founded in 1996, is a coalition of 35 national Asian Pacific American organizations. Based in Washington D.C., NCAPA serves to represent the interests of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AA & NHPI) communities and to provide a national voice on policy issues and priorities.