Aging U.S. Filipino veterans can finally get some family help

CARSON CITY — A program to help Filipino World War II veterans in the United States by allowing family members into the country to support and care for them was implemented over the weekend by the Obama administration.

The program was first announced about a year ago. It will allow certain family members of Filipino veterans, who are in immigration backlogs, to seek parole so they can care for their aging relatives.

The Department of Homeland Security will administer the program through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service and will begin taking applications in June.

U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., called the program a “victory” for Filipino-American communities across the country.

“After facing decades of injustice and separation from their loved ones, courageous Filipino veterans in Nevada and throughout the country finally have the opportunity to reunite with their families,” Reid said in a statement Monday.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Nevada is home to more than 138,000 Filipino-Americans, with most living in the Las Vegas Valley. Nevada’s Filipino-American community is among the largest in the nation.

While the program is welcomed, Luke Perry, with Filipino-American Veterans of Nevada, said it doesn’t go far enough and fails to address the disservice done to thousands of so-called “unrecognized” Filipino veterans who helped the U.S. war effort behind the scenes at personal risk and sacrifice.

“There are still thousands of unrecognized veterans here who would like to be reunited with their families, too,” Perry said Monday.

Thousands of Filipino-American veterans sought benefits and compensation of up to $15,000 under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act but were denied because military and veterans affairs officials didn’t recognize the paperwork of their service records.

Contact Sandra Chereb at schereb@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-3821. Find @SandraChereb on Twitter.