Filipino activists hold prayer vigil for TPS passage

By Steve Angeles, ABS-CBN North America Bureau

Feb. 24, 2014

LONG BEACH, Calif. – As impatience grows over the passage of temporary protected status (TPS), Filipinos held a vigil in support of the humanitarian aid that can give immigration relief to up to a million Filipinos with expired or expiring visas in the US.

The Philippines is still rebuilding more than a hundred days after the world’s strongest typhoon, Typhoon Yolanda, devastated parts of the Visayas.

“The relief and recovery is still trickling in but what we really want to see is that Filipinos here in the United States, those immigrants here can have temporary protected status so they can continue to work here and send money back to the Philippines,” Alex Montances of the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns explained.

Some of Montances’ relatives and their homes were displaced and damaged. He hopes that some undocumented Filipinos like Joshua Jimenez’ mother can help the Philippines recover.

“It’s an opportunity for us to give back,” Jimenez said. “Even the government realizes they should give temporary protected status to the overseas Filipinos. We’re really affected. We have families there ourselves.”

The one hundred day anniversary and the vigil come as US officials are scheduled to host a public engagement with the Filipino community on Thursday in Washington DC, to discuss TPS.

Activists here say that they are hopeful that TPS can be granted after this week’s meeting.

As they held their vigil they also collected petitions, calling for the Department of Homeland Security and US State Department to pass the humanitarian aid.

You can contact Steve Angeles at steve_angeles@abs-cbn.com for more info.