Jersey City – The Filipino Immigrants and Workers Organizing Project (FIWOP) joined forces with the Saint Peter’s University’s Center for Undocumented Students and other community and immigrant rights organizations for a community forum on President Barack Obama’s Executive Order on Immigration.

“We organized a forum on Pres. Obama’s recent Executive Order on Immigration because we want to help our kababayans by providing information about this new immigration relief and about the resources and help that they can get,” said Hanalei Ramos, a member of  FIWOP.

The said forum provided information about the extended Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and the Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA). Pres. Obama extended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and expanded it to cover undocumented parents of Legal Permanent Residents/”Green Card Holders” and Citizens called Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA).

For DACA, age limits were taken out. Now, those over 30 years old can apply.  It also extended the cut off entry date to January 1, 2010. Also, the period for which DACA and the accompanying employment authorization is granted will be extended to 3 years instead of 2 years. This is a temporary immigration relief and does not provide a path to citizenship.

According to FIWOP, this forum also aimed to provide information on resources where to get help and what to avoid. “From the experience from DACA applications in 2012, only 4,000 out of an estimated 22,000 eligible Filipinos applied and some of the reasons are the high cost, lack of information and fear. We want to change that statistic by holding events like this,” said Ramos. “We also want to warn our kababayans on fake lawyers, “notarios”, who are out there to take advantage of those who are planning to apply.”

An estimated 5 million out of the 11 million undocumented immigrants will benefit from the said immigration relief. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done.

“We celebrate this Executive Order as a product of activists and various sectors of the community’s efforts to pressure Obama to provide immigration relief, but we also recognize that a lot of our kababayans were left out and does not qualify. That is even more reason why we need to come together and push for genuine immigration reform,” said Yancy Gandionco, also a member of FIWOP.

“The Filipino Immigrants and Workers Organizing Project is an initiative that came out of the growing need for a Filipino community organization that will empower and advocate for our rights and welfare here in New Jersey. We aim to take on various issues such as immigration and worker’s rights,” Gandionco concluded

The said forum was cosponsored by Action 21, American Friends Service Committee, Anakbayan New Jersey, National Alliance for Filipino Concerns and We Are One New Jersey.

1. What is Pres. Obama’s Executive Order on Immigration?
Due to tremendous pressure from community and supporters of genuine immigration reform in the U.S., ) on November 20, 2014, Pres. Obama extended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and expanded it to cover undocumented parents of Legal Permanent Residents/”Green Card Holders” and Citizens called Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA

For DACA, age limits were taken out. Now, those over 30 years old can apply. It also extended the cut off entry date to January 1, 2010. Also, the period for which DACA and the accompanying employment authorization is granted will be extended to 3 years instead of 2 years. This is a temporary immigration relief and does not provide a path to citizenship.

2. How do I qualify?

3. What should I do to prepare?
We strongly urge everyone to take precaution against predatory individuals, services, and agencies with the intention to misinform or scam those looking to apply.

• Start saving money for the application fee (it might be more than $465)
• Gather proof of your identity: a passport from your home country, other type of government-issued ID, or a birth certificate with photo ID
• Gather proof of your relationship to a citizen or LPR (greencard holder) such as birth certificates,  marriage certificates,  your spouse or child’s U.S. passport or naturalization certificate, your spouse or child’s green card
• Gather proof of how long you’ve been in the U.S. such as school records, medical or hospital records, letters, bills (electricity, phone, gas, etc.) rent payment receipts passport with admission stamp copies of money order receipts  bank transactions
• Gather your criminal records: Arrest records, Court dispositions, FBI criminal background checks, any expungement records, proof of rehabilitation (completion of DUI and other classes)
• If you have a criminal conviction, check with an attorney to see if you can expunge, vacate, or modify this conviction.
• If you have a prior deportation or removal order, check with an attorney or BIA-accredited representative.

4. What should I do if I don’t qualify?
We recognize that Pres. Obama’s executive order falls short of our demand for a genuine and humane immigration reform that values family reunification. As Filipinos, we must come together, organize and advocate. We need to add our voices in shaping the immigration system of the United States. Join the Filipino Immigrant and Workers Organizing Project now.

We seek to educate, organize and mobilize the low-income and working-class Filipino families in Northeast New Jersey. The Project works in partnership with a number of organizations and local agencies to address the urgent issues faced by the Filipino community. We hope to build our members’ capacity through education, research, advocacy, campaigning, networking, and community organizing.  Join us by visiting www.filipinoimmigrantsworkers.wordpress.com or emailing usfilipinoiwoproject@gmail.com