Mr. President, my amendment seeks to address and resolve an immigration issue that, while rooted in a set of historical circumstances that occurred more than seven decades ago, and sadly remains unresolved to this day.

It is an issue of great concern to all Americans who care about justice and fairness.

In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an executive order, drafting more than 200,000 Filipino citizens into the United States military.

During the course of the war, it was understood that the Filipino soldiers would be treated like their American comrades-in-arms, and be eligible for the same benefits.  But this has never occurred. 

In 1990, the World War II service of Filipino veterans was finally recognized by the U.S. government, which offered Filipino veterans the opportunity to obtain U.S. citizenship; today there are 7,000 Filipino World War II veterans in the U.S. 

The opportunity to obtain U.S. citizenship was not, extended to the veterans' sons and daughters, about 20,000 of whom have been waiting for their visas for years.

While the Border Security and Immigration Reform Act of 2007 raises the worldwide ceiling for family based visa, the fact remains that many of the naturalized Filipino World War II veterans residing in the U.S. are in their eighties and nineties, and their children should be able to come to America to take care of their parents.

My amendment makes this possible.

Mr. President, as I noted in my prior remarks on my amendment, I urge my colleagues to support my amendment. 

--30--