The Forgotten Americans
Pete Fisher
April 15, 2007
Immigration is a hot subject today in America. Most Americans are concerned about the illegal activity as well as any amnesty for people who
commit illegal acts by skirting the law. I am all for reform in our immigration laws which seem outdated and conflicting because they seem to
protect the wrong people and make it hard for others who want to get into this country the legal and proper way.
But there remains one issue that many people seem to know little or nothing about, and this concerns orphaned children fathered by
Americans overseas, most of them servicemen. In Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Korea, and Japan live hundreds of thousands of these
children who are denied citizenship. Many can prove their heritage and still cannot come to this country. The American government claims
that these children will not be allowed because they are products of prostitution and the government feels it should not take any
responsibility for them. These children are called Amerasians.
Many of these children were such products of what the government here believes are illegal acts of prostitution. But look at the facts here. In
many of those countries, prostitution is legal. So it cannot be construed as an illegal act, can it?
Prostitution is legal in Nevada. And you can bet your last dollar that if a child was born out of an act of prostitution there, not only would the
child be a full citizen without question, but the father would certainly be held responsible for support as well. But let someone sneak over
from Mexico in a train car, and even have a criminal past, and they are given a slap on the wrist, a drivers license, and amnesty.
These Amerasian children were born of American parents. Most of them live in abject poverty and daily scorn because they are not fully
from either world. Many are sold as babies and into prostitution or worse for less than most of us spend on video rentals every year. So the
question is how can most of them afford the stringent process required for them to gain what should be theirs by right of birth?
There have been people through the years trying to fight this battle, from the Pearl S. Buck Foundation to local churches and missionaries
abroad. But one site I know of is a new site, run by an amazing young woman of Amerasian heritage who began this as a favor for friends
and family who were seeking to find their parents. She charges nothing for her time and service and has been instrumental in reuniting
several families and finding parents and children for those who were separated for various reasons. Jennifer Williams runs the site called
Amerasian Family Finder at amerasianfamilyfinder.org and is a dedicated individual who seeks nothing but reunification for these children
and parents.
Going through her site you will see a large cache of information on Amerasians and their plight. Many of these fathers were separated from
their children in various ways, whether the mother sold the child, or died, and some never knew they had a child. The stories are
heartbreaking for these forgotten Americans. I came upon the site after Jennifer reunited a friend of mine with his son, and the story behind
it is unbelievable.
There are still children from WWII in Japan, all over Korea from that war, Vietnam, and the Philippines from WWII to now as the islands
provided a strategic vantage point to most Asian and South Pacific countries. Many European nations have already accepted the
responsibility for their forgotten children, and assist them in becoming citizens and reuniting with their families. They feel it is their
responsibility since they sent their soldiers there in the first place.
If the American government excludes acts of prostitution as a reason to be admitted as an American, I doubt we would have many politicians
left at all if they applied this to themselves. Do they ask the millions of Hispanics who their daddy is before they allow them amnesty? If the
government is so concerned, perhaps they should have the American parents who fathered these children take responsibility. Many of these
children eventually find their parents here, only to be told they were a mistake from the past. I know of one mother who sold her Amerasian
son at birth, changed her name, and now lives here in America with a husband and 3 children. She refuses to speak with her son. His father
has looked for him for decades, and has finally found him. But his mother lied to immigration, and simply married a serviceman, and lives the
good life while she sold her own flesh and blood to get here. Just the kind of citizen we all want living next door. I hear slave traders can raise
the property value.
Another father in California who refuses to accept his own daughter even after she found him breaks my heart. But what can be done if the
government has no way for these children to find their way into our society? We can allow people into this nation who sold their own child,
even though slavery has been abolished and is illegal here, to be a citizenship via marriage. But we cannot allow a child with American blood
in? Again, the illegal activity wins citizenship over those who have no recourse, but have American blood. An illegal can give birth here and
the child becomes a citizen. But they claim that illegal activity is cause to reject citizenship. What is going on here? Why does this pendulum
swing only one way?
They should allow them to become citizens, and if these parents do not want these children, at least have them pay for the testing and
paperwork for these children to have a start here. Small child support payment in my opinion, but it is something. Otherwise, many of these
children will always be outcast. They will remain in poverty and prostitution, they will continue to be statistics for crime, and they will never
know their full heritage.
It is high time to change our immigration laws here. According to the AmerasianUSA group: "Introduced by Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren
(D-CA), the Amerasian Naturalization Act of 2005 [Bill Number: H.R. 2687] has so far generated bipartisan support of 20 members of
Congress." A little progress has been made, but more support is needed.
I would prefer to have my tax money go to accepting these Forgotten Children and giving them the head start that their birthright gives them,
than to have it used to pay the high cost of illegal immigration activity as we see it today. In the end I believe we would have better citizens,
those who will be putting back into the system rather than remain a drain on it.
I challenge anyone reading this to visit Amerasian Family Finder and see if you can walk away from there without weeping for those who still
cry for their parents. As adults, children, and those who will never have the opportunity to tell their story.
May God have mercy on these Forgotten Children, and on our nation if we continue to abandon our own.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pete Fisher is a concerned citizen in the Chicago area who has written several articles on the economy, educational system, politics, and
religion. He has been featured on several sites such as RenewAmerica.us, Blessedcause.com, Michnews.com, RichardMullenax.com, The
Rant.us, and has been circulated on various other sites worldwide. He is a 6 year veteran of the Armed Forces.
Pete can be contacted at PFisher2005@aol.com.
© Copyright 2007 by Pete Fisher
http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/fisher/070415
Pete Fisher
April 15, 2007
Immigration is a hot subject today in America. Most Americans are concerned about the illegal activity as well as any amnesty for people who
commit illegal acts by skirting the law. I am all for reform in our immigration laws which seem outdated and conflicting because they seem to
protect the wrong people and make it hard for others who want to get into this country the legal and proper way.
But there remains one issue that many people seem to know little or nothing about, and this concerns orphaned children fathered by
Americans overseas, most of them servicemen. In Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Korea, and Japan live hundreds of thousands of these
children who are denied citizenship. Many can prove their heritage and still cannot come to this country. The American government claims
that these children will not be allowed because they are products of prostitution and the government feels it should not take any
responsibility for them. These children are called Amerasians.
Many of these children were such products of what the government here believes are illegal acts of prostitution. But look at the facts here. In
many of those countries, prostitution is legal. So it cannot be construed as an illegal act, can it?
Prostitution is legal in Nevada. And you can bet your last dollar that if a child was born out of an act of prostitution there, not only would the
child be a full citizen without question, but the father would certainly be held responsible for support as well. But let someone sneak over
from Mexico in a train car, and even have a criminal past, and they are given a slap on the wrist, a drivers license, and amnesty.
These Amerasian children were born of American parents. Most of them live in abject poverty and daily scorn because they are not fully
from either world. Many are sold as babies and into prostitution or worse for less than most of us spend on video rentals every year. So the
question is how can most of them afford the stringent process required for them to gain what should be theirs by right of birth?
There have been people through the years trying to fight this battle, from the Pearl S. Buck Foundation to local churches and missionaries
abroad. But one site I know of is a new site, run by an amazing young woman of Amerasian heritage who began this as a favor for friends
and family who were seeking to find their parents. She charges nothing for her time and service and has been instrumental in reuniting
several families and finding parents and children for those who were separated for various reasons. Jennifer Williams runs the site called
Amerasian Family Finder at amerasianfamilyfinder.org and is a dedicated individual who seeks nothing but reunification for these children
and parents.
Going through her site you will see a large cache of information on Amerasians and their plight. Many of these fathers were separated from
their children in various ways, whether the mother sold the child, or died, and some never knew they had a child. The stories are
heartbreaking for these forgotten Americans. I came upon the site after Jennifer reunited a friend of mine with his son, and the story behind
it is unbelievable.
There are still children from WWII in Japan, all over Korea from that war, Vietnam, and the Philippines from WWII to now as the islands
provided a strategic vantage point to most Asian and South Pacific countries. Many European nations have already accepted the
responsibility for their forgotten children, and assist them in becoming citizens and reuniting with their families. They feel it is their
responsibility since they sent their soldiers there in the first place.
If the American government excludes acts of prostitution as a reason to be admitted as an American, I doubt we would have many politicians
left at all if they applied this to themselves. Do they ask the millions of Hispanics who their daddy is before they allow them amnesty? If the
government is so concerned, perhaps they should have the American parents who fathered these children take responsibility. Many of these
children eventually find their parents here, only to be told they were a mistake from the past. I know of one mother who sold her Amerasian
son at birth, changed her name, and now lives here in America with a husband and 3 children. She refuses to speak with her son. His father
has looked for him for decades, and has finally found him. But his mother lied to immigration, and simply married a serviceman, and lives the
good life while she sold her own flesh and blood to get here. Just the kind of citizen we all want living next door. I hear slave traders can raise
the property value.
Another father in California who refuses to accept his own daughter even after she found him breaks my heart. But what can be done if the
government has no way for these children to find their way into our society? We can allow people into this nation who sold their own child,
even though slavery has been abolished and is illegal here, to be a citizenship via marriage. But we cannot allow a child with American blood
in? Again, the illegal activity wins citizenship over those who have no recourse, but have American blood. An illegal can give birth here and
the child becomes a citizen. But they claim that illegal activity is cause to reject citizenship. What is going on here? Why does this pendulum
swing only one way?
They should allow them to become citizens, and if these parents do not want these children, at least have them pay for the testing and
paperwork for these children to have a start here. Small child support payment in my opinion, but it is something. Otherwise, many of these
children will always be outcast. They will remain in poverty and prostitution, they will continue to be statistics for crime, and they will never
know their full heritage.
It is high time to change our immigration laws here. According to the AmerasianUSA group: "Introduced by Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren
(D-CA), the Amerasian Naturalization Act of 2005 [Bill Number: H.R. 2687] has so far generated bipartisan support of 20 members of
Congress." A little progress has been made, but more support is needed.
I would prefer to have my tax money go to accepting these Forgotten Children and giving them the head start that their birthright gives them,
than to have it used to pay the high cost of illegal immigration activity as we see it today. In the end I believe we would have better citizens,
those who will be putting back into the system rather than remain a drain on it.
I challenge anyone reading this to visit Amerasian Family Finder and see if you can walk away from there without weeping for those who still
cry for their parents. As adults, children, and those who will never have the opportunity to tell their story.
May God have mercy on these Forgotten Children, and on our nation if we continue to abandon our own.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pete Fisher is a concerned citizen in the Chicago area who has written several articles on the economy, educational system, politics, and
religion. He has been featured on several sites such as RenewAmerica.us, Blessedcause.com, Michnews.com, RichardMullenax.com, The
Rant.us, and has been circulated on various other sites worldwide. He is a 6 year veteran of the Armed Forces.
Pete can be contacted at PFisher2005@aol.com.
© Copyright 2007 by Pete Fisher
http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/fisher/070415
| AFF - Amerasians in the News |
The Amerasian issue is going to be a long struggle. I just want to make some impartial comments after reading Peter's article:
1) Our Constitution leaves the power of determining citizenship to Congress. The Supreme Court, in many precedent cases, has
explicitedly and consistently ruled against granting citizenship to children of Americans born abroad out of "wedlocks." There are valid
policy concerns at play, including national security, immigration policies, etc. They are too complex to explain here. Plus, I am pointing out
how the Supreme Court and Congress have upheld and interpreted Amerasian-related laws thus far. As advocates, we must understand
and recognize these. Hopefully, we'll find a better way to go around or interpret the issue differently to convince the public and Congress
otherwise. The Amerasian issue is one tiny issue among so many important and urgents that the Congress got to deal with. It is at the
bottom of their priority list, if it ever makes it there. If you want to make any progress on citizenship recognition, the focus must be on
legislative advocacy.
2) Framing the Amerasian issue into one that the public can understand and sympathize with is an important and delicate task. The fact
that many Amerasians are born out of prostitution will not find much support among the general public. Instead, a better approach is a
humanitarian approach, avoiding anything to do with prostitution and focusing on hardship and discrimination, if any, that these children of
America suffers in another country.
3) We at AmerasianUSA group (and Boat People SOS) are proud to solicit bipartisan support for the issue so far. It has been very hard
work to convince Republican lawmakers to break their record. And we cannot go anywhere w/o Republican support on this issue. They
tend to support the issue more when it comes to Vietnamese Amerasians, who were born out of the Vietnam War and who were viewed as
children of enemies, who were subject to cruel and inhumane treatment in communist Vietnam. THey feel much less justification or an
urgent need to recognize automatic citizenship for Amerasians born elsewhere and everywhere. This is a valid and serious concern that
we must deal with. When Rep. Lofgren changed the law from just Vietnamese Amerasians to all Amerasians, the support dropped
significantly. As a seasoned lawmaker, she knew it went from a very slim chance to none. Such a law, although look like equal justice to all
Amerasians on the surface, actually diminished the urgency and the great injustice that the Vietnamese Amerasian issue was based on. It
took away the strength. And it added so much concerns on an open-door policy that opened the door to unlimited admission of
Amerasians aroudn the world, with unpredicted consequences on the social fabric of American society. So ironically, progress was stalled
when other Amerasian groups jumped on board and pressured Lofgren to widen the focus of her proposed legislation. A more effective
approach could have been focusing on getting a Vietnamese-focused legislation passed, then use that as momentum to push a bit more to
include all Amerasians. Now, it's much more difficult to get support, with both Democrats and Republicans.
4) Peter wrote "I would prefer to have my tax money go to accepting these Forgotten Children and giving them the head start that their
birthright gives them, than to have it used to pay the high cost of illegal immigration activity as we see it today."
This brought a crucial point: regarding Amerasian advocacy work, there is little support and organizing, even among the Ameresians. For
any realistic change to take place, more fund raising, more commitment, more organizing would be needed. Amerasians in America must
take on this issue with a clear focus and a long-term strategic plan if they ever want to make any change for their fellow Amerasians abroad.
My two cents,
Anonymous
1) Our Constitution leaves the power of determining citizenship to Congress. The Supreme Court, in many precedent cases, has
explicitedly and consistently ruled against granting citizenship to children of Americans born abroad out of "wedlocks." There are valid
policy concerns at play, including national security, immigration policies, etc. They are too complex to explain here. Plus, I am pointing out
how the Supreme Court and Congress have upheld and interpreted Amerasian-related laws thus far. As advocates, we must understand
and recognize these. Hopefully, we'll find a better way to go around or interpret the issue differently to convince the public and Congress
otherwise. The Amerasian issue is one tiny issue among so many important and urgents that the Congress got to deal with. It is at the
bottom of their priority list, if it ever makes it there. If you want to make any progress on citizenship recognition, the focus must be on
legislative advocacy.
2) Framing the Amerasian issue into one that the public can understand and sympathize with is an important and delicate task. The fact
that many Amerasians are born out of prostitution will not find much support among the general public. Instead, a better approach is a
humanitarian approach, avoiding anything to do with prostitution and focusing on hardship and discrimination, if any, that these children of
America suffers in another country.
3) We at AmerasianUSA group (and Boat People SOS) are proud to solicit bipartisan support for the issue so far. It has been very hard
work to convince Republican lawmakers to break their record. And we cannot go anywhere w/o Republican support on this issue. They
tend to support the issue more when it comes to Vietnamese Amerasians, who were born out of the Vietnam War and who were viewed as
children of enemies, who were subject to cruel and inhumane treatment in communist Vietnam. THey feel much less justification or an
urgent need to recognize automatic citizenship for Amerasians born elsewhere and everywhere. This is a valid and serious concern that
we must deal with. When Rep. Lofgren changed the law from just Vietnamese Amerasians to all Amerasians, the support dropped
significantly. As a seasoned lawmaker, she knew it went from a very slim chance to none. Such a law, although look like equal justice to all
Amerasians on the surface, actually diminished the urgency and the great injustice that the Vietnamese Amerasian issue was based on. It
took away the strength. And it added so much concerns on an open-door policy that opened the door to unlimited admission of
Amerasians aroudn the world, with unpredicted consequences on the social fabric of American society. So ironically, progress was stalled
when other Amerasian groups jumped on board and pressured Lofgren to widen the focus of her proposed legislation. A more effective
approach could have been focusing on getting a Vietnamese-focused legislation passed, then use that as momentum to push a bit more to
include all Amerasians. Now, it's much more difficult to get support, with both Democrats and Republicans.
4) Peter wrote "I would prefer to have my tax money go to accepting these Forgotten Children and giving them the head start that their
birthright gives them, than to have it used to pay the high cost of illegal immigration activity as we see it today."
This brought a crucial point: regarding Amerasian advocacy work, there is little support and organizing, even among the Ameresians. For
any realistic change to take place, more fund raising, more commitment, more organizing would be needed. Amerasians in America must
take on this issue with a clear focus and a long-term strategic plan if they ever want to make any change for their fellow Amerasians abroad.
My two cents,
Anonymous
| Since this article appeared, Gary has located his father and his half sister. Unfortunately, his father believes they would be better off not knowing each other and will not communicate with Gary anymore. Since this past year, Gary's sister has also stopped communicating with him. He currently resides in Angeles City with his wife and children |
| Click on the article to enlarge |