Wilner & O'Reilly to join Manny Pacquiao, SIPA and City of Los Angeles in beautification of Historic Filipinotown

It is with a great deal of pride and respect that Wilner & O’Reilly attorneys and staff will participate and encourage others to participate in this year’s beautification of Historic Filipinotown, sponsored by the Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA) and the City of Los Angeles. The event will take place this Saturday on March 7, 2009 beginning at the corner of Temple and Robinson Streets near the headquarters of SIPA and the Temple Community Hospital and features many local politicians as well as a featured guest and boxing legend Manny Pacquiao.

The connections between Los Angeles (sister city to Makati) and the Philippines are strong. This is attested to by the strong support of SIPA received by Los Angeles political figures including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa L.A. City Council members Eric Garcetti, Jose Huizar, L.A. County Boardmember Gloria Molina and County Assessor Rick Auerbach. Community support is essential not only to support the good works of organizations like SIPA but to lend credence to future planned projects such as a monument to Jose Rizal in a Los Angeles District Park.

The area called Filipinotown became a hub for Filipino immigration and commerce during the 1940’s and was officially recognized for its historic role for the Philippine Community in 2002 by President of the L.A. City Counsel Eric Garcetti. We at Wilner & O’Reilly think it is important to recognize and honor past generations of immigrants and the lively communities that have flourished as a result of their efforts.

In these tough economic times it is important to remember the historic struggle of immigrant communities, as well as their inherent strength and solidarity. Even famous and successful immigrants such as Manny Pacquiao have not forgotten their roots or the immigrants who laid the groundwork for our present generation of immigrants who continue to come to the United States and live the American Dream. At Wilner & O’Reilly we strive to honor this tradition with our commitment to our clients from the Philippines and continuing to support the Filipino community, not only at the local level but at the national level as with the recent inclusion of payments from the Federal Government to Filipino veterans of World War II.

We also track important developments in law and policy that may benefit our clients from the Philippines such as the recently announced policy on honoring residence abroad for family members of U.S. Service members as presence in the United States.

In fact the first child naturalized under this policy who was born and raised in Japan to an officer in the U.S. Navy who is originally from the Philippines.

Robert J. DuPont is an attorney with the law firm of Wilner & O'Reilly. Mr. DuPont Graduated from Yale University and USC Law School and is admitted to the California Supreme Court, and Federal District Courts in the Central and Northern Districts of California as well as the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. DuPont is a regular speaker with ILW, and past chairman of the Immigration Law Committee with the Beverly Hills Bar Association. Mr. DuPont has risen to prominence with a 10 year practice in the field of immigration law as well as influencing Department of State and USCIS practices and policies through Federal District Court litigation including a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision on V-Visas eliminating age-out of minor V-visa recipients

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