Dear Atty. Gurfinkel: I am out of status, but in 2006, my employer sponsored me for a green card through labor certification or PERM. The Department of Labor certified my application, and the USCIS approved my employer’s I-140 petition. However, my attorney keeps telling me I still need to “wait” for some kind of change…
I. AB60: Driver’s License. Undocumented Immigrants are now eligible to apply for a Driver’s License in California. On January 1, 2015, a new law called AB60 became effective in the State of California which allows undocumented immigrants – those people who are” unable to submit satisfactory proof of legal presence in the United States” –…
The internationally known Filipina singing group Hi-Pertensions will be headlining a fundraising concert entitled, Thank You for the Music, on Saturday, Feb. 21 at Harbor Light, 4760 Thornton Ave., Fremont, CA. The concert will benefit Mount of Divine Mercy, located at 4255 Sheridan Road, Sunol, CA. Hi-Pertensions is composed of Linda Magno, Norma Ledesma and…
Police shot and killed a man after he allegedly robbed a bank in Corona, Calif. and led officers in a car chase that ended in Chino on Feb. 4. Few details were released about the shooting, which happened on Pine Avenue, between Fern and Euclid avenues in Chino. The alleged bank robber, who remained unidentified,…
THEY consist of running bits of metals through the flesh of men—large, small, pointed, square, round and splintered bits that tear and kill. It is not the metal in its natural state, but the metal fashioned by the intelligence of man — a being who’s great, builds space ships and goes to the moon. For…
Senate Democrats put Congress on hold for a second time Wednesday, Feb. 4, blocking a Republican bill that would finance the Department of Homeland Security along with rollbacks of President Barack Obama’s executive immigration policies. The vote set up an urgent confrontation over the department, which will see its funding run out by the end…
With the recent decline in gas prices, a review by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that construction of the Keystone XL pipeline could cause increased development of Canadian oil sands, which would result in a considerable rise in greenhouse gases. “Until ongoing efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production…
A SURPRISING trend among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) in the professional landscape is developing. Despite abating union memberships nationally, a close look by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) revealed a rise in union membership among AAPIs, up from 9.4 percent in 2013 to 10.4 percent last year—an increase of roughly…
The Nevada Supreme Court heard a nearly 10-year-old state lawsuit on Tuesday, Feb. 3, filed by the Philippine island province of Marinduque for contamination it endured from a 1996 mining waste disaster involving Barrick Gold Corporation. Attorney James McCarthy, who represented Marinduque, told the justices that Philippine courts ruled Barrick couldn’t be sued in the…
Out of the millions of ladies, one who hails from Mindanao’s war-torn provinces—North Cotabato, gained the right to have represented the Philippines at the 63rd Miss Universe Pageant. Among the 88 candidates, the country’s beautiful bet—27-year old Mary Jean “MJ” Lastimosa, is an epitome of an independent modern-day Filipina. Through the support of three scholarships,…
“I don’t want to be an ‘anti,’ against anybody. I simply want to be the builder of a great affirmation: the affirmation of God, who loves us and who wants to save us.” The words of Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was killed in 1980 by the military regime in El Salvador, still echo in the…
“WHAT was the direct line of command between the President and the operators? It was not clear whether he just approved the operation at the very start and then let it have its own life or he approved the particular operation. If so, whose advice is he taking and what precautions were taken to protect…
IN light of the current measles outbreak in the United States, Americans are debating: Should children in the nation be required to be vaccinated? What should prevail – parental choice or public health and welfare? While in the Philippines, measles (or “tigdas” as we call it back home) continues to be a problem among the…
MOST Americans are unaware that modern day slavery exists in the form of human trafficking. To many, the phrase “human trafficking” elicits connotations of a tragedy present only in far flung, third world countries. And while trafficking of men, women and children truly is an international evil of epidemic proportions, it hits much closer to…
THE Obama administration has ordered immigration officials to find out if undocumented immigrants they encounter are eligible for President Barack Obama’s recent plans to spare them from deportation. Agents at Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have been instructed “to immediately begin identifying persons in their custody, as well as newly encountered…
The national debate over vaccinations has spilled over into the 2016 race for the White House. Potential Republican candidates New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, brought up an ongoing nationwide debate over whether parents should have a say in vaccinating their kids. Following the recent measles outbreak in California, which rapidly spread from…
“About a week after arriving in the Philippines, I happened to wake up one day at 7 o’clock in the morning. My father got angry and he scolded me. As a newcomer in the country, he said, I had to work harder than the people here. “You cannot wake up at 7 o’clock. You must…
The budget proposal unveiled by President Barack Obama to Congress on Monday earmarks more than $1 billion for California transportation and construction projects, including $330 million that Los Angeles city officials called crucial to extending an essential transportation line. Overall, Obama would spend more than $800 million on transit throughout the state: including $165 million…
New case prompts daycare center closure A baby is one of the latest victims of the California measles outbreak, prompting the closure of a child-care center on the Santa Monica High School campus which regularly cares for 24 infants and toddlers. The infant is younger than 12 months and therefore hasn’t been immunized for the…
NO-BURN ALERT: MANDATORY WOODBURNING BAN IN EFFECT TOMORROW FOR RESIDENTS OF THE SOUTH COAST AIR BASIN All Indoor and Outdoor Residential Wood Burning Prohibited Due to High Air Pollution Predicted for Tomorrow, Wednesday, February 4, 2015. The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) has issued a residential no-burn alert effective Wednesday, February 4, 2015, for all those living in…
President Barack Obama sent Congress a record $4 trillion budget on Monday, Feb. 2, pushing past tight federal spending caps. As outlined in his State of the Union address in January, the new budget plan would boost taxes on wealthy Americans and corporations and provide relief to the middle-class. Obama’s budget, which will likely set…
New case prompts daycare center closure A baby is one of the latest victims of the California measles outbreak, prompting the closure of a child-care center on the Santa Monica High School campus which regularly cares for 24 infants and toddlers. The infant is younger than 12 months and therefore hasn’t been immunized for the…
French authorities filed preliminary terrorism charges last week against a wanted Frenchman extradited from Bulgaria, who admitted his connection to the gunmen behind the terrorist massacres in Paris. Fritz-Joly Joachin, 29, was arrested Jan. 1 on an unrelated warrant while trying to cross from Bulgaria into Turkey. Police say that he was an associate of…
A California lawmaker introduced legislation Thursday, Jan. 29, that would raise the legal minimum smoking age in the state from 18 to 21. “Tobacco companies know that people are more likely to become addicted to smoking if they start at a young age,” state Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina) said in a statement. “We can…
IF I could look into a soldier’s heart and know everyone’s story, I’d ask: why are they fighting? Who will tell them (if the reasons exist)? Who is going to kill them, or who they’re going to kill? To understand a soldier’s life is to find out what he’s looking for. When he kills another…
SHE exuded passion and love for her ministry to undocumented migrants as she spoke powerfully to the participants of the Biennial Consultation of the Association of Theological Field Education last week in Santa Fe, New Mexico. “Jesus is a migrant too,” she proclaimed, “and so we need to treat migrants, those who illegally cross the…
IS peace between the government and the Muslim extremist group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) attainable? In a pessimist’s point of view, there might not be any remedy to the insurgency in Mindanao, which has spanned four decades long, especially now that the notorious group is behind the bloody slaughter of 44 Philippine National Police-Special Action…
#NasaanAngPangulo has been a trending topic among Filipinos all over the world on social media, asking where Philippine President Benigno Aquino was, and why he was not at Villamor Airbase last Thursday, Jan. 29 to welcome and honor the remains of the 44 Special Action Force commandos brutally killed in a botched mission against terrorists…
Single client seeks BK relief CLIENT is 48 years old, single and works as a licensed vocational nurse. She used to gross $75K a year with two jobs but recently lost the 2nd job, which used to pay her $24K a year. She owes $80K of credit card debt, which requires a minimum of $2,400…
* * * Sy Al-os Accountancy Corporation provides accounting and tax services to individuals, corporations, LLCs and business entities. The Firm has a niche in defending taxpayers audited by the IRS and other governmental agencies. The firm celebrates its 38th anniversary in 2015. * * * Victor Santos Sy graduated Cum Laude from UE…
