Filipino-American leaders applaud Justice Department for helping undocumented immigrants after Septe
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Filipino-American leaders applaud Justice Department for helping undocumented immigrants after Septe
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This week, Filipino-American leaders applauded the Justice Department's decision not to report to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) undocumented immigrants who lost their jobs or relatives to the terrorist attack on September 11 and now need private and federal assistance.
Realtor Carmen "Chit" Bengzon, president of Jersey Toastmasters, said the decision of the Justice Department not to report illegal aliens to the INS was the right move to encourage them to come out and seek help.
They [undocumented immigrants] have lost their jobs or, worse, lost relatives on whom they depended for their daily needs, Ms. Bengzon said. They don't need the fear of deportation hanging over their heads. They have suffered more than enough and should get the help they need.
Manny Quisumbing, managing editor of the Filipino-Asian Bulletin and a member of Couples for Christ, called the Justice Departments move the most Christian thing to do for undocumented immigrants personally affected by the September 11th terrorist attack.
Help should be extended to all terrorist victims, especially undocumented aliens who may not have many options available to them, he said.
Some undocumented Filipino-Americans worked under the table at various restaurants and shops around the World Trade Center and at Windows on the World.
The Justice Departments announcement that undocumented aliens would not be deported or reported to the INS will hopefully encourage them to come out and seek assistance from private and government agencies.
Charles Miller, a public affairs specialist at the Department of Justice, said that the decision was really left to the department and we have had to work that through once the regulations of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund were made clear. These regulations established both how the assistance was to be disbursed and how much people would be awarded.
Miller said that undocumented immigrants should feel safe going to any one of the Fund's seven claims assistance centers in the New York metro area, including one at 101 Hudson St. in Jersey City.
The information we get is not going to be sent to the INS, Miller said. They're safe in that respect. The whole point of this program is to help people, not to make problems for them.
Realtor Carmen "Chit" Bengzon, president of Jersey Toastmasters, said the decision of the Justice Department not to report illegal aliens to the INS was the right move to encourage them to come out and seek help.
They [undocumented immigrants] have lost their jobs or, worse, lost relatives on whom they depended for their daily needs, Ms. Bengzon said. They don't need the fear of deportation hanging over their heads. They have suffered more than enough and should get the help they need.
Manny Quisumbing, managing editor of the Filipino-Asian Bulletin and a member of Couples for Christ, called the Justice Departments move the most Christian thing to do for undocumented immigrants personally affected by the September 11th terrorist attack.
Help should be extended to all terrorist victims, especially undocumented aliens who may not have many options available to them, he said.
Some undocumented Filipino-Americans worked under the table at various restaurants and shops around the World Trade Center and at Windows on the World.
The Justice Departments announcement that undocumented aliens would not be deported or reported to the INS will hopefully encourage them to come out and seek assistance from private and government agencies.
Charles Miller, a public affairs specialist at the Department of Justice, said that the decision was really left to the department and we have had to work that through once the regulations of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund were made clear. These regulations established both how the assistance was to be disbursed and how much people would be awarded.
Miller said that undocumented immigrants should feel safe going to any one of the Fund's seven claims assistance centers in the New York metro area, including one at 101 Hudson St. in Jersey City.
The information we get is not going to be sent to the INS, Miller said. They're safe in that respect. The whole point of this program is to help people, not to make problems for them.
Vtmbh article date
2002-04-03
Vtmbh article edition
16
Vtmbh article hit count
129
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1
Vtmbh article original language
English
Vtmbh article publication
Filipino-Asian Bulletin
Vtmbh article section
briefs
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Vtmbh article title
Filipino-American leaders applaud Justice Department for helping undocumented immigrants after September 11th
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born-digital
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article
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2002-04-03
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“Filipino-American leaders applaud Justice Department for helping undocumented immigrants after Septe,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed October 1, 2026, https://911.dev.chnm.gmu.edu/items/1588/.