Several lawmakers in Washington, D.C. -- including Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawaii) and Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) -- hope to fast-track the visa process for children of Filipino World War II veterans.
It's all a part of the Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act that was reintroduced in Congress, which would provide a "permanent solution" by making changes to the Immigration and Nationality Act to exclude the sons and daughters of naturalized Filipino World War II veterans from global immigration limits.
"Filipino service members fought side by side with our country in World War II with the promise to honor their sacrifice with citizenship," Hirono wrote in a May 19 post on her Facebook page. "The Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act rights a historic wrong by reuniting them with their families once and for all."
Hirono introduced the Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act, which received bipartisan support. She introduced it during the 113th, 114th, 115th and 116th Congresses, according to her U.S. Senate website.
More than 260,000 Filipino soldiers fought in World War II. Former President George H.W. Bush granted U.S. citizenship to about 26,000 Filipino nationals in 1990, but that didn't include the veterans' children.