Diversity immigrant visa program
Eight people died and more than a dozen were hurt after a native of Uzbekistan plowed his rented truck through bicyclists and pedestrians in downtown Manhattan in New York's deadliest terror attack since September 11, 2001. The suspect, who was self-radicalized after watching ISIS videos, has been charged with federal terrorism offenses and if Trump has his way, may be sentenced to die.
The suspect is not a US citizen but an immigrant who came to the US legally in 2010 under the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV program). What is DV all about and are Filipinos eligible for this?
The Immigration Act of 1990 signed by President George Bush is the legislative foundation for the DV. It seeks to admit immigrant visa applicants from countries with low migration rates to the US. The process is done through a lottery system administered by the US State Department and each year, it gives out 50,000 immigrant visas. Countries eligible under this program are listed and updated every year but mostly these are countries that sent under 50,000 immigrants to the US in the last five years. This criteria is why the Philippines, has never been listed under this program. But there have been reports some were scammed into believing that they could obtain an immigrant visa through DV. Don't be fooled.
While Filipinos do not directly benefit under DV, if one is married to someone who obtains an immigrant visa under DV, then he/she can also derive that benefit. So that could be one of the possible alternatives to immigration to the US.
The DV has its share of criticisms ranging from being inherently unfair to other preference categories, the lack of stringent screening of applicants, and the quality of immigrants entering under this program who tend to be of low skills and education. Security concerns dominate as well, given the latest attack was carried out by a DV beneficiary. Trump has actively called on Congress to phase out this program. Let's see if a review of the DV will be included in the comprehensive immigration bill that has long been called for by both political parties.
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Another concern we should reflect on in this latest terror attack is the relative ease on how a terrorist can inflict maximum damage and impact using the least amount of expense and preparation. In this case, all he had to do was to rent a truck at less than $50 then target innocent civilians. We should learn from this because in the Philippines and even in Cebu, we see a lot of soft and easy targets such as churches, schools, malls, public and private buildings, major streets and roads, mass transportation, etc. More often, the best spots for terrorist attack are those we least expect. With the latest weapon of choice using a vehicle's mobility, speed, and disguise, even security experts admit that these kinds of attacks are not highly preventable. Fear should not be given a chance to control and paralyze us, yet we should also be more vigilant and proactive in ensuring that we, our family and our neighborhood are safe. I reiterate what I wrote here previously; let us adopt the slogan: "When you see something, say something."
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