In the wake of Typhoon Haiyan, because of the unfolding economic, social and environmental disaster, 300,000 undocumented Filipinos in the US would have been eligible for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to allow them to stay and support their families back home. A country that experiences armed conflict, environmental disaster, or an epidemic can qualify for TPS.
Damayan along with other Filipino organizations launched the Relief 2 Recovery Campaign to advocate for TPS for undocumented Filipinos in the US because of Typhoon Haiyan. The campaign gathered more than 3,000 signatures, held nationally coordinated events, and received massive support. TPS was denied, but the coalition was one of the largest and broadest coalitions in recent Filipino American history.
“So the US government struck down TPS, but it's part of a long history of systemic racism. It's connected to the Filipino veterans. In the 1940s, the Filipinos in the Philippines fought side by side with American soldiers, because we were a colony of the US before the Japanese came. They were urging Filipinos in the Philippines to fight: “if you fight beside the US soldiers, you will be granted …” I'm sure they were promising US citizenship. “If you fight World War II for us, then you can come to the US.” But the Philippines, out of 1 of 66 or 67 countries that fought for the US, was the only country whose veterans were not given veteran benefits. Why single out the Filipinos?”