Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 42 VTMBH Article: Article Order 2 VTMBH Article: Title Strict new guidelines affect undocumented Filipinos VTMBH Article: Author Emelyn Tapaoan VTMBH Article: Publication Filipino Express VTMBH Article: Original Language English VTMBH Article: Translator VTMBH Article: Section news VTMBH Article: Blurb Since the passage of the USA Patriot Act, banks and other financial institutions have become more strict about who can send money overseas. For Filipinos, both undocumented and legal residents, anxieties about both the INS and their inability to send money home are rising rapidly. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body For many years, Felix Reyes, 51, consistently sent money to his family in the Philippines, and he never encountered any problem with his identification. But last week, the 51-year-old Filipino immigrant worker had a different experience as he approached a bank teller to remit $600 to his wife in the Philippines. May I have your I.D. please? the bank teller replied in a pinched voice. After presenting his identification card, the bank teller also asked about his Social Security Number (SSN)and other federal identifications. I was pissed off. I'm a frequent bank remitter, yet they kept asking for my identification. One I.D. is no longer enough. I felt my privacy has already been encroached with these regulations, Reyes said. Since the passage of the USA Patriot Act in October 2001, the scene is already a familiar routine across the United States. Before, one I.D. is enough, but now they ask more about documentation, said Imelda Juan, a New York-based nurse. If you had a problem with any of that, you were advised to keep it to yourself, or else you are told of what you say. Or if anyone dared to question government measures that paid little heed to the civil liberties of immigrants, you might receive a quick rebuke like this: your complaint only aids the terrorist, quipped Myrna Santos, a teacher in the Philippines who is now a nanny in New York. Some are already afraid to ask questions, housekeeper Mae Coloma explained. They might get you, and you cant say anything. After September 11th , the U.S. government has imposed strict controls on the banks and companies that handle all immigrant payment remittances. Under the U.S. Patriotic Act, we are required to verify the identities of remitters. But now, there are stricter guidelines issued by the Federal Reserve Bank, said Efren Dikitanan, compliance officer of Philippine National Bank (PNB) New York. In the interim, we followed the New York Customer Policy wherein we check remitters against the specifically designated blacklisted persons provided by the Foreign Assets Control, Dikitnanan pointed out. He added, however, that PNB is now strictly required to verify the identity of clients and other documenting record of information such as the name, address, SSN and other identifying information. Dikitanan said the new system is advantageous to remittance centers because "it helps in preventing money laundering and terrorism. Previous media reports indicated that three days before the September 11th attacks, two terrorists allegedly transferred about $15,000 to one recipient in the United Arab Emirates, dividing the cash into four transactions and using different Western Union outlets. Since then, the state banking department began sharing money transfer information last March 2001 with the local office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). All money transmitters are checked against lists of suspected terrorists. Rudy Soriano, compliance officer of Metropolitan Savings Bank (Metrobank), also said that they are required to comply with the enhanced due diligence program of the USA Patriot Act. This means that we have to be diligent in dealing with customers enjoining them to submit ID, SSN, birth date verified by official documents, and as much appropriate valid information from each customer, Soriano said. But we have to ensure customer privacy required under the Privacy of Consumer Financial Information. For example, if we get information , we dont divulge it to a third party, the compliance officer said. Small companies, such as the Johnny Air Cargo are also following the strict new controls required by the U.S. government on money remittances. Ginalyn Lopez, remittance division staff of Johnny Air Cargo in Queens said we require Filipino customers drivers I.D., company I.D., SSN, and other identification if they send $1,000 dollars and above to the Philippines. For our records, we photocopy such documents, added Jasper Pechara of the package section of the Johnny Air. But as far as Lopez and Pechara's experience in the remittance sector, no Filipino customer has ever been apprehended and charged with money laundering or any act of illegal remittance. We have obedient and law-abiding Filipino customers, Lopez said. But a close scrutiny of the USA Patriot Act indicates that law enforcement officials can force companies to hand over records of who remitted such amount to other countries, and what addresses theyre sending to without the high bar of probable cause required for searches under the Fourth Amendment. Further, company staff and officials, must not tell anyone such records have been requestednot even the patron being investigated. If they refuse to fork over the records, they can go to jail. The post Sept. 11 controls on cash remittances is considered a major problem for many immigrants. It is a common knowledge that the core market for money transfers are immigrants who do not have drivers licenses or other government-issued IDs. As of now, immigrants, be they legal or undocumented, are afraid of exposing themselves to the authorities, said Ronnie de la Cruz, a permanent resident. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-11-24 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 106 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Strict new guidelines affect undocumented Filipinos 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. Since the passage of the USA Patriot Act, banks and other financial institutions have become more st Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-11-24