Caution and care must be used before applauding the scary atmosphere created by President-elect Donald Trump’s electoral promise of mass deportation of undocumented immigrants.

First, the lack of reforms on the 59-year-old Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 by the members of Congress, has spawned problems on immigration – ranging from overstayed visas and the massive flow of immigrants coming in from the borders. Thus, if there is anyone needing to do their jobs to create a sound immigration policy, it’s the well-paid US legislators.

Mass deportations are costly for government, detrimental to the economy, and will tear families apart.   

On retirement, Dr. Vanette Colmenares pens: In my senior years, I find true wealth in the serenity of farm life, the legacy of my ancestors, and the love of family and friends. Life's greatest treasures are often intangible, resonating deeply within our hearts and souls.

I come from a lineage of obscure immigrants. My great grandfather Raymundo Hinaut was a labor import from the Philippines in the late 1920s-1930s. He worked as a farm worker, called sacada, in the asparagus plantations of Hawaii and California. He died in a dysentery epidemic when my maternal grandmother was two years old.

I am a fourth-generation immigrant of my family, and I am not your stereotypical Filipino nurse. I am a writer.  But like all of us here, I rest on the shoulders of my immigrant ancestors.

Immigrants form the social fabric of America and have done so right from the beginning of this American experiment about 247 years ago.  With apologies to the natives of America, the peoples of the First Nations who have been wiped out by genocide and concentrated in reservation parks, we immigrants have contributed to empowering the US.  

Jose Rizal, the 1998 film by Marilou Diaz Abaya, is remastered and shown internationally. It ignites the same inspiration and brilliance today as it did 26 years ago. Dr. Romulo Aromin Jr writes a critique.

I appreciate my adopted homeland, where dreams don’t just come in dollars and cents, but in the currency of knowledge, experience and a dash of audacity. It is within the realms of such, that one comes to realize the purpose of life, and it lies in recognizing one’s unique talents and the meaning is to share it.

Community leader and real estate businessman Edwin Jose noted that the community had embarked on an intelligent and relevant conversation on immigration and journalism with the presentation the doctoral research that aimed to bridge the socio-political gap in understanding immigration issues.

It was an event that I looked forward to watch: Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa’s commencement address to the graduates of Harvard on May 23, 2024. Her 20-minute speech was, to me, the most emboldening message ever delivered by an inspirational speaker to new entrants to the labor force.

Nothing is more painful than burying your own child. I am scribbling my tears away. On Mother’s Day, my heart bleeds again and reawakens the pain of losing my daughter in my arms. Nov. 17, 2019…it’s almost five years, nak, we fought hard the evil cancer until the end. And my pain lingers on this side of life.

As it is Earth Day, I personally make an appeal to stop all wars to world leaders, and instead focus on regenerating Mother Earth. Instead of funding for bullets and bombs, really, we need to focus our attention together on Earth regeneration and healing traumas (it takes a lifetime) instead of escalating wars.

The highest level of leadership is about personhood, which to me, means integrity. Leaders who reach the pinnacle of respect have lived a life of integrity – meaning walking the talk. This is essentially leading by example and not by rhetoric.

Dirampaten writes: Palestine has suffered from the yoke of occupation, subjugation, and injustice for too long now. Palestinians have been denied the basic human rights of self-determination, freedom, and dignity because of the Israeli state’s imposition of apartheid and colonialism.

We must remember that every human life is valuable and deserves peace and safety.

This conflict has been horrific, devastating, and tragic for both Palestinians and Jews. The significant civilian casualties call for an urgent end to hostilities and a sustainable solution to achieve peace.

I write the torment I felt watching this movie 1521.

In 1986, Marcos and his family fled the country, upon the intercession of President Reagan, and lived luxuriously in exile in Hawaii. Meanwhile, the Philippines regained its political freedom – exemplified by the vigorous press freedom (the freest again in Asia) and the constitutional representation of invisible sectors in Congress through the party list system.

These were the immediate prize of freedom. Otherwise, everything else was chaotic in the Philippines – political contests, corruption, economic crises, and poverty. The educational system remained archaic, lacking in history and human rights education that could have harnessed the gains of the EDSA uprising.

I lost my only child to colon cancer three years ago. I grieve to this day, and I realize that a mother never stops grieving over the loss of her child. Leani Alnica’s memory sustains me. Prayers and writing strengthen me as well.

Writing makes for clear thinking and a way to see yourself from within, in the midst of grief.

As producer and host of Conversations with MM, I am humbled by the well wishes and feedback that boost me to continue with this amazing media work. In the time of digital manipulations and fake news, I have reaffirmed my commitment to be the platform of #narrativesoftruth in the local and global community.

Martin Luther King Jr. was America’s gift to humanity. leadership. In the parlance of Maxwell, he has reached the pinnacle of leadership, the epitome of non-violent, visionary, and servant leadership.

It took a decisive woman to push for a single document that enshrined the universality of human rights: Eleanor Roosevelt. She thrived in a male-dominated HR drafting committee with the work ethic of active listening, rigorous self-study on cultures, and an astute skill of facilitation and focus that made her larger-than-life as a leader. Indeed, the UN Declaration of Human Rights is Roosevelt’s lasting legacy.

I was excited to see the reopening of The Lion King because it is one of Broadway's finest and multi-awarded shows. I was sad too - because Nikki would have been so happy to watch it with me! We never got to watch it because the ticket was prohibitive, like Hamilton and Wicked.

These days, my heart cradles the twin emotions of grief and glee in remembrance of Nikki.

He spoke gently during his sermon, so beautifully, that I listened to him, instead of playing on the pew. What I clearly recalled was the confusion I had in my mind when he said which was something to this effect: So I am telling you to try to catch our heart. Learn to be able to catch your heart. 

That message stuck in my mind all throughout my growing years. What does he mean by catching my heart? It is inside my chest. Why will I catch it?