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WASHINGTON, May 27, 2005 -- Lawmaker Says Organization Should Change Rules to Allow Non-Citizens
Congressman Charles Rangel today called on the American Gold Star Mothers, a Washington-based organization, to change its rules to allow entry to a Philippine woman whose son was killed in combat in Afghanistan.
"The Gold Star Mothers needs to change its rules," Cong. Rangel said. "I can't believe that the life of a son of a non-citizen killed in action is any less important than anyone else's."
A 77-year-old organization of mothers who have lost children in combat, the American Gold Star Mothers has denied entry to Ms. Ligaya Lagman. Her son, Army Staff Sgt. Anthony Lagman, was killed in a firefight in Afghanistan on March 18, 2004. He was 27. The organization has defended its action, citing its charter that limits entry to American citizens. Ms. Lagman, who was born in the Phillipines, has been a legal resident of the U.S. for 30 years. Sgt. Lagman was a citizen born in the U.S.
Cong. Rangel has written to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales requesting an investigation of the matter, which involves a federally chartered organization that receives federal funds. The American Gold Star Mothers was founded in 1929 and is composed of mothers who lost a son or daughter in American wars as far back as WWI. The organization has 150 chapters and has as its stated purpose "perpetuating the ideals of Americanism for which their children had so gallantly fought and died."
In Cong. Rangel's Congressional district, Marine Sgt. Riayan Tejeda, a Dominican resident of Washington Heights who was killed in action in Iraq in 2003, remains the only military fatality of the war in Iraq. However, thousands of non-citizens are serving and several from New York City alone have died.
Born in the Dominican Republic, Sgt. Tejeda was granted posthumous citizenship. Through the Congressman's efforts, the U.S. post office in Washington Heights has been named in his honor.
"In this time of war, the U.S. military relies on the service of thousands of young men and women from immigrant families, and many have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to this country. Like the majority of volunteers who are from urban and rural areas with high unemployment, they view the military not only as a way to serve their country, but as an avenue for economic improvement and higher education," Cong. Rangel said.
"It is immoral that after these men and women have sacrificed for our country, we should reject their families as if their pain and suffering are of no account. Using the cover of a set of rules, the action of American Gold Star Mothers is nothing less than discrimination of the worse kind," Cong. Rangel said.
"This act of rejection by Gold Star Mothers is embarrassing to me. I hope the President and other leaders will join with the entire community in demanding that the organization be called to account," Cong. Rangel said.
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