Low-income elderly Fil-Ams still savor American Dream
Estrellita Nable-Miranda, 64, and her husband Jerry, 63 were professionals in the Philippines, as they both worked as bank tellers (Estrellita even worked for the government before this job). However, since moving to this US in 2011, they consider themselves a “a low-income family here.”
Right before migrating here, Jerry retired while Estrellita switched from being a banker to a businesswomen “selling surgical stainless cookware, Tupperware, Avon products, even insurance plans, and buying and selling apparels.”
Unfortunately, her business did not do well, but the couple stayed resilient. Their son eventually petitioned them after he married and was petitioned by a Filipino American and US navy service member. Jerry moved to San Diego in 2011 and Estrellita moved in 2012, which is not uncommon for Filipinos as San Diego is “the fourth city with the most Filipino immigrants in the United States.”
Estrellita said she admired the environment in the US but observed that people were busier here, including herself, as she had 2 jobs. This was new to her because in the Philippines, older people are always retired versus here where the author said “one can work and is strong enough to do some jobs, [so] age does not matter.” At the end of the day, Esterllita is glad she is with her husband, who works as a houseman at Embassy Suites, and her children—even their other daughter Raquel is coming to the US because she too is marrying a US citizen, and their youngest child is being petitioned.
While they live in a low income household and do not qualify for a loan, the couple did qualify for medicaid and remained optimistic because they are together and their son supports them. Estrellita admitted that, “among the reasons why we want to be American citizens are the medical and health benefits which we could not afford in the Philippines.” Estrellita suffers from hypertension, diabetes, and Alpha Thalassemia anemia, but as a qualified immigrant "gets benefits like free hospitalization, check-ups, laboratory tests, and medicines."
As Estrellita awaits her US citizenship (Jerry was naturalized last February), she is enjoying her time in the US and awaiting the day she can go back “to the spa one day in the Philippines.”
Opinon: While most Filipinos who move here are younger than Estrellita and her husband Jerry, their experience here in the US does reflect that of other Filipino immigrants— including my family. In the Philippines, my mom was the head of marketing for a successful corporation but now is a full time mom, because in the Philippines she had maids and drivers to help her take care of her children, including myself, while she worked full time. Even my mom talks about wanting to go home and “go to the spa,” because it is way cheaper there as compared to here. Even her best friend moved here a couple years back, and while she has an average paying job now, she used to work for the Philippine Senate before leaving. But both my mom and her best friend agree that they are busier here, despite their better paying jobs in the Philippines. To me, this defies the myth that most Filipino immigrants are poor. Estrellita and Jerry had better jobs in the Philippines, but decided to move here later in their lives because of health care but most importantly, to be with their children. It is inspiring how optimistic they remain, despite living in a low income household. My father was also the one who decided that it was time for us to move here, because despite him and my mom's jobs in the Philippines, he wanted us to have the opportunity to enjoy the environment, education, and health benefits here.
Also parallel to this story is the story of my US born, Philippines raised cousin— who is moving to the US this year in order to petition her mom and her younger sister. While their family is financially stable in the Philippines, they want to move here because of the US’ environment (which Esterlitta also enjoyed). It is also common for Filipinos, like 2 of Jerry and Esterllita’s children, to engage in exogamous marriages and gain the citizenship of their non-filipino partner (my father’s sister did this). Luckily, several Filipinos are still able to maintain and stay connected to their culture.
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