Pangilinan wants foreigners violating immigration laws deported at once

Government authorities should arrest foreigners, including Chinese, who entered the country through illegal means, Senator Francis Pangilinan said Saturday.

In a statement, he said that after legal deportation proceedings, undesirable aliens should be immediately deported to their country of origin.

"Since it has been established by testimonial evidence that tens of thousands of these Chinese nationals entered the country through illegal means then they should immediately be arrested and deported," he pointed out.

He said, "Illegal aliens take away jobs for Filipinos, rob the government of taxes, and possibly put our national security at risk."

He pointed out that Commonwealth Act 613, as amended by Republic Act 503, stipulates the provisions on deportation processes.

Further, he said, all foreign nationals proven to have committed illegal acts such as violations of our laws may be blacklisted, arrested, and deported.

In 2019, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) arrested over 2,000 foreigners, most of whom were illegally staying and working Chinese.

Earlier this week, Pangilinan filed Proposed Senate Resolution 558, urging the Senate to investigate, in aid of legislation, the national security implications of the entry of around four million Chinese into the country since 2017.

Pangilinan said there should be no letup in the drive against illegal foreign nationals, stressing that the number of deportees could be higher if there was an intensified effort to catch and prosecute them. —LBG, GMA News