Nearly 20 Filipinos nabbed under Trump's immigration crackdown

Less than 20 undocumented Filipino migrants in the United States are currently detained amid the implementation of the Trump administration’s mass deportation policy.

That's according to Consul General Donna Rodriguez, who said that most of the US-based Filipinos under the custody of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are set for deportation.

“Hindi siya lalampas sa 20. Mga ganon ang number… Pero merong mga kaso, for instance, na during the Biden the administration pa sila nahuli, na-process lang so nakaalis na. ‘Yung iba naman dumating during the Trump admin. So, medyo fluid ang situation,” she said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview.

(The number doesn’t exceed 20. But there are cases, for instance, that they were caught during the Biden administration, while others were during the Trump administration. So, the situation is quite fluid.)

Rodriguez added that the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. is continuously coordinating with the ICE and other US government agencies to ensure that the welfare and rights of the detained Filipinos are protected.sure that the welfare and rights of the detained Filipinos are protected.

According to her, the undocumented Filipino migrants in the US range between 150,000 and 370,000.

“Ang immigration naman dito sa Estados Unidos matagal na itong issue, so meron na rin pong mga legal structures and processes na sinusunod rin, para po bang ‘yung tinatawag nating due process of law,” the consul general said.

(Immigration here in the United States has been an issue for a long time, so there are legal structures and processes already in place. It’s like the due process of law.)

Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez earlier reiterated his call for US-based Filipinos who may be affected by the Trump administration’s mass deportation policy to immediately consult with immigration lawyers to know how they can possibly legalize their stay in the country.

Since November last year, when Trump was reelected president, Romualdez has been advising Filipinos in the US without "any kind of status" to voluntarily return to the Philippines or start working on their documents and no longer wait to be deported.

The Philippine Embassy is providing assistance to undocumented Filipinos through immigration lawyers who offer legal advice and outline available options for them. —Giselle Ombay/ VAL, GMA Integrated News