According to Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez, most of the Filipinos who will be deported failed to renew their work permits.
Fifteen undocumented Filipinos in America are set to be deported back to the Philippines as part of US President Donald Trump’s campaign promise to crack down on illegal immigrants in the country.
According to a report by Mariz Umali on GMA News Saksi on Monday, the White House announced on Thursday that 538 people were arrested by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) across the country. This is higher than the agency’s daily average number of arrests in 2023 and 2024.
“Border czar” Tom Homan said that the number of arrests is expected to increase, and that they may even be carried out inside schools and churches.
In Chicago, a man was arrested by ICE agents after they knocked on his door. In Colorado, an estimated 50 undocumented migrants were arrested in a club.
According to Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez, most of the Filipinos who will be deported failed to renew their work permits. He advised Filipinos in the US to fix their documents for their stay there. The embassy is also ready to help Filipinos affected by the US crackdown on illegal immigrants in the country.
In a separate interview with Super Radyo dzBB on Sunday, Romualdez said that 20 Filipinos have already been deported, some of whom were connected to illegal activities, but not major crimes.
“We have something like 24. They have already been deported because they were, they have… not very serious crimes, but they were involved in some criminal activity,” the official said.
Earlier, the official also said that US authorities will first target illegal immigrants there who are involved in criminal activities.
Romualdez also said that Filipinos who are legally working in the US have a chance of gaining legal status in the US.
“That’s the big hope, those who are really here and working and paying their taxes. They seem to have a good chance of getting legal status, especially if they are sponsored by their employers,” he explained.
Last November, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said it is also ready to help an estimated 300,000 undocumented Filipinos in the US when they are deported back to the country.
