Thousands of undocumented Filipinos at risk of being deported from US as Donald Trump regains presidency—ambassador
Filipinos who are illegally staying in the US are now facing the risk of getting deported as newly inaugurated president Donald Trump has declared to act on his anti-immigration campaign.
In an interview on ANC's Headstart, Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez detailed that 350,000 Filipinos may be affected by Trump's "largest deportation program in US history," which is a "major concern" for those who have been staying there for many years and have already established families and jobs.
Because of this, the embassy is \ planning to hold a program where legal experts can assist Filipinos in the US on how to handle this issue.
"There are certain rights that many will have and that's why we're asking many groups that have come forward from Filipino-American community that are prepared to give some good advice on how to proceed on taking a legal path for them These are the people who would like to help," Romualdez said.
"First and foremost, they would like to give them their rights so that they would have an idea of whether they can stay or have to look for a way to get a legal pass," he added.
However, those who have committed crimes in the past may have a higher risk of getting deported from the country.
"I think it is those who have a criminal record or those who have totally ignored the idea of even filing to try to become legally here in the United States. Those are the people na namemeligro, na they can be deported," Romualdez said.
"But like I said, the advice is simple, do what is correct because that is the only way you will have peace of mind," he stressed.
He assured that the embassy is trying to schedule a face-to-face meeting between Trump and President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. "soon."
In his inaugural address, Trump said that part of his Day 1 agenda is declaring a national emergency at the country's southern border.
"All illegal entry will immediately be halted and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from where they came," he said.
The businessman-turned-politician added that he would send troops to the border to "repel the disastrous invasion" of the US.
Known for his anti-immigration campaign, Trump wants to invoke a 1798 law called the Alien Enemies Act to target foreign gang members in the country. The said act, used in wartime, allows the president to detain or deport non-citizens considered an enemy of the US.
Filipinos can become citizens in the country through the naturalization process, where they must legally live in the US for at least five years before applying for Naturalization. They can also claim citizenship through marriage, where they can apply for naturalization after three years of living as a permanent resident with a US citizen spouse.
