Filipinos up for deportation from US now at 80

FILE: United States President Donald Trump accepting the credentials of Ambassador Romualdez in 2017. (Photo By Shealeah Craighead – U.S.-Philippines Society/Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – At least 80 Filipinos have received deportation notices from United States authorities as the new administration pushes through with its plan to kick out illegal aliens.

The Filipinos are not detained and still have the opportunity to legalize their stay, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said in an interview Tuesday.

“So far, they have just received the notice (that they are up for deportation) and some of them, if I’m not mistaken, already departed voluntarily,” he said.

The US government’s crackdown on undocumented migrants began immediately after President Donald Trump was sworn into office in Jan.

20.

Earlier this month, the US deported illegal aliens from Africa and Asia, some reportedly from China and Vietnam, to Central American nations that are acting as third-country stopovers.

Romualdez said none of the Filipino deportees have been put on similar deportation flights to another state so far.

“It only goes to show that, for me, many of those Filipinos in the US have the chance to be able to have a legal path. That is my hope, that they will look into what status they can work on,” he said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs earlier said it is ready to extend necessary assistance to Filipinos who may be affected by the immigration crackdown.