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MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine ambassador to the United States has called on undocumented Filipino workers to begin the process of obtaining legal status before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office next year.
Philippine Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez urged the estimated 250,000 to 300,000 undocumented Filipinos currently in the United States to immediately seek legal representation or face deportation and a possible permanent ban from re-entering the country.
Trump campaigned on a promise of “the largest deportation operation in U.S. history,” which helped him win a decisive election victory earlier this week and ensure his return to the White House.
On Friday, November 8, President Trump told NBC News that his administration “has no choice” but to follow through on its promise and that there is no cost to doing so. “My advice to the many of our compatriots who are still here but cannot obtain immigration status is not to wait for deportation,” Romualdez said at a forum with international and local media on Friday. The ambassador said President Trump will likely push ahead with plans to expel illegal immigrants en masse. However, this “will require a lot of resources,” he added.
Increased information sharing among U.S. immigration authorities makes it nearly impossible for illegal immigrants to go undetected, Romualdez said.
He estimates that nine out of 10 “TNTs” (tagoh nan ago, or “always in hiding”) — a term coined to refer to Filipinos of Philippine origin who are hiding or overly hidden abroad — “will be found out somehow.” He added that various U.S. agencies, from immigration to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), now work together.
“Also, anyone can send a photo of you or anyone to [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement]. They have the responsibility to prosecute illegal immigrants, but when they do that, they get in trouble,” Romualdez said.
Now supported by a Republican-controlled Congress, the Trump administration is likely to adopt and implement even stricter immigration laws, Romualdez added. “Whatever laws and regulations are in place, they will remain in place. But that could change, because especially now that Republicans control both the House and the Senate, it would probably be quicker or much easier to enact new immigration laws,” he said. Those possible new laws could result in stricter requirements for people to qualify for U.S. permanent residency, he added.
Filipino-Americans as ‘great workers’
However, Romualdez emphasized that criminal pathways for Filipinos to paintings legally inside the US may want to expand, mainly in important sectors.
He noted ongoing discussions with Guam officers to grow the hiring of Filipino production employees for navy bases.
“They might choose to have Filipino employees due to the fact they`re the best, consistent with them,” Romualdez said.
The healthcare zone may want to provide any other opening. The ambassador noted “pretty a quantity” of fitness offerings groups who’ve approached him to grow the number of Filipino nurses they can rent from the Philippines.
“That’s one zone that in reality offers a remarkable photo to the Filipino network right here due to the fact the nurses are a lot appreciated,” Romualdez said.
The ambassador additionally found out about Trump’s firsthand enjoyment with Filipino employees in his commercial enterprise empire. “He has pretty some Filipino-Americans operating in his lodges and additionally operating in his golfing clubs. He appears at them as anyone that he in reality appreciates as remarkable employees,” Romualdez said.
“And it’s an asset that we have that type of photo,” he added.
This personnel size in Philippine-US members of the family turns into applicable as Trump prepares to retake the workplace amid heightened South China Sea tensions.
While a few analysts trust that the Trump-led US will now no longer be as worried about deterring China’s encroachments inside the South China Sea, Romualdez believes otherwise. “On the protection side, I suppose there might be no longer an awful lot of change. A lot of it, again, is because it’s far collectively useful for each of our countries,” he said.
For Romualdez, President Trump’s “transactional” approach and tendency to negotiate in foreign policy should show what the Philippines can offer in exchange for U.S. support.
The Filipino workforce is the country’s “greatest asset,” he said.
“It has allowed us to become a factor in the global economy,” he added.
