Many Pinoys illegally in US anxious about Trump's deportation plan —Amb. Romualdez

Many of the Filipinos who are illegally staying in the United States are now worried as President-elect Donald Trump is expected to fulfill his campaign promise of launching a mass deportation of immigrants, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said Sunday.

“Well, of course, marami silang medyo kinakabahan at maraming nagtatanong ano ba talaga ang sitwasyon,” the ambassador said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview.

(Well of course, many of them are a bit nervous and many of them are asking what the situation really is.)

Romualdez advised Filipinos in America without "any kind of status" to voluntarily return to the Philippines or start working on their documents, and not wait to be deported following the recent victory of Trump.

After speaking with people from the Trump campaign, Romualdez said he believes that the president-elect will really go after the illegal immigrants in the US.

“This time, talagang seryoso na talaga ito. Kasi malakas na ‘yung dating ng taumbayan dito sa Amerika…Kaya nanalo si President Trump dahil ‘yan ang main issue nila. Talagang masyadong marami nang illegal immigrants na pumapasok sa US ngayon,” he added.

(This time, it's really serious. Many Filipinos are going to America now. Trump won because that's the US’ main issue—that there are too many illegal immigrants entering the US now.)

Data gathered by the GMA Integrated News Research showed that there are 4,640,313 Filipinos in the US as of last year, according to the latest figures by the US Census Bureau.

Further, data from the US Department of Homeland Security stated that Filipinos are the fifth largest unauthorized immigrant population in the US with 350,000 in 2022.

Romualdez warned that once Filipinos get deported, there is a big chance that they won’t be able to return to the US.

“Ang advice namin sa ating mga kababayan na kung wala kayong chance to get a status habang nandito kayo sa Amerika, umuwi na muna kayo at you have a better than even chance. Dahil kapag ma-deport kayo, lalong hindi na kayo makakabalik dito,” he said.

(Our advice to the Filipinos is that if you don't have a chance to get a status while you are here in America, go back to the Philippines first and you’ll have a better than even chance. If you're deported, you won't be able to come back here in the US anymore.)

According to the ambassador, the Philippines’ Department of Migrant Workers prioritizes legal Filipino immigrants or migrant workers for help. Thus, he said illegal immigrants could get a lawyer or find someone to assist them in processing their application, or if not, go back to the Philippines. —KG, GMA Integrated News