Over 20 Pinoys deported from US for illegal activities

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ABOUT two dozen Filipinos allegedly involved in illegal activities in the Unites States have been deported amid the hardline policy of President Donald Trump to deport undocumented immigrants, Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez said yesterday.

“Our count, something like 24 have been deported… They were involved in some criminal activity but these were not serious crimes or offenses,” Romualdez said in an interview with radio dzBB, in mixed Filipino and English.

Earlier, Romualdez advised Filipinos illegally staying in the US to return to Manila and not to wait to be deported by US authorities, or work to legalize their stay in the US. He said once they are deported, there is a big chance they would not be able to return to the US.

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But Romualdez expressed optimism that Filipinos who have yet to get their papers but are legally working in the US will get documents.

“There is hope that those who are actually here, working and paying taxes, there have high chances of getting their legal status, especially if they are sponsored by their employers,” he said.

Romualdez said the embassy and the country’s consulates in the US are working to help undocumented Filipinos amid the mass deportation plan of the Trump administration.

Aside from the embassy in Washington, Manila also has consulates assigned in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Honolulu and Guam.

American authorities have said there are at least 300,000 Filipinos illegally staying in the US, making them the fifth largest group of undocumented immigrants. There are over 4.6 million Filipinos in the US, according to records.

Trump, who assumed the presidency for the second time on January 20, has designated illegal immigration as a national emergency.

Last week, the White House said over 500 “illegal immigrant criminals” in the US have been arrested and hundreds of others have been flown out.

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