The Philippine Embassy in the United States announced that it will assist the undocumented Filipino nationals who may be affected by President-elect Donald Trump’s planned mass deportation policy.
This move is made as fears continue to rise over the future of immigrants in the U.S. following the return of President-elect Donald Trump to the White House.
The Republican leader repeated the promise in several speeches, which was said to begin on the first day of his new term-the most comprehensive deportation operation in U.S. history.
Philippine officials, meanwhile, are getting to know the scope of the operation to prepare and assist the estimated 250,000 to 350,000 undocumented Filipinos here in the United States.
It has already gathered resources and preparations for instructions from Manila to assist affected nationals; however, it needs more information coming from the US authorities to coordinate properly.
This would be part of the sweep that constitutes a broader crackdown on illegal immigration of the key planks of Trump’s campaign. For his part, Trump revived old inflammatory rhetoric-branding the undocumented as a threat to American society, zeroing in part of his attack on immigrants as behind a whole range of societal maladies, repeating old charges now discredited as baseless.
It hasn’t been easy for Trump since his re-election. Scrutiny continues to chase controversial proposals like “Operation Aurora,” a campaign aimed at deporting foreign nationals based on the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, labelling all of them as perceived threats to national security.
The inspiration for the proposal comes from the video in Aurora, Colorado, which paraded episodes of violence committed by Latino immigrants video has been debunked but is never abandoned in far-right spaces.
The Philippine Embassy is cautioning its citizens in the U.S. to keep their legal rights current and assured to update the community on the latest developments about the situation. Meanwhile, among its nationals, the Philippine government is encouraging them to take advantage of legal services, even if undocumented, in preparation for changes that may prevail under the next administration.
