02-11-2025: Migrant advocates decry ‘neglect’ of undocumented Filipinos in ICE detention
“It may be very easy for cause-oriented groups to make allegations… but what specific assistance was being requested and was withheld?” Daza stated, emphasizing that no individual Filipino had directly contacted the government for help.
Adding to this, the Philippine Consulate General in Chicago stated, “To date, we have not received any request for assistance from our kababayans regarding arrest and deportation,” said Consul General Melanie Diano in a statement provided to Inquirer.net USA.
“Per the Consulate’s inquiry with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) field office in Chicago, no Filipino national has been arrested and detained from its operations in Illinois.”
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Ligaya Jensen, a Filipina migrant who has spent over six years in detention, described a pervasive climate of fear and neglect. “Every single day, people are scared that their name will be called. We need empathy for our experiences; we are human beings too,” she told Tanggol Migrante during the conference.
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Angela Albay, a community organizer, pointed out the Consulate’s lack of engagement, noting that Jensen had never received a visit despite her prolonged incarceration. “We need our government to act,” she stated. “The silence is deafening.”
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As Jovi reflects on his journey, he remains determined to advocate for his fellow Filipinos. “I want to shed light on how Filipinos are deceived into becoming cheap labor under the guise of J-1 visa programs,” he stated, echoing the sentiments of many who are compelled to leave the Philippines in search of better opportunities.
02-06-2025: Migrants’ network call for assistance to US-based Filipinos affected by mass deportations
Nerissa Allegretti, president of the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON) US, said Chicago became “ground zero” for the mass deportation. She also said eight healthcare workers were recently arrested by ICE, six of whom were detained and deported without a judicial warrant within a 24-hour turnaround.
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The Department of Labor and Employment stated that they would be preparing assistance for Filipinos who would be deported as a result of the immigration crackdown.
In Chicago, grassroots organizers have confirmed that 8 Filipino workers were detained last week, with 6 of them being deported a few days later. Given the speed at which these deportations were processed, it is unlikely that they were given due process.
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To date, there are an estimated 370,000 to 1 million undocumented Filipino migrants in the US. During Trump’s first administration, ICE deported 3,500 Filipinos. And yet, ahead of Trump’s second inauguration, the Philippine government refused to provide adequate resources to our vulnerable kababayan. Instead, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez told undocumented Filipinos to self-deport.
It is wrong for our kababayan to be treated as criminals by the Philippine government when it’s the Philippine government’s labor export policy that forces so many Filipinos to leave home and seek work abroad in the first place, putting them in these precarious situations, or by the United States government that relies on our labor to uphold the healthcare, hospitality, and other industries.
YouTube: ICE “DEHUMANIZES” DETAINEES; PH GOV’T NOT ASSISTING NATIONALS
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