LOS ANGELES, California – Militant Filipino groups launched a nationwide Defend Migrant Campaign network in response to President Donald Trump’s threat of mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, including Filipinos, in the US.
More than 300 representatives from various Filipino organizations and allies across the US gathered on Saturday Jan. 25 in an online conference for the launch of Tanggol Migrante or Defend Migrants campaign that would help Filipinos facing immigration and deportation problems.
Karen Roxas, vice president of the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns, said that while campaign networks have been established in Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, Chicago and the New York-New Jersey communities, they intend to spread to other parts of the country.
Karen Roxas and Aquilina Soriano-Versoza (l-r)*
The Filipino population in the US is the biggest outside the Philippines with an estimated 370,000 to 1 million undocumented, which sent $13.71 billion in remittances, making it the top source of remittances for the country, Roxas said.
The campaign has established a 24/7 hotline, legal resource network and rapid response teams from community organizations, such as Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, Migrante, Gabriela, Anakbayan, various ecumenical and church organizations, that will respond in cases of immigration raids and arrests.
In Los Angeles, the hotline is 562-453-3408 manned by the Filipino Migrant Center.
She said that this is in addition to Know Your Rights trainings that will equip the Filipino community on how to deal in checkpoints or raids at workplaces and homes.
More than 3,000 Filipinos deported during the previous Trump administration and the issue of immigration was a major concern of our kababayans that NAFCON’s Filipino America agenda was endorsed by more than 200 organizations in the US, Roxas said.
She added that NAFCON’s history is rooted on the Filipino migrant when immigrants experienced discrimination in the aftermath of 9-11. Subsequent NAFCON campaigns included anti-human trafficking, deportation response and defending the rights and welfare of Filipino workers in the US.
Jong de la Cruz of Migrante USA expressed concerns about the series of Trump executive orders, which would allow widespread ice raids not only in workplaces and homes but even in what is considered as “sensitive areas” such as churches, hospitals and schools.
The current administration has pledged to embark on the largest deportation operation of some 11-13 million undocumented immigrants it considers as security threats in addition to the repeal of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protective Status (TPS) and birthright citizenship which is guaranteed in the US Constitution, he said.
As the government campaigns against illegal immigrants, de la Cruz said, immigration hearings to be circumvented and deportation to be expedited and there is a possibility on stoppages on certain pathways to citizenship.
On the other hand, de la Cruz said that the defend migrants campaign is a form of resistance and protest because the neglectful response of Philippine government representatives in the US to the problems of Filipino nationals.
Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Romualdez had advised undocumented Filipinos not to wait to be deported but instead self-deport to which De la Cruz said is reckless and neglectful because Philippine government has a responsibility to ensure the rights and welfare of its people living unless there is a long term solution to the problems of our undocumented community.
“We acknowledge that the people are afraid and that is why we have to find ways how we can continue to struggle,” he said, immigrants have been framed as national security threats and the system is making migrant workers vulnerable, thus forcing them to accept low wages.
Aside from the NAFCON campaign in LA, the Pilipino Workers Center is part of the initiative to protect immigrants through the Rapid Response to Deportation Network with allied groups.
PWC Executive Director Aquilina Soriano-Versoza said the RRDN is led by the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights in Los Angeles and includes the California Immigrant Policy Center, California Labor Federation of Los Angeles, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, labor unions and legal group. The rapid response team’s 24/7 hotline is 820-277-4122.
Versoza said they are better prepared compared to previous Trump administration several years ago, having the right infrastructure, established the RRDN and accurate information and updates on immigration issues as well as conduct of a series of Know Your Rights trainings.
These trainings for immigrants, conducted in person and online, can make a difference in terms of assistance of not being deported, she added.
According to Versoza, immigrant protective status established by former presidents Obama and Biden, the DACA and Deferred Action for Labor Enforcement (DALE) for workers with wage theft or labor violations cases are no longer available but, in California, there are still enforceable laws that protect immigrants in terms of restrictions to Police and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) collaborate, immigrant workers rights, access to education, access to housing, on family separation and custodial rights, access to safety net and healthcare.
“We are primarily an immigrant community and a lot of our community members span all immigration status and everyone has rights and protection,” she said adding that the US has a broken immigration system and it is a necessity to support our communities, that everyone is safe and families will not be separated and deported.
She also said that A lot of immigration laws are discriminatory and the Philippines cannot even access to the lottery system and some families are separated waiting for 20-25 years for the approval of their petitions
With the Trump administration scapegoating immigrants calling them criminals while pardoning convicted felons, Versoza said, it brings then wrong messages as it discriminates and targets people of color, especially Asians, Hispanics and those of African descent.*