Trump’s immigration policy causes fear among Filipinos in US

International

LESS than a month since being sworn in as the United States’ 47th President, Donald Trump has signed Executive Orders (EOs) that have caused fear among Filipino immigrants.

Among the slew of EOs that Trump signed included plans to end birthright citizenship.

Birthright citizenship is a right enshrined in the US Constitution that automatically confers American citizenship to those born within the country's borders.

However, this is impacted by Trump’s tightened border policies, which include stricter visa vetting, increased efforts to curb illegal immigration, as well as suspension of refugee admissions.

The increased risk of deportation is particularly concerning for Filipinos with pending residency approval, but US courts have temporarily blocked the policy seeking to end birthright citizenship for children born to unauthorized immigrants on American soil, a report by The Strait Times Asia/Asia News Network said.

In the same report, Filipino American civic leader Genevieve Jopanda said that communities of migrants are concerned that Trump’s stricter stance on immigration may result in unfair treatment, regardless of an individual’s immigration status.

Jopanda added that being a model citizen does not offer immunity from being targeted, emphasizing the absence of a reliable system to determine if someone poses a threat.

She also stressed that hard work and tax payment are not enough when being targeted by discrimination.

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has announced his plans to meet with Trump to discuss immigration issues that affect a significant number of Filipinos in America.

As per the Presidential Communications Office, Marcos said that he would explore ways to influence immigration policy making, but did not state when the meeting would occur, confident that it would soon “crystalize and become clearer.”

As of 2022, the US Department of Homeland Security reported that approximately 350,000 individuals from the Philippines were residing in the US without authorization.

This makes Filipinos the fifth-largest group of undocumented immigrants in the country, following Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.(MyTVCebu)