10,000 Filipinos face deportation as US changes immigration policy
Standing on the step to the County Administration building, several groups address the crowd during a rally to show support for DACA in San Diego on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017. Almost 800,000 young immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children or overstayed their visas could see their lives upended after the Trump administration announced Tuesday it is ending the Obama-era program that protected them from deportation. Nelvin C. Cepeda/The San Diego Union-Tribune via AP
MANILA, Philippines — An estimated 10,000 Filipinos may be deported as the United States rescinds a program allowing undocumented immigrant children to stay legally in their country.
US President Donald Trump announced the formal dismantling of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which has given nearly 800,000 young immigrants a reprieve from deportation.
Trump gave the US Congress six months to come up with a law that would prevent the deportations of many as the people covered by the program.
Congress, get ready to do your job - DACA!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2017
I look forward to working w/ D's + R's in Congress to address immigration reform in a way that puts hardworking citizens of our country 1st.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2017
Congress now has 6 months to legalize DACA (something the Obama Administration was unable to do). If they can't, I will revisit this issue!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 6, 2017
READ: Trump expected to end program for young immigrants
DFA on standby to assist Filipinos facing deportation
The Philippine government will assist Filipinos who will be affected by the revocation of the DACA program, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.
"We will authorize, with certain limitations, the use of the Assistance to Nationals Fund and the Legal Assistance Fund to assist immigration-related cases such as those arising from the decision of President Trump to revoke the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals or DACA," Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said.
The Philippines' top diplomat urged members of the Filipino community in the US to remain hopeful and to actively support the passage of new laws that would assist those who will be affected by the policy change.
"In any event, we are ready to welcome and assist our kababayans in whatever way we can if they are returned to the Philippines," Cayetano said.
According to Chargé d'Affaires Patrick Chuasoto of the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C., the DACA program provides temporary legal status, allowing qualified immigrant children from the Philippines and other countries to stay, study and work in the US.
The DACA program was part of an executive order that former US President Barack Obama issued in 2012 to protect undocumented immigrant children from deportation.
About 310,000 out of the 3.4 million Filipinos in the US are undocumented, Chuasoto said.
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