Tulfo raises deported seafarers’ plight to US ambassador

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Raffy Tulfo sraised the plight of Filipino seafarers, who were either detained in or deported from the US, during a dinner meeting with US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson.

Tulfo said the seafarers, who worked as cruise ship crew, told him during the Aug. 13 Senate hearing on migrant workers that their mobile phones were inspected by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers when their vessel docked at a US territory.

The seafarers claimed that although no child pornographic materials – the content the ICE team was looking for ­– were found on the phones, their entry was denied.

Some of the seafarers were “detained before being deported,” he said.

Tulfo noted that the ICE team should have at least presented evidence, if they found child pornographic materials on the  phones before subjecting them to negative actions.

Carlson, who invited Tulfo to dinner at her residence, explained that immigration entry standards became stricter under US President Donald Trump, but clarified that this policy is applied to all nationalities and not just to Filipinos.

She added that while the ICE is authorized to enforce actions at all points of entry, they, too, could make mistakes.

The ambassador assured Tulfo that she would study the complaints of the Filipino seafarers.