TUCP wants a provincial strategy for illegal Filipinos under US President Trump

By Chloe Mari A. Hufana, A reporter

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) on Tuesday sought a unified approach to address the challenges faced by undocumented Filipinos in the US as fears of mass deportation under President Donald J. Trump intensify.

“We strongly advocate for a unified response, from legal aid to restorative services, not only to enable the government to effectively oversee these programs but also to empower our people with a one-stop shop for accessible and comprehensive services,” said TUCP Deputy. -President Luis C. Corral in a statement.

The group called for the establishment of an inter-agency organization to coordinate efforts among government agencies, civil society and Filipino organizations in the US to support the approximately 370,000 undocumented Filipinos who are at risk of deportation.

The Department of Immigration, Foreign Workers Welfare Administration, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Labor and Employment, Ministry of Trade and Industry and Technical Education and Skills Development are among the government agencies tasked with overseeing this matter.

“The Philippine government will always be ready to help our people if it is possible the projection of mass deportations will be done by the new American administration,” Labor Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma told BusinessWorld in a Viber message.

Mr. Corral said it will help repatriate Filipino workers overseas to reintegrate not only through employment assistance but also through social employment programs.

Josue Raphael J. Cortez, who teaches at De La Salle-College in St. Benilde’s School of Diplomacy and Governance, said this strategy must involve the government, private companies and civil society organizations.

Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel G. Romualdez and embassy staff should direct efforts to help Filipinos in the US, he added.

Grassroots groups may have a better chance to connect with the families of these undocumented Filipinos and can offer ideas on how to facilitate their return to the Philippines, said Mr. Cortez.

“Regarding this, given that the main problem for them to migrate to other countries is to find better job opportunities, then public-private partnerships and negotiations can be done quickly,” he added.

Filipinos in the US who are considering repatriation may be encouraged to return sooner if there are opportunities to earn a living when they get home, he pointed out.

Benjamin B. Velasco, an assistant professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman School of Labor and Industrial Relations, said mass deportations may be against Manila’s national interest as a labor-sending nation.

“Deportation only leads to family separation and human suffering,” he said in a Facebook Messenger chat. “Many undocumented Filipinos are members of mixed-status families.”

“To deal with the consequences of Trump 2.0, we need to increase public employment and improve industrial policy,” he said, adding that the first should be an immediate response, and the second a strategic policy.

Mr. Velasco said first that the Philippine government should play a major role in economic and development programs.

“We have allowed private companies to lead the economy and the result is continued underemployment, unemployment and labor migration,” he said. “Industries led by the public sector are what is needed to address the cause of the lack of development.”

He said American unions, immigration organizations and civil society groups are against Mr.

“Definitely, we are not facing the prospect of hundreds of thousands of undocumented Filipinos being forcibly deported here,” he said. “Nonetheless, we must start a path of development led by the public sector that provides decent jobs and protects the environment, with Trump and others like him.”

Mr. Trump was sworn in as 47^th The US president on Jan. 20. One of his key campaign promises was to strengthen border security and deport undocumented immigrants.

He began his return to the White House with a major crackdown on immigration, tasked the U.S. military with helping with border security, and issued a sweeping executive order to close asylum and take steps to deny citizenship to children born on American soil, Reuters reported Tuesday.

The first US president to be convicted of a crime, he declared immigration a national emergency. He ordered the Pentagon, the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, to support the construction of border walls, detention facilities and transportation facilities for migrants, and authorized his Secretary of Defense to send troops to the border if necessary.