(UPDATE) ORGANIZED labor expressed its readiness to partner with the government to come up with a unified response to address the threat of mass deportation facing undocumented Filipinos in the United States under the second Trump administration.
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), the country’s largest labor center, on Tuesday, proposed the establishment of an interagency body to synchronize efforts among government agencies, civil society, and Filipino organizations in the US to assist the hundreds of thousands of undocumented Filipinos in the US who are facing possible deportation during the incumbency of President Donald Trump.
“With nearly half a million undocumented Filipinos facing the potential threat of what could be the largest mass deportation in American history, the TUCP looks forward to working together with the Marcos administration to consolidate efforts with urgency and dispatch to ensure the just transition of our kababayan either as legal immigrants continuing to pursue the American Dream or as returning Filipinos with adequate viable opportunities back home to unlock the promise of ‘Bagong Pilipinas,'” TUCP Vice President Luis Corral, in a statement, said on Tuesday.
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) estimated that there are some 370,000 undocumented Filipino immigrants in the US.
Tom Homan, the Trump administration’s incoming border czar, earlier said that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “will start arresting public safety threats and national security threats on day one,” raising concerns about large-scale extensive operations to detain and deport undocumented immigrants after Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025.
“We strongly advocate for a unified, coherent response, ranging from legal assistance to reintegration services, not only to enable the government to effectively oversee these initiatives but also to empower our kababayan with a one-stop shop for accessible and comprehensive services,” added Corral.
Trump announced severe new restrictions on immigration and asylum in the United States hours after taking office Monday, declaring that he would send troops to the US-Mexico border and attempt to end birthright citizenship.
Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border and used a careening press conference in the Oval Office to announce the controversial order seeking to revoke the right of US nationality to anyone born in America.
“That’s a big one,” he told reporters.
The move to reverse a right enshrined in the US Constitution will face stiff legal challenges, an inevitability the president acknowledged.
“I think we have good grounds, but you could be right,” he said when asked about the pushback.
Another executive order declared a national emergency on the US-Mexico border.
“I’m fine with legal immigration. I like it. We need people, and I’m absolutely fine with it. We want to have it,” he said. “But we have to have legal immigration.”
Earlier, in his inaugural speech, he announced he would be sending troops to the US-Mexico border “to repel the disastrous invasion of our country.”
“All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came,” he said.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly announced earlier that the administration would end the practice of granting asylum.
Appointments canceled
The first effects of Trump’s stance became apparent minutes after his inauguration when an app unveiled under President Joe Biden to help process asylum seekers went offline.
US media reported that 30,000 people had appointments scheduled.
Trump’s key adviser and noted immigration hardliner Stephen Miller took to social media to announce that the doors were shut.
“All illegal aliens seeking entry into the United States should turn back now,” he wrote.
“Anyone entering the United States without authorization faces prosecution and expulsion.”
Kelly said the administration would also reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy that prevailed under Trump’s first administration.
