Who will protect our kababayans from ICE?

“Deportation isn't something that is suddenly new.”

—Jack Kingston

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

IF the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) crackdown against undocumented immigrants was “only the beginning”, according to President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, there’s a possibility it will continue as long as Mr. Trump is the president.

And it will be until 2028?

Since January 20, 2025, ICE, the Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have, so far, arrested more than 4,000 illegal aliens with criminal records in lightening raids conducted around the United States.

Many of those rounded up were immediately deported to Mexico, Guatemala, Brazil, Haiti, Colombia using U.S. military aircrafts.

Luckily, no Filipino has been arrested as of press time.

This won’t mean, however, that our kababayans, who are not known to be violent people or with known links to criminal gangs, are already safe.

Who will protect them if they aren’t safe from the ICE crackdown?

All persons in the United States have constitutional protections, including the right to remain silent when questioned or arrested by immigration officers, according to the National Immigrant Justice Center.

Being stopped by immigration officers or other law enforcement can be frightening, but it’s important to stay calm. During any encounter with law enforcement, it’s important to do the following:

—Stay calm and don’t run, argue, resist, or fight the officer, even if you believe your rights are being violated or you are being treated unfairly. Keep your hands where police can see them and tell them if you need to reach into a glove compartment or for a wallet to show your papers.

—Don’t lie about your status or provide false documents.

 

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If they are pulled over in a traffic stop: Ask if the officer is from the police department or immigration. Immigration officers often identify themselves as “police,” but they are not police. Ask if they are from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Customs and Border Protection (CBP). If they are immigration officers, follow these guidelines about what information to provide.    

If they are U.S. citizens or have lawful immigration status: Show passport, legal permanent resident card, work permit, or other documentation of status. If they are over the age of 18, they should carry their papers with them at all times.

If they are undocumented: They have the right to remain silent and do not have to discuss immigration or citizenship status with the police, immigration agents, or other officials. Anything they tell an officer can later be used against them in immigration court.

Here’s more: If an officer knocks on your door: Do not open the door. Teach your children not to open the door. Officers must have a warrant signed by a judge to enter your home. ICE “warrants” are not signed by judges; they are ICE forms signed by ICE officers and they do not grant authority to enter a home without consent of the occupant(s).

If they are outdoors and think they see immigration officers nearby:

Move to a safe indoor space

If they are U.S. citizens and feel safe to do so, record the activity with phone or write down any relevant information about what they witness—ALWAYS being careful to not interfere or otherwise obstruct the operation

DO NOT: Post unverified information on social media or interfere with the investigation or otherwise put themselves in harm’s way

 

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Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, confirmed in her first-ever press conference January 28 that those who have overstayed their visas can be considered as criminals and may be next in line once all the targeted illegal aliens have been flushed out.

This made many migrants, including Filipinos, cringe in fear even more because it appears “nobody is safe” anymore in as far as the Trump administration’s all-out campaign to arrest and deport illegal immigrants believed to be more than 11 million is concerned.

Conducting high-profile raids in cities from New York to Denver over its first full week, the second Trump administration has hit the ground running on its pledge to begin mass deportations of migrants in the country illegally.

If deportations continue at their current rate, Newsweek said it would take around 28 years to deliver on the president's promise to repatriate upwards of 11 million people.

Public data from ICE flight tracking, analyzed by a third-party expert and shared with Newsweek, showed there had been three deportation flights on military planes since President Trump took office last January 20, with fewer regular ICE aircraft making those trips.

"They're intending to do a lot more. Their intent to deport a lot more people from the interior and that would require, obviously, a lot more resources," Tom Cartwright, from the left-leaning Witness at the Border advocacy group, was quoted by Newsweek January 28.

President Trump was elected, in part, for his promises of mass deportations of illegal immigrants, which he pledged would start from the day he returned to the White House. Recent polling has reflected strong support, from both Republicans and Democrats, for policies addressing a broken immigration system and poor border security.

 

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Still, the breadth of Trump's campaign promise to deport every illegal migrant in the country has run up against the typical bureaucratic headwinds of resources and money. Tom Homan, the new "border czar," has said the administration will need Congress to earmark at least $86 billion for the deportation initiative, acknowledging it will be "expensive" but arguing it will be worth the cost.

The estimates of how many migrants are in the U.S. illegally vary, with the best guesses from the federal government and Pew Research settling on around 11 million. Not all of them are on ICE's radar for deportation, however.

With more raids across the country in recent days, including in New York City January 28 morning, ICE is expected to continue to increase its enforcement alongside other agencies in the coming weeks, while the White House will seek to show it is delivering on Trump's promises by showcasing the raids on social media and in the press.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)

 

 

‘Arrest’ of 34-year-old Pinoy in New York sparks panic

“For the undocumented immigrants, the big priority is just to get out from the shadows, be able to get a driver's license, buy an airplane ticket and stop worrying about sudden deportation. But for the country as a whole, it's crucial that everybody have a citizen's stake in the nation's welfare.”

—Gail Collins

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

THE reported arrest by the New York Police Department (NYPD) of a 34-year-old Filipino male in Elmhurst, Queens, New York City hours before the inauguration of President Donald Trump in Washington D.C. on January 20, had sparked fears and panic among worried members of the Filipino community.

Adding to confusion was the seemingly misleading and cryptic story that quoted Ambassador to the US, Jose Manuel Romualdez, and picked up by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in Manila that “24 Filipinos have been deported from the US.”

“We’ve monitored around 24 Filipinos who have already been deported from the US because they were involved in some criminal activities, but these were not very serious crimes. They were already deported, something like 24,” Romualdez was quoted in the news shared by various TV and radio networks in Manila January 27.

The truth is, no single Filipino migrant was among the reported 1,300 undocumented aliens with criminal records that have been arrested, so far, in raids since January 20, when President Donald Trump took office until most recently.

This writer had exclusively reported a zero arrest involving Filipinos anywhere in the 50 states within that period.

 

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Romualdez could be referring to Filipinos with links to criminal activities nabbed and processed under the past Biden administration, not during the lightning U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) raids from January 20 onward.

The ambassador, however, did not clarify his strikingly worrisome and ambiguous statement, which was erroneously interpreted to mean that 24 Filipinos were altogether arrested and deported alongside those who have been deported recently to Guatemala, Mexico, Colombia.

“According to some lawyers, ICE, or any law enforcement for that matter, can’t just pick us up or enter in our apartment without any warrant of arrest,” insisted a 56-year-old Filipina caregiver, who lives with her husband, a chef, and two daughters aged 19 and 23 in reaction to the case of a 34-year-old Filipino male. “We have the right to remain silent, but we will not lie, of course.”

Thaddeus, 70, confirmed his nephew, Donovan, 34, has not returned as of January 27, or seven days since being taken away by the NYPD in their apartment on 57th Avenue.

“I texted him, but he has not answered back,” Thaddeus disclosed. “I’m sure he was in the custody of of the NYPD because I was the one who opened the door when the cops arrived and presented an order from a judge.”

Thaddeus did not elaborate.

Donovan’s landlady, Exotica, 75, downed by flu for two weeks now, admitted she has not seen the 34-year-old tenant since January 20.

 

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Thaddeus refused to comment if Donavan’s case was related to the ongoing city-to-city and state-by-state raids and arrests by elements of the ICE and CBP but emphasized that his nephew did not have a criminal record.

“I only learned he was recently involved in a misunderstanding related to a domestic spat, but I don’t think it would warrant his deportation,” surmised Thaddeus.   

Donovan, a hospital employee in Brooklyn, is from Negros Occidental. When his father died in Colorado 12 years ago, he was entrusted to Thaddeus.

ICE and CBP have not been coordinating with the local police when conducting operations related to the Trump administration’s policy to rid the United States of undocumented aliens with criminal records in many parts of the country, especially in so-called “sanctuary” cities like New York, Boston, New Jersey, Chicago, and California, was learned.

Suspicious Filipinos had speculated Donovan’s cases could be part of the ICE and CBP operations that have so far rounded up 1,300 migrants mostly from Mexico, Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala, Venezuela.

The controversial raids and arrests implemented in different cities and states were only the beginning, according to Tom Homan, President Trump’s border czar.

“There’s a lot of anxiety and a lot of uncertainty and the ink is not even dry on these executive orders,” New York City Mayor EricsAdams told Corona residents recently.

Responding to concerns that his administration would collaborate with ICE by allowing agents to carry out raids in New York schools, Adams said New York residents should continue to go about their daily lives.

“We are very clear, children should go to school. Those who need healthcare should go to hospitals. Those who are involved in any type of interaction where they’re victims of a crime, they should speak to the law enforcement agencies. We have maintained that over and over again,” Adams said.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)

 

Pinoys on ICE raids, arrests: ‘Nagiging paranoid na kami’

“I'll never understand how destroying families through deportation benefits our society. How we treat the undocumented says a great deal about us as a people and whether or not we'll continue to fulfill the fundamental American promise of equality and opportunity for all.”

—Conor Oberst

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

THE ongoing state-by-state and city-to-city raids and arrests being conducted by the U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), which has rounded up 1,300 migrants, as of press time, have taken their tool on some undocumented Filipinos who admitted they have suffered from never-ending emotional and mental anguish.

“Nagiging paranoid na kami (We’re getting paranoid),” lamented Reggie, a former DPWH employee in Tacloban, who has been living in New York and New Jersey since 2014.

At noontime on January 24 inside a restaurant in Elmhurst, Queens that offers fifty percent discount for seniors, a woman in her 60s warned everyone to “prepare your IDs because ICE agents were scheduled to arrive,” Reggie quoted her as allegedly saying.

“Sa sobrang takot, nagsitakbuhan kami at hindi na kumain doon kahit gutom na gutom na kami (Because of so much fear, we immediately ran away and did not anymore order food even if we were very hungry),” narrated Reggie, 60, a father two.

 

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“Halos hindi na kami nakakatulog sa takot doon sa apartment. May kasama kasi kaming seaman na nag jump ship at nurse na galing Dubai baka madamay lahat (We have been sleepless in our apartment because a former seaman who jumped from the ship and a nurse from Dubai are living with us),” sobbed Louie, 36, a bodybuilding instructor in Woodhaven, Queens who has been living in Woodside, Queens since 2013.

“I have stopped working (in a liquor store in Brooklyn). I could sense the ICE agents were now hot after the heels of many workers there,” Rector, whose 32-year-old son is member of the US Marines.

Rector, 59, of Talisay, Negros Occidental, is the only non-US citizen in their family. His wife and four children, including the US Marine, “are safe”, he said without elaborating.

“I don’t want my family to break up,” he said.

ICE is the main government agency responsible for removing people from the country illegally now that the second Trump administration has begun.

According to Fox 10, ICE averaged 311 daily arrests in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.

 

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ICE contains more than 20,000 law enforcement and support personnel in more than 400 offices in the United States and around the world, according to the agency’s website.

The agency, which also has an annual budget of approximately $8 billion, was formed under the Homeland Security Act, stemming from the acts of 9/11.

"ICE's primary mission is to promote homeland security and public safety through the criminal and civil enforcement of federal laws governing border control, customs, trade and immigration," the website says.

ICE deported more than 270,000 people over a recent 12-month period, the highest annual tally in a decade, the agency said in a recent report.

But it also said it made fewer arrests of noncitizens, in part because of the demand of sending staff to the border. Of those arrested, a greater proportion had serious criminal histories.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)

 

 

 

  

 

First wave of US arrest: No Pinoy is captured

“Undocumented residents and even green-card holders may fear that filling out the census could put them at risk of deportation and decide its better not to be counted at all.”

—Alex Wagner

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

WE heaved a sigh of relief that no Filipino was reportedly included among the 538 illegal immigrants arrested in the first wave of operations conducted nationwide by the U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) since the Trump administration took over January 20.

This was according to a source from the Damayan Migrant Workers, a grassroots organization that serves and empowers low-wage Filipino migrant workers living and working in New York City and New Jersey.

The source said they have been coordinating with the office of Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer and closely monitoring the raids vowing to provide assistance to Filipinos who might be seized even if they don’t have criminal records.

Some worried undocumented Filipinos have not reported for work for two weeks now, or even before the inauguration of the new president. Many of them worked as housekeepers, cooks and dishwashers in restaurants, liquor stores, laundry shops, balikayan box companies.

They were among those who defied the call of Philippine Ambassador to the US, Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez, to voluntarily leave the US before the removal started.

 

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The source confirmed that ICE had also conducted raids and arrests in New York and New Jersey, where large number of Filipino communities were located.

ICE agents conducted the raid without producing a warrant, according to a statement issued by Newark City Mayor Ras J. Baraka. The name of the business, as well as the number of detainees, was not immediately released by city or ICE officials. One of the detainees was said to be a U.S. military veteran, who suffered the “indignity of having the legitimacy of his military documentation questioned,” according to Baraka. 

Any undocumented immigrant can be arrested as part of “collateral” damage, border czar Tom Homan had earlier announced.

ICE has confirmed the raid where some U.S. citizens may have been detained especially in Newark, New Jersey.

ICE’s statement read: “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement may encounter U.S. citizens while conducting field work and may request identification to establish an individual’s identity, as was the case during a targeted enforcement operation at a worksite today (January 23) in Newark, New Jersey. This is an active investigation and, per ICE policy, we cannot discuss ongoing investigations.”

 

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The raid in New Jersey’s largest city followed President Donald J. Trump’s pledge to deport millions of immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally, including in sanctuary cities that have policies protecting illegal immigrants.

The arrests zeroed in on criminals, but migrants without criminal convictions were also reportedly arrested.

The actions come in the days after officials in major cities friendly to migrants, such as Chicago, Denver and Minneapolis, anticipated ICE major raids of immigrant communities.

The Department of Homeland Security has confirmed it was ending a policy that restricted ICE agents’ ability to arrest undocumented people at or near so-called sensitive locations, including houses of worship, schools and hospitals.

 

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LET’S SAVE OUR PLANET. Let's close our doors. Let's remember to close doors behind us when entering or leaving rooms. Many people don't realize that shutting doors, especially if they lead onto a hallway or to the outside, helps conserve a lot of heat by cutting down on drafts.

FROM EGGS TO FETUS. A fertilized egg is as small as the point of a pin. An 8-week-old fetus is about the size of a nickel.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)