Romualdez: Expelled ‘TNTs’ were accused of minor crimes
Some 24 Filipinos illegally staying in the United States have already been deported as the Trump administration makes good on its promise to expel undesirable foreigners, starting with those involved in criminal activities.
On Sunday, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez disclosed in a radio interview that the first group of Filipinos to be banished under the newly installed leadership’s draconian policy against undocumented immigrants were composed of individuals accused of minor offenses.
“Something like 24 of them. They have already been deported because they were involved… not serious crimes, but they were involved in some criminal activity,” he told Super Radyo dzBB in a mixture of Filipino and English.
Romualdez earlier advised Filipinos who have been illegally residing in the US to either legitimize their stay there or voluntarily return home to the Philippines before they are caught and forcibly ejected.
However, he also advised Filipinos with a legal pathway to obtain legal US residency to secure the services of competent immigration lawyers to legitimize their stay in the foreign land.
The Ambassador said that those legally working in the US have the best chance at legalizing their residence status.
“They [those legally employed] have the best chance [at immigration]. Those who are here… working and paying their taxes… have the biggest chance of obtaining legal status. Especially, if they are sponsored by their employers,” Romualdez explained.
In November, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said that it would assist over 300,000 undocumented Filipinos in the US who are at risk of being deported.
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo Jose De Vega said it is “almost impossible” that the estimated 300,000 Filipinos staying illegally in the US can be deported within the Trump administration’s 4-year term.
He advised illegal immigrants, sometimes referred to as “TNTs” [tago ng tago], to work towards legalizing their status in the country, even while telling them to “keep a low profile” in the intervening period.
“If you are targeted for deportation, you also have legal means to contest your deportation and at least legally stay for several months. Argue that you are doing something productive in the US. And sometimes, it’s a success… it prevents deportation,” De Vega said during a news forum on Saturday.
It can be recalled that during the campaign trail, Trump vowed that he would crack down on illegal migrants, but said that his administration would go after criminals and terrorists first.
On Saturday, the White House announced that hundreds of “illegal immigrant criminals” in the US have already been arrested, and some of them almost immediately flown out of the country on military planes as the promised mass deportation operation got underway.
“The Trump Administration arrested 538 illegal immigrant criminals including a suspected terrorist, four members of the Tren de Aragua gang, and several illegals convicted of sex crimes against minors,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on X [formerly Twitter].