MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Ambassador to the United States, Jose Manuel Romualdez, has urged undocumented Filipinos living in the U.S. to seek advice from immigration lawyers to explore options for legalizing their status. He emphasized the significant risk of deportation for those without legal status and stressed the importance of taking immediate action.
“Undocumented Filipinos can go to an immigration lawyer now to start fixing their status; they have a chance to legalize it,” Romualdez stated in an interview on DZBB on March 23.
He also warned that individuals who are deported from the U.S. may be barred from returning. This advisory comes in light of the U.S. government’s recent decision to terminate temporary protected status for 530,000 individuals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, effective April 24. This ends a program initiated by former President Joe Biden that allowed nationals from these countries to enter the U.S. with the support of sponsors.
In January, 24 Filipinos were deported from the U.S. due to alleged criminal activities. Since November, Romualdez has consistently warned about potential mass deportations under President Donald Trump’s administration, which has pledged to enforce stricter immigration laws and deport undocumented immigrants using military resources.
According to estimates from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2022, there are approximately 350,000 undocumented Filipinos in the United States, making the Philippines the fifth-largest source of illegal immigrants in the country, following Honduras, which ranks fourth with 560,000 undocumented individuals.
