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Cristina Chi - Philstar.com
July 21, 2025 | 2:30pm
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents stand near a gate at Delaney Hall, a newly converted immigrant detention centre in Elizabeth, New Jersey May 7, 2025.
AFP / Timothy Clar
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine ambassador to the United States believes there is no negotiating around US President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigrants, saying on Monday, July 21, that the best Manila can do is to ensure deported Filipinos are sent home and not dumped in a third country.
The Philippine embassy in Washington lacks updated figures on Filipinos facing deportation, but Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez estimates the number could be near 100,000, many of them in California.
"The bottom line is there is really not much room for discussion, but to simply work in such a way that all Filipinos that are up for deportation will be deported to the Philippines and not to a third country," Romualdez told reporters during a press briefing on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s visit to Washington and first meeting with Trump this week.
"I think [it] has already been agreed upon, that any kind of deportation will be, as long as they're Filipino citizens, we will make sure that they are deported to the Philippines," Romualdez added.
Since his return to office, Trump's immigration crackdown has swept beyond undocumented immigrants with criminal records to include those with no criminal history. Mass raids by federal agents have reportedly ensnared even documented immigrants, including green card holders who have lived in the US for decades.
Third country deportations have already been done in specific cases where the deportees' home countries would not accept them.
Filipino diaspora in California. Most affected Filipinos are concentrated on the West Coast, particularly California, though some are also on the East Coast, according to Romualdez. The exact number of Filipinos subject to be deported are "confidential matters of the Homeland Security and U.S. immigration," but Romualdez estimates the figure at "anywhere between perhaps a little less than 100,000."
"They only inform us about this when they see that it's important for the Philippine Embassy to work with them on how we can repatriate these Filipinos," Romualdez said.
According to a November 2024 US Immigration and Customs Enforcement document, at least 3,772 Filipinos have "final orders of removal" but remain undetained in the United States.
"As I've always said, those that have a legal path should have already contacted immigration lawyers. We have volunteer Filipino-American lawyers associations that have come forward to help our Filipino Kababayans," Romualdez added.
Reversal of approach. These mass deportations have caused anxiety among several Filipino families and workers in the US.
But Trump's tough immigration policy will "probably not" be on the agenda when Marcos meets him later this week, Romualdez said.
Instead, the two leaders' first in-person talks will focus on the US and the Philippines' growing defense ties and economic cooperation.
It is a reversal of Marcos' earlier remarks in January when he expressed hope of meeting Trump to "influence" his immigration policy, days after the US president was sworn in for a second term.
Tariff talks. Besides immigration, another thorny issue is also hounding Marcos in his upcoming meet with his US counterpart: Trump's recent decision to raise tariffs on Philippine goods from 17% to 20%, which will take effect August 1.
The Philippine government has already sent trade officials to the US ahead of Marcos' visit with a goal of securing a more favorable trade deal.
"We totally understand the dynamics of the discussions because, as you know, President Trump made it clear that the United States is in the process of imposing tariffs, which he feels is going to just be fair for the United States," Romualdez said.
"Every country has their own national interest to protect. And in our case, we also would like to see something that would be good for both our countries," he added.
