MANILA, Philippines — Two senators on Tuesday appealed for the creation of a comprehensive contingency plan for undocumented Filipinos in the United States amid fears of mass deportation.
Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, for his part, said it is easy to just tell Filipinos to come home instead of waiting to get deported, but he emphasized that this is not enough.
“Instead of sounding alarmist, our government officials should focus on creating a comprehensive contingency plan to assist our Filipino kababayans if, and when, President-elect Donald Trump follows through on his campaign promise to implement a large-scale immigration crackdown,” said Estrada.
READ: How Trump’s mass deportation plan will impact undocumented Filipinos
“In addition to the efforts of concerned government agencies to create logistical support plans for eventual repatriation, authorities should also help returning Filipinos by providing them with jobs or other means of livelihood,” he emphasized.
The Senate’s second top leader then noted that the Philippine government should be prepared to offer financial assistance programs to help families affected by the possible incident.
READ: Better for undocumented Filipinos in US to leave than be deported – envoy
Meanwhile, Sen. Imee Marcos—head of the chamber’s panel on foreign relations—directly appealed to both chambers of Congress that they provide necessary funds to the Department of Foreign Affairs in order for the agency to respond promptly and adequately to the impending deportation of more than 200,000 undocumented Filipinos in the US.
“The DFA must be adequately prepared to provide timely and effective assistance to our kababayans facing this crisis,” said Marcos.
“To be fully equipped, the DFA needs at least P12.4 billion and possibly up to P27.286 billion to meet any surge in costs. Yet, the current allocation is only 5 to 10 percent of this requirement—a significant shortfall that must be addressed,” she added.
Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez earlier said it would be better for undocumented Filipinos, “if they have no path to staying legally”—to leave instead of being deported, otherwise the chances of being able to come back is almost zero.
The ambassador earlier said that most of the 200,000 undocumented Filipinos in the US have already filed petitions for permanent residency status.
In 2023, a report by the Migration Policy Institute in Washington DC showed that the Philippines is the sixth top source of undocumented immigrants in the US with a population estimated at 309,000 in 2021.
The estimated unauthorized immigrant population in the US was at 11.2 million in 2021, up from 11.0 million in 2019 and a larger annual growth rate seen since 2015.