By means of Chloe Mari A. Hufana, Reporter
THE Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) on Tuesday sought a joint approach to address the challenges facing undocumented Filipinos in the US as fears of mass deportations loom under President Donald J. Trump.
“We strongly advocate a unified, coherent response, ranging from legal assistance to reintegration services, not only to enable the government to effectively monitor these initiatives, but also to provide our fellow countrymen with a one-stop shop for accessible and comprehensive services,” said TUCP Vice President of TUCP. -President Luis C. Corral said in a statement.
The group sought the creation of an inter-agency body to coordinate efforts among government agencies, civil society and Philippine organizations in the US to support some 370,000 undocumented Filipinos at risk of deportation.
The Department of Migrant Workers, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Labor and Employment, the Department of Trade and Industry and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority are among the government agencies charged with overseeing the case.
“The Philippine government will always be ready to assist our countrymen If the speculation about mass deportation will ever indeed be done by the new US administration,” said Labor Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma. Business world in a Viber message.
Mr. Corral said sending Filipino workers back from abroad to reintegrate would help, not only through employment facilitation but also through public employment programs.
Josue Raphael J. Cortez, a lecturer at De La Salle-College of St. Benilde’s School of Diplomacy and Governance, said the strategy should involve government, the private sector and civil society.
Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel G. Romualdez and embassy staff should coordinate efforts to help Filipinos in the US, he added.
Grassroots groups may have a better chance of connecting with the families of these undocumented Filipinos and providing input on how to best facilitate their return to the Philippines, Mr. Cortez said.
“In this regard, public-private partnerships and dialogue can be undertaken as soon as possible as the main purpose for them to move abroad is to obtain better employment opportunities,” he added.
Filipinos in the US considering repatriation may be encouraged to return sooner if livelihood options are available when they return home, he pointed out.
Benjamin B. Velasco, an assistant professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman School of Labor and Industrial Relations, said the potential mass deportation is contrary to Manila’s national interest as a labor-sending country.
“Deportation only leads to family separation and human suffering,” he said in a Facebook Messenger chat. “Many undocumented Filipinos belong to mixed-status families.”
“To face the consequences of Trump 2.0, we need to increase public employment and develop an industrial policy,” he said, adding that the former should be an immediate response while the latter should be a strategic policy.
Mr. Velasco said we must begin with a more active role for the Philippine government in economic planning and development.
“We have let the private sector run the economy and the result is persistent unemployment, underemployment and labor migration,” he said. “Public sector-led industrialization is what is needed to address the root causes of underdevelopment.”
He said U.S. labor unions, immigrant organizations and civil society allies have opposed Trump’s mass deportation policies.
“We absolutely cannot face the prospect of hundreds of thousands of undocumented Filipinos being forcibly deported here,” he said. “Nevertheless, we must embark on a path of public-sector-led development that creates decent jobs and protects the environment, with or without Trump and others like him.”
Mr Trump was sworn in as the 47e President of the US on January 20. One of his key campaign promises was to strengthen border security and deport undocumented immigrants.
He began his return to the White House with a sweeping immigration push, ordering the U.S. military to shore up border security, issue a broad asylum ban and take steps to restrict citizenship for children born on U.S. soil, Reuters reported Tuesday.
The first US president to be convicted of a crime declared illegal immigration a national emergency. He directed the Pentagon, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense, to support construction of border walls, detention space and the transportation of migrants, and gave his secretary of defense the authority to send troops to the border if necessary.