24 deported Filipinos arrested under Biden, says DFA official

MANILA, Philippines —  A ranking official of the Department of Foreign Affairs said while deportations are expected to increase under the Trump administration, all recent deportations of Filipinos from the United States were ordered before President Donald Trump took office. 

The 24 Filipinos whose deportation was recently reported by the Philippines' ambassador to the United States were all sent back between Oct. 1, 2024 and January 18, during the final months of the Biden administration, said Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega in an interview on One News' The Big Story on Wednesday, January 29. 

"From the first Monday (January 20) of the Trump administration's assumption of office up to at least last Monday (January 27), according to our embassy in Washington, there was not one of any Filipino citizens who was deported," De Vega said. 

At least another 16 Filipinos who were arrested before Trump took office are "already in the pipeline" for deportation, the DFA official said. 

While the Philippines' embassy in the US does not have the "full details" behind why the 16 were arrested, De Vega said it is related to the legality of their stay in the US. "One thing for sure, they're overstaying," he said.

De Vega said these Filipinos are now under the custody of the US' Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which started conducting sweeping raids to carry out Trump's mass deportation program days after the US leader took office. 

The DFA official did not rule out a possible increase in the number of Filipinos who will be caught and deported under Trump in the next months.

On Jan. 26, the ICE arrested at least 1,179 people in a single day, with nearly half of those detained not having any criminal record, according to a January 28 report by NBC News. 

"If there are a few hundred who are deported every quarter, and of course, under the Trump administration, this number is bound to increase. We have to admit that. It's going to increase," De Vega said.

However, the DFA official maintained that even if a few hundred Filipinos are deported every quarter, it would not indicate a trend of mass deportations. 

"If there are only a relatively few Filipinos who are deported every year, let us say a thousand or less than a thousand... it doesn't mean that we're going to see a very worrisome trend of suddenly all the Filipinos being forced home before the Trump administration ends its term of office," he said.

The DFA official advised undocumented Filipinos to consider three options: voluntary return to the Philippines, seeking legal assistance to regularize their status, or maintaining a low profile. 

He noted that Filipino-American lawyers under the Filipino-American Legal Assistance Fund are available to provide legal support. 

De Vega observed that the Trump administration appears to be targeting specific groups, particularly those with pending criminal offenses. "They seem to know which kinds of overstaying aliens they wanted out... those with pending search warrants, meaning pending criminal offenses in the United States," he explained.

The DFA official emphasized that while the Philippines cannot interfere with U.S. immigration policies, Philippine diplomats are ready to assist Filipino nationals who need help with legal consultation or repatriation.

The Department of Labor and Employment said it is preparing to provide livelihood assistance to deported Filipinos upon their return.