Longer stay for 350k Filipinos facing deportation in US possible under Biden admin — envoy

MANILA, Philippines —  It is possible that some 350,000 Filipinos facing deportation in the United States may extend their stay as changes in immigration policies are expected under the administration of President-elect Joe Biden, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said Wednesday.

“Right now, meron tayong 350,000 pending cases of deportation. Siguro, maybe quite a number of those is now on appeal as deportation courts,” Romualdez said in a televised briefing.

(Right now, we have 350,000 pending cases of deportation. Maybe quite a number of those are now on appeal in deportation courts.)

“Posibleng puwedeng ma-extend yung kanilang stay dito at it’s also possible na itong changes that might occur during the presidency of President-elect Biden,” he added.

(Their stay here might be extended and it’s also possible that these changes might occur during the presidency of President-elect Biden.)

Under the administration of incumbent US President Donald Trump, the US Department of Homeland Security imposed a one-year ban on the issuance of nonimmigrant working visas, H-2A and H-2B, to Filipinos from Jan. 19, 2019 to Jan. 18, 2020. It cited concerns on overstaying and human trafficking.

Before the ban expired, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services released a new list of countries whose nationals are eligible to receive H-2A and H-2B visas, but this excluded the Philippines.

Upon the announcement of Biden’s victory in the 2020 elections, Malacañang also expressed hoped for a policy shift in immigration for undocumented Filipino immigrants to get a legal status in the US.

EDV