Escudero hits ‘cruel’ Trump plan to deport Filipinos to Libya
STOCK PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero on Thursday branded as an act of cruelty the reported plan of the United States to deport Asian immigrants, including Filipinos, to war-torn Libya.
“Filipinos are not camels to be dumped on some Libyan desert. They are human beings who deserve to be accorded all the rights by a state who claim to cherish and uphold them,” Escudero said in a statement on Thursday.
According to reports, the Trump administration was planning to deport a group of migrants to Libya on a US military plane.
The move, however, was temporarily halted by District Judge Brian Murphy as this would violate his earlier order allowing migrants to challenge their deportation to a country other their own.
Still, Escudero called on Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez to check on the status of all Filipinos scheduled for deportation or transfer to other states.
And if necessary, he said, the Philippine government should also extend legal assistance to Filipinos facing legal troubles in the US to ensure that their rights are protected and “that they will not be forced to endure possible persecution in countries with a history of human rights violations.”
“If the United States wants to deport our citizens, then we are willing to welcome our kababayan back. There is absolutely no need for this cruelty to export them to a third country,” Escudero stressed.
“Dignified repatriation of our brothers and sisters is all we seek, not some rendition to an offshore penitentiary in a country which does not want them,” Escudero added.
