Filipino activists demand consular services for human trafficking survivors and migrants wrongfully detained by ICE for anti-human trafficking month
New York, N.Y. – On the eve of Trump’s inauguration, one hundred Filipino community members protested outside the Philippine Consulate General of New York (PCGNY) to condemn the lack of support from the Philippine Consulate and the State for migrants in distress. Protesters also condemned the incoming Trump administration’s plans of mass deportation of migrants as part of the administration’s anti-worker and anti-migrant policies.
Filipino community members addressed two specific cases: Dhenmark Francisco and Jovi Esperanza, two Filipino Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) wrongfully held in ICE detention, as well as the Florida 15, survivors of human trafficking. Their case was reopened after more than 10 years when their employer, JoJo Villanueva, was imprisoned in the Philippines but recently released on bail.
Earlier this year, BAYAN USA and Migrante USA launched the “Defend Migrant Workers” campaign to support the estimated 1 million undocumented Filipinos in the U.S. who fear deportation under the incoming Trump administration’s immigration policies. In response to Trump’s reelection, Philippine Ambassador to the U.S., Jose Romualdez advised Filipino migrants to self-deport, despite many Filipino migrant workers having cemented their livelihoods in the U.S. for years, supporting not only their families, but the Philippine economy by regularly sending remittances home.
The activists presented the following demands to the PCGNY: (1) Protection, not Deportation! Do NOT cooperate with the US Department of Homeland Security in any manner, especially not to deport, harass, or surveil our kababayan, (2) Stop refusing to meet with Filipino Nationals in Distress, (3) Transparency with ATN funds.
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