Fears of the mass deportation of undocumented Filipinos in the United States with the return to the White House of President-elect Donald Trump are largely exaggerated, immigration lawyer Jath Shao maintained yesterday.

Shao called the concern a tiny problem that has been blown out of proportion while being clothed in political rhetoric.

The lawyer noted that while Filipino-Americans make up roughly one percent of the US population, they account for only 0.2 percent of all deportation cases.

He emphasized that of the 9.6-million deportation cases filed in the US over the past 24 years, only around 25,000 involved Filipinos, with just 1,200 currently facing deportation.

The lawyer attributed the growing anxiety among Filipinos to the political climate rather than to the actual risk, pointing out that most Filipino immigrants, especially those in healthcare, are documented and unlikely to face deportation.

“This is a political problem more than a real one,” Shao noted.

Still, Trump said late Sunday (Monday in Manila) that he was bringing back hardline immigration official Tom Homan to oversee the country’s borders in the incoming administration.

The 78-year-old Republican tycoon has pledged to launch — on day one of his presidency — the largest deportation of undocumented migrants in US history.

“I am pleased to announce that the former ICE director and stalwart on border control, Tom Homan, will be joining the Trump administration, in charge of our nation’s borders (The Border Czar),” Trump posted on his social network Truth Social.

“I’ve known Tom for a long time, and there is nobody better at policing and controlling our borders,” he added.

Seek assistance

Earlier this month, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez advised undocumented Filipinos to seek legal aid or potentially face deportation.

Romualdez said any crackdown on undocumented immigrants would require substantial resources.

The ambassador estimated there were 250,000 to 300,000 undocumented Filipinos in the US, adding that nine out of ten undocumented individuals would eventually be found out.

Shao, however, countered this, explaining that immigration laws allow many cases to be dismissed, particularly for individuals with close family ties to US citizens or green card holders.

He said that only about one-third of removal cases result in actual deportation, with many being dismissed due to procedural issues.

In response to heightened anxieties, the Pilipino Workers Center (PWC) has launched initiatives in support of undocumented Filipinos, including a rapid response hotline and free legal clinic.

PWC Executive Director Aquilina Soriano Versoza advised undocumented Filipinos against self-deportation, stressing that there are resources and pathways to citizenship available.

“They don’t need to self-deport. There are resources here — and we’re ready to support the immigrant community,” Versoza said.

Amid fears of Trump’s clampdown on illegal immigrants, several Filipinos voiced their opinions on social media about possible deportations.

Effects on Phl

On Sunday, Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero raised the specter of the mass deportation of Filipinos who were in the US illegally.

He also warned about the possible economic effects on the Philippines of Trump’s avowed goal to slap stiff tariffs on imported products, which would include those from the country.

Warnings have been raised about scammers who may offer to facilitate the stay of undocumented Filipinos in the US as is happening now in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

In complaints aired by Filipinos in the UAE through DAILY TRIBUNE’s digital show Usapang OFW, scammers were found to have exploited the Emirates amnesty program for overstaying aliens by offering them bogus visa assistance.

A number of Filipinos in the UAE said they were scammed of P30,000 each following the Emirates’ extension of the amnesty program to the end of the year.

‘Start packing’

Meanwhile, Trump said Homan will be in charge of “all deportation of illegal aliens back to their country of origin.”

Homan, who led immigration enforcement during part of Trump’s first administration, appeared at the Republican National Convention in July, telling supporters: “I have a message to the millions of illegal immigrants that Joe Biden released in our country: You better start packing now.”

Trump — who never conceded in 2020 — made a remarkable comeback to the presidency in the 5 November vote, cementing what is set to be more than a decade of US politics dominated by his hardline right-wing stance.

He will not be inaugurated until January, and so far has only made one Cabinet appointment, naming his campaign manager Susie Wiles — whom he calls “Ice Baby” due to her supposedly unflappable temperament — as the White House chief of staff.

Late Sunday, Trump told the New York Post he has offered Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik the job of US ambassador to the United Nations.

Stefanik, in her fifth term in office, told the newspaper she has accepted the role and was “truly honored.”

Supercharged tensions

While the US government has struggled for years to manage its southern border with Mexico, Trump has supercharged concerns by claiming an “invasion” was underway by migrants who will rape and murder Americans.

During his campaign, he repeatedly railed against undocumented immigrants, employing violent rhetoric about those who “poison the blood” of the country.

In rally speeches, he wildly exaggerated local tensions and misled his audiences about immigration statistics and policy.

Violent crime, which spiked in Trump’s first term, had fallen in every year of President Joe Biden’s administration.

Migrants commit fewer crimes proportionately than the native population, though foreign suspects have been named in a few high-profile cases of violent attacks on women and children, infuriating Republicans.

The number of US border patrol encounters with migrants crossing over from Mexico illegally is now about the same as in 2020, the last year of Trump’s presidency, after peaking at a record 250,000 for the month of December 2023.

Trump vowed to tackle migrant gangs using the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 — which allows the federal government to round up and deport foreigners coming from enemy countries — as part of a mass deportation drive he christened “Operation Aurora.”

Aurora, Colorado was the scene of a viral video showing armed Latinos rampaging through an apartment block that spurred sweeping, false narratives about the town being terrorized by Latin American migrants.

Trump has similarly promoted the fictitious story that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating residents’ pets.