Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez emphasized on Friday that the Philippines is not considered one of the “top sources” of undocumented migrants in the United States.

This follows a 2023 report by the Migration Policy Institute in Washington D.C. where the Philippines placed sixth among countries with the highest number of undocumented immigrants at around 309,000 in 2021.

Romualdez, comparing the past and present figures amid the intensified crackdown on illegal migrants under US President Donald Trump, suggested that the figures may have since declined.

“I don’t think it’s as high as before. Based on our experience, we haven’t seen that many undocumented individuals. It’s very hard to tell because, as we often say, these are people who are in hiding (tago-ng-tago), so we won’t really know where they are. We certainly do not want to provide inaccurate information,” Romualdez said in a televised interview.

The ambassador estimated the number of undocumented Filipinos at between 250,000 and 300,000, although he stressed that these figures remain rough estimates, as Filipinos are widely dispersed across the US.

He said that although the Philippines can be pointed to as being among the leading sources of immigrants, it must be viewed in context.