PH envoy hopes changes in immigration policy after Democrats win US Congress - GMA Network

Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez on Thursday expressed hope that there would be changes in the immigration policy of the United States, following the historic victory of the Democratic Party in the midterm elections.

Romualdez said that possible adjustments in the US immigration policy would "definitely" alleviate the concerns of Filipinos who have questionable status, given the strict immigration crackdown of the Trump administration.

“Some of the policies that affect us, including ‘yung sa immigration, there could be some changes dahil the Democrats have been pushing for a different approach especially in the detention at saka arrest ng mga illegal aliens sa United States,” the ambassador explained in a Super Radyo dzBB interview.

(Some of the policies that affect us, including immigration, there could be some changes because the Democrats have been pushing for a different approach especially in the detention and the arrest of illegal aliens in the United States.)

“Hopefully it would be a different kind of approach, maybe. But we will see what happens,” he added.

Romualdez said the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC has been regularly coordinating with the US Department of Homeland Security to see how they can ease the burden of affected Filipinos.

The envoy earlier called on Filipinos who have “questionable” status in the United States to leave the country voluntarily as the Trump administration imposed stricter immigration and visa policies.

The Philippine Embassy likewise advised Filipino nationals who have concerns regarding their immigration status to consult a qualified US immigration attorney or an accredited legal service provider “for advice appropriate to their individual circumstances.”

Aside from this, Romualdez said the recent Democratic takeover of the US Congress may have no much effect on the Philippines in general.

“Para sa atin, it will not be too much of an effect dahil marami tayong kaibigan both from the Democrats at saka sa Republicans,” he said.

(For us, it will not have too much of an effect because we have many friends both from the Democrats and also from the Republicans.)

“We have a bipartisan support from the US Congress. So I think it will be the same,” he added. — RSJ, GMA News