The phones are been ringing, and more migrants are walking into the Filipino Migrant Center in North Long Beach after the Philippines' ambassador said undocumented Filipinos should return home now.
“My advice to them is to immediately leave voluntarily because once you’re deported, you can never come back to the United States,” said Jose Manuel Ramualdez, the Philippines' Ambassador to the United States, during a news conference after President-elect Trump made the threats of possible mass deportations. “My advice to them is not to wait to be deported.”
It’s blunt advice from Ramualdez, but it's not entirely correct. If a migrant is caught without authorization in the U.S., he or she could face a 10-year ban from returning legally.
“The Philippines' ambassador should not have said those things because it causes unnecessary panic in our community,” said Romeo Hebron, the executive director of the Filipino Migrant Center in Long Beach.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
Hebron said among 4 million Filipinos in the U.S., one in four are undocumented although the Migration Policy Institute put those estimates at around 370,000.
Many Filipinos have in the U.S. for decades, living in mix-status families, like a grandmother Hebron talked with after she heard the ambassador’s comments.
“She has been here in west Long Beach for over 30 years. She really planted her roots here, and this is her home. She was wondering if she was going to be deported or not,” said Hebron.
What many fear the most is family-separation.
The migrant center held a “know your rights” session Monday, advising immigrants on legal options, their rights if they engage with ICE officers and preparing them for the possibility of deportation.
Hebron wants migrants to remain calm, figure out a plan and prepare for whatever the incoming administration delivers on January 20th.
It still unclear exactly what the incoming administration deportation plans. but the appointed border czar said plans will be finalized this week.
