‘Arrest’ of 34-year-old Pinoy in New York sparks panic

By Alex P. Vidal 

“For the undocumented immigrants, the big priority is just to get out from the shadows, be able to get a driver’s license, buy an airplane ticket and stop worrying about sudden deportation. But for the country as a whole, it’s crucial that everybody have a citizen’s stake in the nation’s welfare.” —Gail Collins

THE reported arrest by the New York Police Department (NYPD) of a 34-year-old Filipino male in Elmhurst, Queens, New York City hours before the inauguration of President Donald Trump in Washington D.C. on January 20, had sparked fears and panic among worried members of the Filipino community.

Adding to confusion was the seemingly misleading and cryptic story that quoted Ambassador to the US, Jose Manuel Romualdez, and picked up by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in Manila that “24 Filipinos have been deported from the US.”

“We’ve monitored around 24 Filipinos who have already been deported from the US because they were involved in some criminal activities, but these were not very serious crimes. They were already deported, something like 24,” Romualdez was quoted in the news shared by various TV and radio networks in Manila January 27.

The truth is, no single Filipino migrant was among the reported 1,300 undocumented aliens with criminal records that have been arrested, so far, in raids since January 20, when President Donald Trump took office until most recently.

This writer had exclusively reported a zero arrest involving Filipinos anywhere in the 50 states within that period.

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Romualdez could be referring to Filipinos with links to criminal activities nabbed and processed under the past Biden administration, not during the lightning U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) raids from January 20 onward.

The ambassador, however, did not clarify his strikingly worrisome and ambiguous statement, which was erroneously interpreted to mean that 24 Filipinos were altogether arrested and deported alongside those who have been deported recently to Guatemala, Mexico, Colombia.

“According to some lawyers, ICE, or any law enforcement for that matter, can’t just pick us up or enter in our apartment without any warrant of arrest,” insisted a 56-year-old Filipina caregiver, who lives with her husband, a chef, and two daughters aged 19 and 23 in reaction to the case of a 34-year-old Filipino male. “We have the right to remain silent, but we will not lie, of course.”

Thaddeus, 70, confirmed his nephew, Donovan, 34, has not returned as of January 27, or seven days since being taken away by the NYPD in their apartment on 57^th Avenue.

“I texted him, but he has not answered back,” Thaddeus disclosed. “I’m sure he was in the custody of of the NYPD because I was the one who opened the door when the cops arrived and presented an order from a judge.”

Thaddeus did not elaborate.

Donovan’s landlady, Exotica, 75, downed by flu for two weeks now, admitted she has not seen the 34-year-old tenant since January 20.

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Thaddeus refused to comment if Donavan’s case was related to the ongoing city-to-city and state-by-state raids and arrests by elements of the ICE and CBP but emphasized that his nephew did not have a criminal record.

“I only learned he was recently involved in a misunderstanding related to a domestic spat, but I don’t think it would warrant his deportation,” surmised Thaddeus.

Donovan, a hospital employee in Brooklyn, is from Negros Occidental. When his father died in Colorado 12 years ago, he was entrusted to Thaddeus.

ICE and CBP have not been coordinating with the local police when conducting operations related to the Trump administration’s policy to rid the United States of undocumented aliens with criminal records in many parts of the country, especially in so-called “sanctuary” cities like New York, Boston, New Jersey, Chicago, and California, was learned.

Suspicious Filipinos had speculated Donovan’s cases could be part of the ICE and CBP operations that have so far rounded up 1,300 migrants mostly from Mexico, Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala, Venezuela.

The controversial raids and arrests implemented in different cities and states were only the beginning, according to Tom Homan, President Trump’s border czar.

“There’s a lot of anxiety and a lot of uncertainty and the ink is not even dry on these executive orders,” New York City Mayor EricsAdams told Corona residents recently.

Responding to concerns that his administration would collaborate with ICE by allowing agents to carry out raids in New York schools, Adams said New York residents should continue to go about their daily lives.

“We are very clear, children should go to school. Those who need healthcare should go to hospitals. Those who are involved in any type of interaction where they’re victims of a crime, they should speak to the law enforcement agencies. We have maintained that over and over again,” Adams said.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)