Chess players fear Trump   deportation crackdown

By Alex P. Vidal 

“I don’t want to be breaking up families, so the only way you don’t break up the family is you keep them together and you have to send them all back.” —Donal Trump on his plan to deport illegal aliens.

MARIANO believes even if he will be the winningest chess player among undocumented Filipinos in the East Coast or in the entire United States, “it will become meaningless” if he is deported to the Philippines when the Trump administration takes over in 2025.

“I’m in the thick of preparations for more lucrative (chess) tournaments in 2025, but if President (Donald) Trump will push through with his crackdown plans against illegal aliens, all my sacrifices and efforts will go to waste,” Mariano, who speaks Waray, lamented in Tagalog.

The 58-year-old chess player, who entered the US in 2014 on a P-1A visa, said he still wants to play in the 2025 U.S. Open Championship on July 28-August 3, 2025; 63rd Annual Pittsburgh Chess League: Round 8 on April 6, 2025; and 2025 Cincinnati Open in Blue Ash, Ohio on April 11-13, 2025.

“Sayang lang if I will miss these tournaments,” Mariano sobbed.

P-1A, often used by athletes in sports, is a nonimmigrant visa for athletes, coaches, and support staff who want to compete in the United States. To qualify, athletes must demonstrate exceptional ability and international recognition.

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Mariano and several other Filipino chess players “overstayed” their visas issued in the US Embassy Manila they obtained on purpose of “playing chess in the World Open” in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

“Marami kami na dumating sa US at nasa New York ngayon. Ang iba lumipat na sa California.” (There are plenty of us who arrived in the US and have been staying in New York. Others have transferred to California),” Mariano, who has survived by taking different “under the table” jobs, narrated.

“Under the table” means wages—cash, check, or other compensation—paid by employers with the intent to evade paying payroll taxes.

“Lahat kami ay may magandang pangrap sa buhay. We support our families in the Philippines. Hindi kami masamang tao unlike the criminals from other countries who entered the US by crossing the border illegally. Dapat bigyan kami ng pagkakataon na ituwid ang aming immigration status at huwag ipa deport.”    

(We have good plans for the future, and we support our families in the Philippines. We are not bad people unlike the criminals who entered the US by crossing the border illegally. We should be given the chance to fix our immigration status instead of being deported.)

Mariano disclosed that some of his fellow chess players with the same predicament have decided to “separate” from their wives in the Philippines and “married” US citizens, thus they are unfazed by the incoming Trump administration’s threat of mass deportation.

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Ferdinand, one of Mariano’s “batch mates” (chess players who arrived and decided to indefinitely stay in the US like him), is in quandary because “he didn’t expect Trump to win” in the November 5, 2024 presidential election.

Ferdinand, 49, a top-rated chess player in the Philippines, never competed in big chess tournaments since he arrived in the US in 2013 and has been working “under the table” odd jobs to support his family—including three children—in Cebu.

“Akala niya mananalo si (Vice President Kamala) Harris kaya nagkumpiansa sia (Ferdinand),” Mariano recalled. “Ngayon takot na takot sia gaya ng iba.” (Ferdinand thought Vice President Kamala Harris would win that’s why he became confident. Now, he is stricken with fear just like the others.)

Ferdinand, who has reportedly “saved enough for rainy season”, said he will quit as caregiver and stay inside his apartment “until after the ICE is done with the arrest of illegal aliens” when the Trump administration begins on January 20, 2025.

ICE is Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), is Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agency that enforces federal laws related to immigration, trade, customs, and border control.

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Ariel, 46, Mariano’s other “batch mate”, has obtained a US Chess Federation (USCF) norm and was able to compete in some of the major tournaments in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Las Vegas, in the past eight years.

Anticipating a change of administration from the Democrat to Republican, Ariel “terminated” his marriage with his Mindanao-based wife and married a New York-based female US citizen two years ago. As a green card holder now, Ariel “heaved a sigh of relief” when Trump won against Harris.

Leandro, 58, another “overstaying” chess player, said as early as December 2024, he has started avoiding the busy subways in Queens and Manhattan where the ICE agents are expected to strike even before Mr. Trump has occupied the White House.

“It’s hard to relax and be complacent,” Leandro, a former bar tender in Negros, gushed in Hiligaynon. Although he is a chess player like Ferdinand, Mariano and Ariel, Leandro entered the US 13 years ago on a tourist visa together with his wife and two children. He is not part of Mariano’s group.

Eight other male and at least four female chess players—all Mariano’s “batch mates”—have been worrying since after Trump won back the White House and when the president-elect reiterated his threat to deport millions of those living in the US illegally

Immigration was the centerpiece of Mr. Trump’s campaign, and he didn’t flinch in saying he will carry out mass deportation.

First will be convicted criminals, he said. It’s also possible that American citizens will be caught up in the sweep and deported with family members who are here illegally, or could choose to go.

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