Gov’t ready to assist Pinoys in LA affected by immigration protests
The government will come to the aid of Filipino immigrants affected by protests in Los Angeles, California, against ongoing raids of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which is targeting illegal aliens with criminal records.
Malacañang gave this assurance on Tuesday in the wake of reports that a Filipino immigrant with prior felony convictions was among those arrested by ICE.
Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Philippine Consulate General in LA were ordered to continuously monitor the immigration arrests and the protests in downtown Los Angeles.
“The President’s instruction was to extend assistance to Filipinos, especially if they are based or are working in other countries. But he also reminded them to follow the laws of the country that they are staying or working in,” Castro said in a press briefing.
On Sunday, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported that Rolando Enriquez, a 55-year-old Filipino immigrant, was among those arrested by ICE agents.
The DHS said in a report on its website that Enriquez had prior felony convictions: a four-year prison sentence for burglary in Ontario, Canada, and a 37-year prison sentence for sexual penetration with a foreign object with force and assault with intent to commit rape in Pomona, California.
Consul General Adel Cruz of the Philippine Consulate General in LA said that Enriquez was not an illegal alien but an immigrant with legal grounds for deportation under US law.
