MANILA – Filipinos planning to travel or immigrate to the United States have nothing to worry about despite US President-elect Donald Trump’s promises to deport illegal immigrants, a lawyer said on Monday.
American immigration lawyer Ryan Barshop said Filipinos planning to travel, invest, and immigrate in the United States should not worry at this point since policies in the United States have not changed yet.
“I see no problems with Filipinos applying for a US visa,” Barshop said in an interview on “Mornings @ ANC.”
US Embassy spokesperson Molly Koscina on Monday clarified that there has been no changes so far in the US visa policy and in the alliance between the two countries.
Barshop added that Filipinos who are worrying about immigration in the US should “wait and see” since there is nothing that can be done at present.
“Don’t act irrationally, wait and see what happens. Right now there is nothing we can do right now,” Barshop said.
Trump, during his campaign, promised to “put America first” which includes establishing new immigration controls and a crackdown on undocumented foreigners and stricter rules on issuance of visas.
The real estate mogul turned Republican nominee, has been criticized by Filipino and Filipino-Americans earlier this year after he tagged the Philippines as a terrorist country whose citizens should be barred from immigrating to the the US.
Barshop said legal immigrants have nothing to worry about at this point since Trump’s words on immigration are mostly campaign rhetoric and that the Republican nominee is “simply anti-illegal immigration.”
He also clarified that illegal immigrants in the US will not just be easily deported and will still be accorded due process which includes the right to be heard from an immigration lawyer, right to present evidence, and the right to present an argument on why you should not be deported.