Filipinos with old deportation orders are being picked up by INS

There has been a growing sense of alarm within the Filipino community in the past weeks as a result of the reported arrest and detention of many Filipinos under the Absconder Apprehension Initiative Program (AAIP), launched by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) jointly with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the US Marshals Service. "Absconders" are those who were ordered deported but never left the US. They simply "disappeared" or "went into hiding" instead of departing the US as ordered by the INS.

The INS estimates that there are over 320,000 aliens who have remained in the US despite deportation orders against them, or who have not left the United States despite being allowed to "voluntarily depart" by a certain date. Many Filipinos who applied for asylum, but either didn’t go to their hearing, or were ordered deported by the Immigration Judge, are among the absconders targetted by the INS. The move to arrest, detain, and finally remove these "absconders" was an aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Philippine consulates in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles are reporting an increase in the number of requests by the INS for travel documentation for Filipinos, prior to taking them to the airport for removal to the Philippines. Many are forced to leave behind family, children, homes, jobs, etc.

One of the most publicized cases is that of William Manalastas, a Filipino immigrant who was arrested in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and has been under detention for almost three months now in an INS facility in that state. His story has been on the front pages of many Filipino newspapers.

Manalastas’s story is typical of thousands of Filipinos who came to the US on visitor’s visa, and decided to stay and work here, some legally, but most of them illegally, or by applying for immigration benefits to which they were not entitled. He arrived in the United States in 1992 on a visitor’s visa, but decided to remain in the US and become TNT. He found work, and a year later, his wife and four young daughters followed, also on visitor’s visas.

A friend suggested that he go to a travel agent, who, according to his friend, had helped hundreds of Filipinos file for political asylum and obtain work permits. He went to the travel agent and paid $9,000 for a fictitious asylum application that entitled him to a work authorization and enabled him and his family to obtain Social Security numbers.

Manalastas and his wife found work, and their daughters went to school. They thought everything was okay, until he received a notice for his asylum interview. He went to see the travel agent to seek his advice on how to go about with the interview, but the travel agent advised him to get a lawyer.

After numerous court hearings and hiring three different attorneys, his application for political asylum was denied by the Immigration Judge. He was ordered deported, but he opted for voluntary departure.

Rather than leaving the US by his voluntary departure date, Manalastas decided, instead, to leave New Jersey, and become TNT (tago nang tago). He never told his daughters the true reason for their leaving, and the family reluctantly moved to quiet Elizabethtown in Kentucky, where he found a job at a beverage plant. His wife found a job, too, and the kids found new friends.

Life went on smoothly for the family or so he thought. The INS eventually tracked him down one day, when FBI agents came knocking at his door and arrested him. He was immediately detained at the INS detention center. The rest of the family was spared from detention for the time being because one of the children was a minor.

In a single day, the dreams and hopes of a better life were shattered and the nightmare began for the family. With Manalastas in jail, and his wife and the grown-up children unable to work, they soon had to sell possessions to survive and pay for legal fees.

I know that there are thousands of other Filipinos who have outstanding deportation orders, but have remained in the US. With the Absconder Program, they are now in fear that any day now, INS or FBI agents will be knocking at their door or at their place of work, to arrest them and send them back to the Philippines.

I would advise these people to seek the advice of a reputable attorney now, before the INS agents pick them up. Although absconders are not ordinarily entitled to legal relief or immigration benefits, it could be possible that their circumstances could qualify them for such relief. But this determination can only be made on a case-by-case basis, after a thorough review of the underlying case and facts.

There may be other legal remedies that you have available to avoid deportation, or maybe even legalize your status. But you should see a reputable attorney, who will keep all information about your case confidential.

The INS is serious about deporting "absconders." You have to act now. You do not want to end up in an INS detention facility, with all your savings and everything you have worked so hard for gone, and your future as bleak as the day you first set foot on US soil. You do not want your family to suffer such a fate. You and your family came to the US to have a better life. You deserve that.

Michael J. Gurfinkel has been a licensed attorney in California for over 21 years. He has always excelled in school: Valedictorian in High School; Cum Laude at UCLA; and Law Degree Honors and academic scholar at Loyola Law School, which is one of the top law schools in California. He is also an active member of the State Bar of California, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and the Immigration Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. All immigration services are provided by an active member of the State Bar of California and/or by a person under the supervision of an active member of the State Bar.

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