MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said on Wednesday, November 13, that it was ready to assist the estimated 370,000 undocumented Filipino immigrants in the United States who may face deportation under the incoming administration under president-elect Donald Trump.

“The DMW is ready to provide all the necessary assistance and support to Filipinos, including undocumented OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) in the United States facing potential mass deportations with the shifts in US policies under the administration of president-elect Donald Trump,” the department said.

The DMW, along with its attached agency the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), said it has prepared support mechanisms like financial, medical, and legal assistance through the Agarang Kalinga at Saklolo para sa mga OFW na Nangangailangan (AKSYON) Fund and the emergency repatriation fund.

The AKSYON Fund is the department’s main source of funds for distressed OFWs. In the possibility of the mass deportation, the DMW said it will use the AKSYON Fund to provide financial aid and wide-ranging reintegration support, along with other support from government agencies.

The department’s National Reintegration Center for OFWs will also assist in job retooling, re-skilling, and employment facilitation for affected Filipinos in partnership with the labor and trade departments, as well as the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

The DMW is also exploring job opportunities the possible deportees may avail of, including job markets in Croatia, Slovenia, Germany, Hungary, and Japan — countries which the Philippine government has bilateral labor agreements with.

“We will continuously coordinate with the DFA and with the US authorities on monitoring the developments on the ground. Rest assured that DMW, along with its partner agencies, is ready to provide support and assistance to our OFWs,” said DMW Secretary Hans Cacdac.

The department also advised undocumented Filipino immigrants with unpaid wage claims and other labor-related complaints to reach out to its satellite offices in the US, called Migrant Workers Offices, located in Washington DC and Los Angeles.

In his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump announced plans for the mass deportation of around 1 million undocumented immigrants annually. Some 10,600 Filipinos have been deported between 2014 and 2024 — around 3,500 during Trump’s first term from 2017 to 2020.

Philippine ambassador to the US Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez earlier advised that the hundreds of thousands of undocumented Filipinos voluntarily leave, and not wait to be deported.

Doing the math

After midnight on Wednesday, the Senate approved the DMW and OWWA’s P8.79-billion 2025 budget, which includes the P1.3 billion allotted for the AKSYON Fund.

But if the US were to deport 370,000 Filipinos, the Philippine government would have to come up with at least P18.5 billion to fulfill its promise of distributing to each and every one an AKSYON Fund benefit — not yet including the other forms of support. AKSYON Fund beneficiaries are entitled to P50,000 to P100,000 based on the current policy.

Meanwhile, US immigration lawyer Jath Shao earlier told Rappler that there are legal and logistical barriers to Trump carrying out his mass deportation plan.

“10,600 Filipinos have been deported between 2014 and 2024, an average of about 1,000 a year, so if that does happen, it would take 300 years to deport everyone — statistically, they’ll be dead by then,” he said in an analysis.

Expert Speaks

[ANALYSIS] Fear of Trump’s mass deportation threat is overblown

– Rappler.com