Affected Pinoys told to ‘prepare for worst’ after Trump ended DACA

 By ; RIE TAKUMI, GMA News

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday said affected Filipinos should "prepare for the worst" after US President Donald Trump ended an Obama-era immigration program giving amnesty to children of undocumented immigrants.
In a statement, Cayetano said the Philippine government is ready to assist the estimated 10,000 Filipinos who will be affected by Trump's controversial decision.
"While we hope for the best in the form of a legislative solution, those affected should likewise prepare for the worst," Cayetano said.
"In any event, we are ready to welcome and assist our kababayans in whatever way we can if they are returned to the Philippines."
Cayetano said the Assistance to Nationals Fund and the Legal Assistance Fund will be used for cases related to the revocation of the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) but "with certain limitations."
He then called on the Filipino community in the US to actively support those who will be affected by the decision, which may lead to the deportation of 800,000 DACA beneficiaries.
Chargé d'Affaires Patrick Chuasoto of the Philippine Embassy in Washington, DC said DACA was covered by an executive order issued in 2012 by then-President Barack Obama to protect undocumented immigrant children from deportation.
"The DACA program provides temporary legal status that allows qualified undocumented immigrant children from the Philippines and other countries to stay, study and work in the US," Chuasoto explained.
While DACA does not lead to US citizenship, it is renewable every two years.
Chuasoto said 310,000 of the 3.4 million Filipinos living in the US are undocumented. —KBK/KVD, GMA News

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