Six Filipinos were arrested on September 22 by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, who raided the house in Elmhurst, New York, where they were staying.
ICE officials entered the house without a warrant and continued to search the premises for undocumented immigrants. Two of those arrested were a couple with a newborn baby boy. The father is currently detained at a facility in Monmouth County, New Jersey.
The six believe their names were linked to an amnesty scam that tipped ICE officials of their whereabouts. Although the victims declined to reveal their real names, they said they are speaking out to warn other Filipinos of ICE raids and amnesty scams that are prevalent in the Filipino immigrant community.
Max (not his real name), who was one of those arrested, revealed that certain individuals have been going around the Filipino community claiming that those without legal status could apply through them in order to retroactively avail themselves of a 1986 amnesty bill passed during the Reagan administration.
The going rate can go as high as $2,000 per application.
Max said he believed that his application through one of these scammers was most likely the link that brought ICE officials to his home.
He said they gave their personal information because they thought the application was legitimate.
“We are speaking out as a warning to our community. We do not want others to fall into this trap,” Max continued.
Five of the victims and their family members took their story to the Philippine Forum, a not-for-profit community service organization based in Queens.
“Amnesty scams abound, such as those involving the CSS/LULAC cases – a symptom of the ills of the immigration system,” said New York-based attorney Cristina Godinez, who is also the immigration policy analyst of the Philippine Forum.
[On January 16, 1998, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued the decision in the CSS (Catholic Social Services) v. Reno; Newman (LULAC) v. Reno; or Immigrant Assistance Project v. INS. The court ruled in favor of the government, and ordered the District Court to dismiss all of the plaintiffs' claims. Although, in the absence of proof of fraud, no CSS applicant will automatically be deported, it can be expected that after the District Court dismisses the case, the INS will no longer extend Employment Authorization Cards to CSS applicants, and may cancel all existing cards. Applicants should immediately pursue other opportunities to legalize their status.]
“If the TNTs [Tago Ng Tago, a Tagalog term that refers to undocumented Filipino immigrants who have been hiding from USCIS officials] had a way to earn legalization, they would be less likely to fall prey to unscrupulous schemes and would not think twice about coming forward,” she added.
Godinez explained that the CSS/LULAC cases refer to two class-action suits won against the then Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) for imposing illegal requirements on applicants unlawfully present in the United States before January 1982, who were otherwise qualified for amnesty.
Under the settlement terms of the Catholic Social Services, Inc. (CSS) v. Ridge and Newman (LULAC) v. USCIS cases, amnesty applicants were allowed to reapply until December 31, 2005.
“Con artists have approached undocumented Filipinos offering to fill out INS forms for temporary residence pursuant to CSS/LULAC terms for a fee. The forms basically contain false statements and all the undocumented actually sign them,” Godinez said.
Robert Roy, executive director of the Philippine Forum, said many Filipinos fall prey to unscrupulous individuals.
“There are many more undocumented Filipino immigrants who will pay that price out of economic hardship and the need to provide for their families,” he said. “There are no jobs in the Philippines. Poverty is what pushes Filipinos to take these measures for our loved ones.”
The Philippine Forum, together with eight other Filipino-American organizations, have formed Justice 4 Immigrants Filipino Coalition (J4I), which aims to protect immigrant rights.
