MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines will help overseas Filipino workers who will affected by proposed restrictions on issuing US green cards, said Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano on Monday, September 24.
"On specific cases, our instruction to our post is that we can assist Filipinos," said Cayetano in a media briefing on Monday.
He said undocumented Filipinos will be the hardest hit by the green card restrictions. He noted, however, that visas and immigration privileges remain under the authority of the host country.
"We'd like to work with the US. We have a special relationship. They don't need a visa to enter our country. We need a visa to enter theirs," he said in a mix of English and Filipino.
Under a new proposal by the Trump administration, US immigrants who get public benefits like food stamps or housing vouchers could be denied green cards.
Trump came to power pledging to make immigration to the United States more difficult, and reduce the number of people allowed to stay in the country. – with reports from the Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com
