LOS ANGELES/MANILA — Philippine government authorities have reported that 69 Filipinos are currently under custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as it pressed the immigration crackdown ordered by US President Donald Trump.

This as Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has been quoted by media reports claiming that 1.6 million immigrants have left the United States since President Donald Trump took office and ordered the crackdown.

“We have 1.6 million illegal immigrants that have left this country voluntarily,” Noem said in a television interview.

It was learned that as of last week, more than 352,000 illegal immigrants have been arrested, more than 324,000 of whom have been deported or removed from US.

US government estimates that there are 15.8 million illegal or undocumented immigrants in the country.

Meanwhile, federal agents continue to make arrests in Los Angeles despite a federal court order limiting the scope of immigration enforcement operations in the city and country.

The latest operations by ICE and federal agents occurred at the Home Depot along Wilshire Blvd., about three blocks from the MacArthur Park, and reportedly netted 16 suspected undocumented immigrants. It was not known if a Filipino was among those held in custody.

The detention of the 69 Filipinos was confirmed by the Department of Foreign Affairs which said no Filipino so far has been deported to a third country.

Citing information from ICE, DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Affairs Eduardo de Vega  said 69 Filipinos are “now under process” and are getting legal assistance from the Philippine government.

“Meron, pero lahat to the Philippines. Walang dinala sa ibang bansa,” De Vega also said of those already deported.

Activist groups in the US, including Bayan USA Northeast and Migrante Seattle, have been calling on the Philippine government to provide Filipinos in ICE custody consular and legal assistance.

Migrante Seattle and Migrante sa University of Washington Medical Center in April pressed the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco to lay out concrete steps it is taking to assist Filipinos facing deportation and other immigration issues. 

Last week, Filipinos and Filipino Americans in Los Angeles were scheduled to launch a movement for the protection of Filipino migrant workers and families at an assembly  at the downtown LA Arts District.

This was announced by the Pilipino American  LA Democrats (PALAD) and Tanggol Migrante in an email sent to  Philippine News Today.

PALAD, which has Godfrey Plata as president for 2025, said the rally aimed for the community to understand how Filipino workers and families are being impacted by ICE and immigration policies; build collective action and visibility around Filipino migrant stories; and brainstorm how to uplift the Filipino stories to broader movements.

Los Angeles is home to the largest Filipino population outside of the Philippines, over 320,000 strong, PALAD said.

“Today, many of our kababayan are vulnerable to ICE raids and anti-immigrant policies. Hear the stories. Defend the people. Build the movement,” PALAD said.

“We are not staying silent,” PALAD added. “Let us stand up, speak out, and defend our community.”

Meanwhile, Alma Bowman, a 58-year-old Filipino American resident of Macon, Georgia, has sued Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials, alleging her detention is unconstitutional.

Bowman, who was born in the Philippines in 1966 and immigrated to the United States at age 10, filed a federal habeas petition  seeking immediate release. She has been held for more than five months following her March 2025 detention in Atlanta during an ICE check-in.

In Washington, the State Department is proposing requiring applicants for business and tourist visas to post a bond of up to $15,000 to enter the United States, a move that may make the process unaffordable for many.

In a notice to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, the department said it would start a 12-month pilot program under which people from countries deemed to have high overstay rates and deficient internal document security controls could be required to post bonds of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 when they apply for a visa.

This is on top of tax on remittances or monies sent by Filipinos to the Philippines and the proposed additional $250 US visa fees.