At least a dozen Filipino teachers with non-immigrant visas were briefly detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Hawaii earlier this week.
Philippine Consul General to Hawaii Arman Talbo said the teachers underwent verification procedures but were not arrested by federal agents during the raid on May 6.
“The Philippine Consulate General in Honolulu has reached out to the Filipino teachers in Maui who were affected by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation. The teachers informed the Consulate that none of them had been arrested and that they are safe and in good condition,” Talbo told GMA Integrated News.
A US ICE spokesperson said in a separate statement: “Homeland Security Investigations Hawaii executed a federal search warrant in Maui that was issued by a federal judge related to an immigration investigation.”
“The occupants of the location were cooperative and HSI was able to conduct its search without interference or any impediment. For the safety of the agents and the occupants, residents of the home were briefly detained and interviewed in addition to the search. At the conclusion of the search, HSI special agents left the location without any arrests made.”
There are about more than 100 Filipino teachers serving across various islands in Hawaii.
On Friday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create a federally funded self-deportation program with paid flights and an “exit bonus” for any who seek to “voluntarily and permanently” leave the US.
In a statement posted to the White House’s website, Trump lashed out at immigrants, blaming “a full-scale invasion” of those who stay in the US illegally for crime and violence.
“Illegal aliens who stay in America face punishments, including — sudden deportation, in a place and manner solely of our discretion. TO ALL ILLEGAL ALIENS: BOOK YOUR FREE FLIGHT RIGHT NOW!” Trump wrote in a post to Truth Social.
The promise of a reward was followed by the threat of penalties for those deemed in violation of immigration law.
Anyone who does not self-deport, Trump said, can face “significant jail time, enormous financial penalties, confiscation of all property, garnishment of all wages, imprisonment and incarceration, and sudden deportation in a place and manner solely of our discretion.”
Friday’s announcement followed Trump’s comments to reporters on Monday, pledging to “pay each one a certain amount of money, and we’re going to get them a beautiful flight back to where they came from.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday that her department will operate a $1,000 stipend program, to be paid after a person’s return to their home country has been confirmed through the CBP Home app.
In the video accompanying Friday’s post, Trump said “as long as it’s not here, you can go anywhere you want.”
