Pride Barely Left of the Deportee -- December 14, 2008

At a US port of entry a foreign national seeking admission must possess a valid visa to be allowed to enter without incident. There are instances where despite the possession of an apparent valid visa the person seeking to enter the US may still be denied entry for many grounds.

            Most common grounds for denial are prior immigration violations such as overstaying the authorized stay or prior criminal convictions. There are also cases where the person’s visa is cancelled upon entry and that person seeking to enter is returned back to his/her country of origin on expedited removal.

            One of the ways to prevent a finding of immediate removal at the port of entry is to apply for political asylum. This application is made only for those who have genuine credible fear of persecution in their own country that their lives and those of their loved ones are in danger.

            The political asylum route is not a guarantee that the person will be able stay in the US. There are certain eligibility requirements that must be met. In the meantime, the person applying is detained unless bail is granted. This is what happened in the case of Joc Joc Bolante where he applied for political asylum because his visa was previously cancelled.

            Bolante’s political asylum case was denied by the Asylum office and then by the appeals court. This shows that he has no ground that will warrant his becoming an asylee in the United States. Escaping from an alleged involvement in the corruption or scam is not one of the grounds for political asylum. This application is granted for those who fear returning to the country of origin because of persecution based on political, religious belief not because of an involvement in a possible crime. Obviously, there is no political or religious belief that Bolante stood on to warrant the grant of his political asylum. He was escaping from testifying on the investigation of the fertilizer scam. Fear because of one’s involvement in the fertilizer scam is definitely no a ground for political asylum. The threat on his life may be real but since the threat is not based on his political or religious belief, no asylum was granted to the applicant. Eventually, Bolante was deported and faces embarrassment as he was exposed to the media while he disembarked from his plane.

            Not all those who are deported faces embarrassing situation such as Bolante. After September 2001, there are hundreds of Filipino deportees each year that are forced to return to the Philippines either by court order or by decision of the US Department of Homeland Security. Most of the deportees return to the Philippines without indication that they are deported as they secretly arrive on regular flights or through chartered planes.

            There are different types of deportation and the consequence of each differs. Forced deportation is when a court issues a final order of removal/deportation and the deportee is escorted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent as they board the airplanes. The plane ticket is shouldered by the US government.

            Self deportation is when a foreign national knows that he has a hearing for deportation before an immigration judge but decided to leave voluntarily and return to the Philippines. Even if this is self deportation, the consequence of a forced deportation attaches also that is there will be a bar for ten years before they can re-enter the US with a new and valid visa.

            Expedited deportation is when at the point of entry, the Customs and Border Protection officer determines that there is no valid visa for the foreign national or there was prior immigration violation resulting in denial of entry. On the same day (sometimes next day), this person found inadmissible is deported back on the next available flight to the Philippines. The consequence of expedited removal is five year bar.

            For most deportees, they are angry at their situation but after a while they begin to accept their humbling experience. Thereafter, they strategize on ways to return to the US especially if the family members are still in the United States. There are legal ways to return to the US after deportation unless there are permanent bars that attaches to the case of the deportees. There is a ways rectify the errors of prior entries and stay in the US,

Deportation is a severe penalty. It separates one from the family members and uproots them from an environment they have gotten used to. This punishment should be avoided if possible. However, while consequences are severe, the deportation is sometimes a choice made by some deportees. This happens when from day one, you know that your immigration application is frivolous and without valid basis. As in the case of Bolante, he planned for his “escape” strategy and was aware of all possibilities including deportation.

            To those embarking on the unknown path, there is always a danger that is waiting. For intending immigrants, their paths should always be guided to avoid falling off the narrow paths and keeping their self respect. Unfortunately, for the popular deportee facing investigation, aside from the embarrassing situation, there is an added insult as he continues to fail in revealing the truth to the public, to which he is accountable, resulting not just in shame. Unfortunately, it is becoming apparent that there is barely any pride left for this deportee to keep his humanity intact.