‘Fear and pain’: Filipino, other Asian communities slam US immigration raids

The Asian community in the United States, including Filipinos, is reporting an atmosphere of “agitation, fear and pain” as protesters in Los Angeles continue to rally against raids by immigration agents, amid US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants.

“What we’ve witnessed are military-style raids where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), along with other federal agencies and the military, are going to the communities with their faces covered, armed and taking people from their homes and workplaces,” an activist using the alias Paul Duque from the US-based Filipino labour advocacy group Tanggol Migrante (Defend Migrants) Network, told This Week in Asia.

Nearly 500 people have been arrested in Los Angeles since protests started on June 6 after a series of ICE raids on migrants swept the city.

Close to 10 million people live in Los Angeles county – which includes Los Angeles and 87 other cities. Of these, 48.6 per cent are of Latino or Hispanic heritage – believed to be the primary target of these immigration raids.

The county is also home to the US’ biggest Asian-American and Pacific Islander community, at over 1.5 million. Filipinos make up 321,000 of the population, the largest concentration in the US.

Trump’s administration has heightened security measures at the US-Mexico border, amid his pledge to “finish the wall” shortly after taking office for his second presidential term in January.

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