The Democrats say, 'Please don't call them animals. They're humans.' I said, 'No, they're not humans, they're not humans, they're animals.'
— United States President Donald Trump

MAYPAJO, Caloocan City — Belated happy birthday to my sister's unica hijo and my pamangkin, Atty. Jose Leonardo Teodoro Cabrera Santos, who is the assistant prosecutor of San Fernando, Pampanga.

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A FRIEND and former colleague who is now a greencard holder sent to me this reaction about the ongoing immigration crackdown initiated by United States president Donald Trump . . .

The current mass deportations going on today in the US have created fear and uncertainty among the immigrant communities. The way those deportations were being carried out looks every inch of it an 'overkill'.
Getting the illegal immigrants out on a C-130 when it can be done by using local airlines is not only costly but has also created a lot of fear. The big question is, “Why?” The simple answer is Trump, as usual, wants anything to be grandstanding, that he can do it big, so as to impress and at the same time, create fear as he always wants to do.
Deportations of immigrants are actually not new here in the US. It is going on every year. Migrants who crossed the border illegally or who overstayed their visas, immigrants on temporary visa status who have violated the terms of their visa, legal permanent residents or those holding temporary visa status but who have been convicted of crimes, and those ordered by the court to be removed are all deportable and can be removed anytime. The immigration authorities are doing it humanely and still within the acceptable parameters of law.
Now the current mass deportation, although it is still the same, this time there is more bravado and showiness. As if they are exploiting the situation for political gain.
What I cannot in my conscience allow is for the immigration authorities to enter houses, schools, churches and those deemed as private. No arrest should be conducted unless the arresting authorities have probable cause or reason to believe that the person they are after is likely to escape if not taken into custody. And those who are not deportable but happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time are also rounded up and treated the same as those deportable immigrants.
Because fear and uncertainty have been achieved successfully, the effects of these in the immigrant communities could be very devastating. Immigrants would start to withdraw from civil society. They will begin to distrust people of authority, public institutions, or anything they think would place them in harm’s way. Depressions and anxieties will set in, and even some children will be affected when they too feel the fear pervading in the atmosphere. There will be untold traumas, emotional problems, and even self-esteem of some of these people will deteriorate to a great degree.

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FOR your comments or suggestions, complaints or requests, just send a message through my email at cipcab2006@yahoo.com or text me at cellphone numbers 09171656792 or 09171592256 during office hours from Monday to Friday. Thank you and mabuhay!