PhilFAQS

When I use the abbreviation T-n-T here, in spite of what the ever-watching NSA “Carnivore” guys think, I am not talking about that well-known compound 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene.  Sorry to have to disappoint the conspiracy theorists, but every foreigner who lives in the Philippines isn’t thinking about bombs.

Actually I’m referring to Tago ng Tago, (literally, in Tagalog, “Hiding and Hiding”.  This is a very common Filipino “short cut” to define an illegal immigrant, hiding out in some country overseas, trying to find work and stay one step ahead of the immigration authorities.

Now in the US, and perhaps a number of other countries, illegal immigrants have a sort of chameleon history.  If “they” are people like the Japanese in December 1941, they don’t even have to be illegal to be persecuted, assaulted in public, rounded up and imprisoned .. even if they are legal … all they needed then were to have slanted eyes.

Today, someone who looks Japanese walking down the street is hardly going to raise any eyebrows, and very few people are going to think about checking that obviously Asian person’s immigration status.

photo credit: davidsonscott15

But if that same person were to look Mexican and have a Spanish surname?  Oh wow … even local sheriff’s departments, who obviously might be better occupied taking care of their local citizens than trying to “round up Wetbacks”  (oops, no I’m sure sheriff Arpaio never said that (in public at least), he or she had better be watching over their shoulders constantly … and be carrying proof of citizenship with them .. something no “Caucasian American” never thinks of.  Their potential crime?  Having brownish skin, that’s their potential crime.

A controversial federal program that deputizes state and local law enforcement agents to catch illegal immigrants is expanding under the Obama administration, despite changes announced this summer intended to curb alleged racial profiling and other police abuses.

The Department of Homeland Security is expected to report Friday morning that a small number of the 66 participating agencies have dropped out because of the new federal requirements, officials said. And those losses are offset by applications from 13 additional police and sheriff’s departments, a federal official said, speaking on condition of anonymity before the formal announcement.

In the Washington area, sheriff’s offices in Frederick, Loudoun and Prince William counties intend to continue to participate, according to local officials.

Nationwide, the program identified about 60,000 illegal immigrants for deportation over the past year, the highest number since the program was expanded nationwide in 2006. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano in July said agencies that receive federal grants and training under the program would have 90 days to agree to new terms aimed at ending controversial police practices identified by congressional auditors and civil rights groups. Critics cited cases in which police conducted roadside stops and neighborhood sweeps aimed at Latinos and other ethnic groups, often arresting minorities for traffic and other minor offenses in pursuit of illegal immigrants.

Changed Focus

Instead of scaling back the program, as its critics wanted, DHS has reshaped it. The agency has reined in local police units that target illegal immigrants at large, directing the units instead to focus on those who commit major drug offenses or violent crimes, especially those already incarcerated. Most prominently, the agency cut back authority it had given to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, according to Arpaio. His operations in the Phoenix metropolitan area had led to charges of racial profiling and three federal investigations.

Although those and similar tactics had drawn the most controversy, they accounted for a small fraction of the 135,389 illegal immigrants caught under the program, according to new federal data obtained by The Washington Post. The vast majority — 94 percent — were found by checks at local and state jails. DHS is moving to expand jail checks, adding such agreements with eight new agencies, a federal official said.

“We’ve refocused the program on identifying and removing serious criminal offenders, whether in jail or on the street,” said a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because final decisions had not been made. The official said the new rules show that the Obama administration is intent on enforcing immigration laws against dangerous illegal immigrants and upholding civil rights. …. The rest of this report, especially the profiling thrust to throw more minorities in jail for the main purpose of confirming their immigration status makes interesting reading.

Now what does this  have to do with the Philippines? Well, it could have a lot to do with Filipinos in the US without documentation.  To someone who sees people as white and not so white only, the skin color of many Filipinos can be detected at 100 yards, and many Filipinos have surnames of Samish derivation.

In 2007, the Commission on Filipinos Overseas placed the number of Filipinos abroad at 8.7 million – 900,023 of whom are said to be “irregular,” meaning those who are not properly documented or who have been overstaying in a foreign country.

Even though there is a pretty well developed and long standing “underground railroad” of Filipinos helping TnT Filipinos in the US, these new and broad ranging programs are liable to change things a lot.  Of special interest is the funding available for local law enforcement to jump on this racial profiling (sorry, protection of true white blue Americans from terrorists) bandwagon.

A lot of things can motivate a sheriff or chief of police, but betting on the almighty buck never misses.

If you know people who are TnT, or know people thinking about TnT in the future, it might be wise to have a little heart to heart with them.

Also, strange that I mentioned the issues with US security clearance issues in a recent past post, Make Sure You Know The Security Rules,  I came across this tidbit just yesterday.

A man who had a job that did not require as US government security clearance woke up one day to find out that his company had decided to bid on a government contract and now he did require a clearance.  He applied,was turned down, appealed and further turned down.  Why?  A dastardly, permanently disqualifying crime:

Guideline J – Criminal Conduct & Guideline E – Personal Conduct
2.a., 2.b., 3.a. and 3.b. The Applicant is knowingly harboring two illegal
immigrants, his spouse and his step-daughter, in violation of 8 U.S.C. 1324(a)(1)(A)(iii).
Under 8 U.S.C. 1324(a)(1)(B)(ii), the Applicant is subject to a “fine” and/or imprisonment
for “not more than 5 years.” …

Paragraph 6 of the new adjudicative guidelines sets out the security concern
relating to Foreign Influence: “Foreign contacts and interests may be a security concern
if the individual has divided loyalties or foreign interests, may be manipulated or induced
to help a foreign person, group, organization, or government in a way that is not in U.S.
interests, or is vulnerable to pressure or coercion by a foreign interest.”…

In light of all of the circumstances presented by the record in this case, it is not
clearly consistent with national security to grant Applicant eligibility for a security
clearance. Eligibility for access to classified information is denied.

So if you know somebody TnT, and you decide to live with them, marry them, or even harbor someone in your home who is TnT, you might be staring five years in the Federal pen in the face, as well as disqualifying yourself for any sort of work that would ever require a security clearance.

TnT, in other words, is no longer ‘cute’.

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