The first known Filipino in Southern California has been deported under Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigration, reports ABS CBN.
Rey Galleon spoke to immigration agents at his apartment not knowing who they were. They promptly arrested him, but he was able to warn his wife who sneaked out the backdoor with one of their children. The mom later reunited with her 9-year old who Rey had just dropped off at school.
He had been living in the U.S. without proper documentation for seven years. His wife was also an undocumented immigrant.
Agents gave him an ultimatum, stay in detention or leave the country.
He chose to leave. He was taken to Los Angeles International Airport where he paid for his own plane ticket for a flight back to the Philippines.
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“ICE, if you interact with them, are trying to get you to sign your own voluntary departure. He was asking for legal assistance and they were ignoring that and in the end they gave him false options,” said Aqui Soriano Versoza of the Pilipino Workers Center.
PWC says Galleon had no criminal record and believe they could have galvanized community support to fight his deportation.
Galleon’s wife and two children have left the country to join him in the Philippines.
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