Filipinos in Hawaii urged to get US citizenship amid ICE crackdown

HAWAII — It used to “not matter” that much, but thousands of eligible Filipinos in this state should settle their citizenship as soon as possible, a Fil-Am community leader said here amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

However, the call falls on the deaf ears of some Filipinos who are satisfied with just a green card.

To date, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services has recorded a total of 27,320 Filipino green card holders in this state who are now eligible to become American citizens.

“There’s lot of eligible Filipinos for citizenship, but they haven't applied,” Andrea Caymo-Kauhanen, executive director of the Filipino Community Center here, said in an interview this month with Filipino and Japanese reporters as part of a reporting tour organized by the US State Department.

But this could not be ruled out by unwillingness alone, as Caymo-Kauhanen noted that the citizenship application is expensive, and could easily rack up to thousands of dollars even without additional costs like lawyers, among other reasons.

“Some of them, you know, are not confident enough, so they'll hire a lawyer, and that would like, double the price,” she noted. “So it's cost-prohibitive, and sometimes it's very, very cumbersome because you have to submit so [many] documents.”

Yet, nothing is more costly than peace of mind.

This developed as Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) agents have ramped up their operations against undocumented migrants in the state.

However, even those with legal papers are sometimes subjected to ICE detention, which advocates call unlawful.

Last May 6, ICE agents in Maui detained teachers of Filipino descent who are either US citizens or are in Hawaii legally through a J-1 visa, according to a joint statement of 28 organizations in this state, which includes the Filipino Community Center.

“This abuse of power by the federal government not only impacts teachers or members of the Filipino community,” their joint statement on May 22 said. “If left unchecked, these actions have a harmful effect on all professions, all groups, all ethnicities, all communities, all people.”

Armed ICE agents, they said, rushed through the teachers’ home and herded them onto the street. The teachers requested that they be allowed to show their passports and visa documents, which the federal agents denied. Instead, the teachers, along with their families and children, had been detained for nearly an hour.

Caymo-Kauhanen said the teachers were now in good condition.

“It's just that the whole ordeal that they have to go through is traumatizing,” she said of the teachers.

While incidents like this sometimes occur even for those with legal documents, Caymo-Kauhanen said having an American citizenship would make it much less likely.

“Before, I guess the reason why they’re not applying is because it didn’t matter so much,” she said of eligible Filipinos. “You know, it’s not really that critical, but given the current political climate that we have right now, it’s safer for you to have that US passport.”

Despite the apparent advantages, there are Filipinos not eager to get US citizenship.

One of them is a 63-year-old man from Pangasinan, who works as a busboy in a mall here.

He is married to his Filipina wife, who is also an American citizen, and has been working in Hawaii for about two years.

When asked if he felt nervous amid recent incidents involving ICE agents, he said: “No, because our marriage is not fake.”

“As long as you are a green card holder with no case, you have no problem,” he added.

Nevertheless, he said he and his wife soon plan on retiring in the country while living off their pensions.

“At my age, after this, I’ll just return home,” he said, adding that he is aiming to finish the 10-year minimum requirement for Social Security retirement benefits like his wife, who is now eligible for a pension.

“If my body is still strong, I could finish the 10 years,” he said. “But if I could no longer do it, I’d just return to the Philippines — at least I would still take home some savings.” /atm

(2025/06/27-10:44)