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Trump’s harsh policies not hurting Filipino immigration

New Philippines consul general makes visit to Maui

Hawaii’s new Philippine consul general, Joselito Jimeno, said Thursday that President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration stance is not affecting emigration from the Philippines. Jimeno came from the consulate in Switzerland to Hawaii in February, succeeding Gina Jamoralin, who was transferred to a post on the Mainland. -- The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

WAILUKU — Filipinos continue to immigrate to Hawaii despite President Donald Trump’s attempts to restrict family-based immigration to America and his overall strict immigration policies, Hawaii’s new Philippines consul general said.

“They are still coming,” said Joselito Jimeno in an interview with The Maui News on Thursday.

Jimeno said 4,000 Filipinos immigrate to Hawaii annually. He did not have an estimate for how many of those immigrants eventually settle in Maui County.

Filipinos are coming to Hawaii to take jobs that Americans cannot fill, especially in the health care field, he said. These jobs include being caretakers and medical technicians.

“Gov. (David) Ige said Hawaii has a shortage of medical technicians,” Jimeno said. “He went to the Philippines and invited prospective workers.”

Wilson Homecare on Oahu brought its total to 900 Filipino caregivers hired, Jimeno said. “They are trying to find out how they can bring more,” he said.

Many construction workers emigrate from the Philippines to work in Hawaii, as well, Jimeno added.

Many of the immigrants are family-petitioned, meaning they have relatives already residing in Hawaii. They come over under old Immigration and Naturalization Service laws, he said.

Jimeno is relatively new to the job, becoming Hawaii’s new consul general in February, succeeding Gina Jamoralin, who transferred to a post on the Mainland.

His visit to Maui last week was his first to the island. He and his wife, Araceli, attended a welcome reception Thursday night at the Velma McWayne Santos Community Center in Wailuku.

Jimeno came to Hawaii from the Philippine Embassy in Switzerland. The diplomat has served in various positions around the world, including Berlin; Moscow; Guangzhou, China; Muscat, Oman; and New York and Washington, D.C.

Jimeno, 60, said he wanted to come to Hawaii to be closer to his daughter, Angela Jimeno Lind, who is a pediatrician on Hawaii island, and with an eye toward retirement.

“I figure this would be a good preretirement place,” he said.

He and his wife are grateful for the warm reception they have been receiving while touring the islands. The Filipino community here is a “very friendly community,” he said.

“The people are very welcoming, aloha spirit,” the counsel general said.

One thing he did advise Filipinos in Hawaii to do is to get involved in the political process. He noted that Filipinos represent a quarter of Hawaii’s population, which could offer some political clout. There are about 350,000 Filipino-Americans or part-Filipino-Americans in Hawaii.

Jimeno recalled during a posting on the Mainland that many Filipinos did not register to vote.

That clout could have some impact on the immigration issues of the day, such as Trump’s ending of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program. It provided temporary work permits and shielded recipients from deportation. The program, which was established by then-President Barack Obama in 2012, protected 800,000 children of immigrants who were brought to the United States by their parents.

The ending of the DACA program is not impacting Filipinos, said Jimeno. Most minors emigrating from the Philippines have proper documentation, unlike many minors who enter the U.S. illegally from Latin American countries, he said. Those children are able to go to school but encounter problems later in life as undocumented immigrants.

As the new counsel general, Jimeno is working on improving services, such as installing an online appointment system through the consulate’s website. He also will be overseeing the restoration and renovation of the consulate building and the construction of a new building alongside it.

Jimeno has been busy assisting 300 Filipino fishermen, who at different times are confined to boats and ports at Honolulu Harbor because they do not have documentation to enter the United States. He has visited the fishermen and said there are 30 to 40 of them at a time at the pier as the boats go in and out of the state’s busiest harbor.

He has reached out to Hawaii’s congressional delegation and to the state Department of Transportation to aid the fishermen, who are happy with their $500 a month wage that they send back to their families.

But until the laws are changed, Jimeno is working to improve conditions, such as getting more toilets at the pier and setting up a basketball court for recreation, he said.

* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.

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