Come home, Bishop tells Filipino illegals in US

A prominent Bishop in the Philippines has urged Filipino illegal immigrants in the United States to return home and not to wait to be deported, reports Ucanews.

"To protect themselves and not to put their future in danger, we advise them not to wait to be branded undocumented and be deported," said Bishop Ruperto Santos of Balanga, who heads the Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People of the Philippine Bishops' Conference.

Philippine Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello also urged Filipino illegal immigrants in the United States not to wait to be blacklisted by the American government.

He said it was better for these Filipinos to come home or try to legalise their stay in the US.

There are at least 270,000 undocumented Filipinos in the United States, according to the Commission on Filipinos Overseas.