Seafarers who were victims of the US’s unjust deportation picketed outside the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on November 5. Among them were seafarers who were about to board their ships but abruptly had their US visas revoked. The picket coincided with a dialogue between the International Seafarers Action Center (ISAC) and Office of Migration Affairs officials.

The seafarers shared their ordeals in the dialogue, describing how they were threatened, harassed, and forced to sign documents they did not know were for the “voluntary withdrawal” of their visas. ISAC and the seafarers urged the Philippine government to file a diplomatic protest against the Trump regime’s anti-migrant persecution. They also called for immediate and sufficient financial assistance and the expedited release of new passports.

“We call for justice for what happened to us. We are not criminals. Not one of us was charged in the US,” the seafarers said in their letter to the DFA.

After the DFA activity, the seafarers went to the office of Open Sea Manning Agency to deliver a letter proposing a dialogue for those who were deported or had their US visas revoked. The agency refused to accept the letter and instead shut the door on them. This prompted the seafarers to stage a program in front of the office to denounce the neglect and dismissal of workers by Open Sea and other manning agencies.

They said they will return to the Open Sea office to assert their rights and fight for justice.

In the US on the same day, the Tanggol Migrante Movement (TMM) and Migrante USA held a protest and sent a letter to the Philippine embassy in Washington DC. They urged for action on the seafarers’ grievances and demanding that their rights and livelihoods be protected.

On November 8, designated by national democratic organizations as the “National Day of Action to Defend Filipino Seafarers,” the TMM and the Baltimore Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines protested during a Community Town Hall in Baltimore, Maryland. They condemned the illegal deportation of Filipino seafarers at the Port of Baltimore.

“We continue to stand with all migrant workers, both land-based and sea-based, who are being used as scapegoats and targets of the Trump regime’s violent anti-migrant policies. We will continue to fight for the future of our homeland, where there are enough jobs and a living wage, so that our people no longer have to endure unsafe conditions,” said the TMM.