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Fil-Ams in Texas border towns weigh in on migrant crisis

Two Fil-Ams living in towns near the Texas border with Mexico give their take on the migrant crisis in the U.S.

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<div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o6wSIx3JZWY?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>Migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border continue night and day despite placements of barriers, a wall, and the deployment of the National Guard.</p><p>But troops and border agents are not the only ones on the frontlines. Thousands of Filipinos live and work along the border towns of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.</p><p>Among them are Camela Comilang and Joseph Modesto - both from Brownsville, Texas, a border town east of the state.</p><p>Comilang, a nurse, has strong opinions about immigration that she said she keeps to herself. She said her focus is on doing her job.</p><p>&quot;My duty is to provide quality healthcare,&quot; she said, &quot;regardless of race, gender, age, religion. So, I find fulfillment in my role as a healthcare provider.&quot;</p><p>Comilang said she sees firsthand what people in her town need, so she does what she can to help out such as providing free medical care at a local shelter.</p><p>&quot;Little things in life make a difference,&quot; she added. &quot;They just need education, a little prescription, and that prescription goes to a local pharmacy.&quot;</p><p>Modesto, meanwhile, who has lived in Brownsville since 2003, has his own concerns.</p><p>&quot;I&#x27;m not into politics or even following what&#x27;s going on in the border,&quot; he said. &quot;But definitely, from the look of it, there&#x27;s a lot of people.&quot;</p><p>Modesto also recalled: &quot;One time, I crossed the border and I saw tons of people just lying on the floor. You can really [feel] concern about them because how are they going to live like in that kind of situation?&quot;</p><p>A recent Pew Research poll has showed that 80 percent - 73 percent of them Democrats - are unsatisfied with the federal government&#x27;s response to the large number of migrants seeking to enter the U.S.</p><p>&quot;We cannot even afford, we are not able to receive them, at least here in Brownsville,&quot; said Modesto. &quot;There are people here who also need help, jobs for them to at least survive in life. We need to really strike a balance.&quot;</p><p>Modesto also believes a new controversial measure in Texas that allows authorities to detain suspected illegal migrants would not be the solution to the problem.</p><div><a data-ved="2ahUKEwjdx4-j3K2FAxWka2wGHRAJA_YQFnoECBAQAQ" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/3/23/fil-am-legal-observers-weigh-in-on-texas-immigration-law-2332" ping="/url?sa=t&amp;source=web&amp;rct=j&amp;opi=89978449&amp;url=https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/3/23/fil-am-legal-observers-weigh-in-on-texas-immigration-law-2332&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjdx4-j3K2FAxWka2wGHRAJA_YQFnoECBAQAQ" style="color:rgb(26, 13, 171);text-decoration:none;-webkit-tap-highlight-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);outline:0px;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255)" id="isPasted"></a><a data-ved="2ahUKEwjdx4-j3K2FAxWka2wGHRAJA_YQFnoECBAQAQ" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/3/23/fil-am-legal-observers-weigh-in-on-texas-immigration-law-2332" id="isPasted" ping="/url?sa=t&amp;source=web&amp;rct=j&amp;opi=89978449&amp;url=https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/3/23/fil-am-legal-observers-weigh-in-on-texas-immigration-law-2332&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjdx4-j3K2FAxWka2wGHRAJA_YQFnoECBAQAQ" style="color:rgb(26, 13, 171);text-decoration:none;-webkit-tap-highlight-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);outline:0px;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255)">Fil-Am legal observers weigh in on Texas immigration law</a></div><div style="line-height:1.3;padding:0px;display:inline-block;text-size-adjust:none;position:absolute;left:0px;top:0px;width:600px"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/3/23/fil-am-legal-observers-weigh-in-on-texas-immigration-law-2332" data-ved="2ahUKEwjdx4-j3K2FAxWka2wGHRAJA_YQFnoECBAQAQ" ping="/url?sa=t&amp;source=web&amp;rct=j&amp;opi=89978449&amp;url=https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/3/23/fil-am-legal-observers-weigh-in-on-texas-immigration-law-2332&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjdx4-j3K2FAxWka2wGHRAJA_YQFnoECBAQAQ" style="color:rgb(26, 13, 171);text-decoration:none;-webkit-tap-highlight-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);outline:0px;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255)"></a><div style="display:flex;padding:0px;overflow:hidden;align-items:center"><a data-ved="2ahUKEwjdx4-j3K2FAxWka2wGHRAJA_YQFnoECBAQAQ" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/3/23/fil-am-legal-observers-weigh-in-on-texas-immigration-law-2332" ping="/url?sa=t&amp;source=web&amp;rct=j&amp;opi=89978449&amp;url=https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/3/23/fil-am-legal-observers-weigh-in-on-texas-immigration-law-2332&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjdx4-j3K2FAxWka2wGHRAJA_YQFnoECBAQAQ" style="color:rgb(26, 13, 171);text-decoration:none;-webkit-tap-highlight-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);outline:0px;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255)"><span style="margin-right:12px"></span></a><div style="vertical-align:middle;display:inline-block"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/3/23/fil-am-legal-observers-weigh-in-on-texas-immigration-law-2332" data-ved="2ahUKEwjdx4-j3K2FAxWka2wGHRAJA_YQFnoECBAQAQ" ping="/url?sa=t&amp;source=web&amp;rct=j&amp;opi=89978449&amp;url=https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/3/23/fil-am-legal-observers-weigh-in-on-texas-immigration-law-2332&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjdx4-j3K2FAxWka2wGHRAJA_YQFnoECBAQAQ" style="color:rgb(26, 13, 171);text-decoration:none;-webkit-tap-highlight-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);outline:0px;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255)"></a><br/></div><br/></div></div><p>&quot;America is always welcoming to those who want to go here for the &#x27;American dream,&#x27;&quot; he said. &quot;But you need to do it [by following] the law.&quot;</p><p>The Fil-Am added: &quot;The strict immigration law, if that will work, it&#x27;s good. But for me, it&#x27;s just the implementation of whatever laws available out there to protect the border.&quot;</p><p>The U.S. Appellate Court has heard arguments to decide if Texas&#x27; SB4 violates the U.S. Constitution.</p><p>U.S. President Joe Biden and the Democrats have argued that Congress can fix the border issue with funding and policy changes.</p><p>An Associated Press-NORC poll, meanwhile, showed 64 percent are in favor of hiring more border patrol agents as the border crisis continues.</p>

<p>Two Fil-Ams living in towns near the Texas border with Mexico give their take on the migrant crisis in the U.S.</p>

Fil-Ams in Texas border towns weigh in on migrant crisis

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Fil-Ams in Texas border towns weigh in on migrant crisis

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Lenn Almadin Thornhill | TFC News Georgia

Published Apr 06, 2024 09:49 PM PHT

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