Mabasa’s detention is part of a broader pattern of attacks against migrants seeking safety and a better life in the US.

Filipino migrant organizations in the United States rallied behind asylum seeker Mark Mabasa, son of slain Filipino journalist Percival “Lapid” Mabasa, after the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) extended his detention for at least another month.

Mabasa was detained in California as his family sought political asylum in the US following the assassination of his father, veteran journalist Percival “Lapid” Mabasa, on October 3, 2022.

His father was the second journalist killed under the Marcos Jr. administration. His killing remains unresolved, with suspect Gerald Bantag, former chief of the Bureau of Corrections, still at large.

The Mabasa family sought asylum in the US after receiving death threats following the journalist’s killing.

On October 2, a day before the fourth year of his father’s killing, overseas Filipino organizations gathered outside Adelanto ICE Processing Center where Mabasa was being detained to demand his immediate release.

The groups were denied entry to the facility, forcing them to hold the protest outside Adelanto City Hall, five minutes away from the detention center.

Mass deportation

Mabasa’s continued detention comes amid the Trump administration’s intensified campaign of mass arrests and deportations of migrants in the US.

ICE arrests reached nearly 50,000 in July alone, reportedly the agency’s highest monthly arrest total during US President Donald Trump’s second term.

The Trump administration also ordered federal immigration agents to increase arrests to meet daily quotas. Under the directive, each ICE officer is expected to make at least 75 arrests daily, potentially raising daily arrests from several hundred to as many as 3,000.

The administration likewise announced plans to revoke up to 200,000 B1 and B2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026, including those who sought or are seeking asylum, according to reports.

For Filipino migrant organizations, Mabasa’s detention is part of a broader pattern of attacks against migrants seeking safety and a better life in the US.

“This should not be commonplace for government leaders to sit idly by as the rights and welfare of their nationals are violated,” said Tanggol Migrante.

The group criticized the Marcos Jr. administration for its failure to defend Filipinos facing immigration-related attacks in the US. “We have yet to see Marcos Jr. and his representatives, such as Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez, come to the defense of migrants in the U.S. facing these attacks.”

“The actions of the Philippine government are meager in comparison to other governments standing up for the rights of their nationals,” Tanggol Migrante said.

“His murder in 2022 exposes how easily corrupt officials take advantage of their positions in power to silence those who speak out and how they avoid accountability for their crimes to this day,” said Tabs Gabriel of Malaya Movement USA and Kilusang Bayan Kontra Kurakot Southern California.

Gabriel said that Mabasa “is no stranger to corruption and political persecution,” noting that his father was an outspoken radio broadcaster who criticized corruption and state violence under the Duterte and Marcos Jr. administrations.

BAYAN USA said that it received reports that the Philippine government has been cooperating with US authorities by providing information on Filipinos in the country.

“Migrants are ultimately still left to fend for themselves in inhumane conditions such as unclean drinking water, rat feces-infested food, and medical neglect. This situation is not unique to Mark but is faced by all migrants languishing in these inhumane facilities,” said Joell Manguerra of BAYAN USA. “More and more of our kababayan are breaking through their fear to fight back because we have learned that it’s only through people power that we can win our freedom.”

Migrante USA criticized Philippine officials for allegedly choosing to cooperate with the US government in the detention and deportation of overseas Filipinos rather than intervene on their behalf.

“When our government prioritizes the demands of a foreign government over their own nationals, it is a systems failure that shows the need for systems change,” Kai Marie of Migrante USA said. “The Philippine state must be held responsible for its role in forcing Filipinos to seek safety and jobs abroad and then turning their backs on Filipinos once they’re overseas. We fight to free Mark Mabasa as a part of the overall fight to free all unjustly detained migrants and demand the society we deserve.” (RTS, DAA)