TACOMA, Wash. – As detainment and deportations continue at a rapid rate in the US, one Filipino immigrant rights organization is also ramping up its efforts to fight for immigrants who are under increasing pressure here.
What we know:
Leaders with the Tanggol Migrante movement launched a national alliance Sunday, just ahead of the Filipino president’s state of the nation address.
The group says their mission is to support migrant workers. They say both leaders in the US and the Philippines have fallen short in protecting their rights and are calling on the president of the Philippines to step up.
“It takes an alliance to make change,” said Maximo Londonio, a Filipino union leader, recently released from ICE detention.
The recent detainee, also known as Kuya Max, and his wife Crystal Londonio, said Sunday they are standing behind the Tanggol Migrante movement, after he was held in ICE detention for weeks. He had a past conviction, but is a green card holder. He spent many weeks in solitary confinement before he was released.
“I’m here not because of the action of the Filipino consulate or its government, but the love and advocation of the true people that did that for me,” said Londonio.
The grandniece of Lewelyn Dixon, the University of Washington lab technician and green card holder, detained for months in Tacoma, before she was released, also spoke out. Dixon had previously pleaded guilty in 2001 to an embezzlement offense. She was arrested at the airport.
“These are people that have been living in the US for the majority of their lives. For my auntie, this is basically her home,” said Emily Cristobal, Grandniece of Lewelyn Dixon.
The launch of the Tanggol Migrante national alliance also comes just after a presidential meeting between President Donald Trump and Filipino President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr. The Movement says President Marcos Jr. has been ineffective at helping Filipino migrants here during and after detainment or deportation.
What they’re saying:
“Let’s not let him use this platform to boast about his recent visit here to the US when nothing that he did here will benefit migrant Filipinos anywhere in the world,” said Jom Dolor, Tanggol Migrante Movement.
The group says that while meeting with Trump, Marcos Jr. remained silent on immigration. They say they have a list of demands they have sent to the Marcos Jr. administration, including to secure a commitment from the US government that no Filipino will be deported to a 3rd country, among other demands, listed below.
“Those demands are to meet with the Filipino community in person, meet with Filipinos who have been detained and their families and acknowledge the trauma they endured due to the Trump administration’s crackdown, and also due to the neglect they faced at the hands of the Philippine embassy and consulates,” said Andan Bonifacio, Tanggol Migrante Movement.
The movement says most recently, ICE has been putting increasing pressure on Filipino workers on cruise ships. They provided some details regarding that claim in the slide below.
As the Filipino president is scheduled to address the state of the nation on Monday, the Tanngol Migrante movement plans to provide a statement of their own regarding migrants. The group’s schedule for release is listed below.
“We need sustainable jobs so we don’t need to leave the Philippines in the first place. He didn’t address the hunger, the poverty that our people experience and our people deserve better, and our families deserve to stay together even though those in power are not creating anything,” said Dolor.
This was the full statement release from Tanggol Migrante Sunday:
“We are not backing down.” Tanggol Migrante Movement announces launch as national alliance of former detainees, their families, and Filipino organizations across the US push for immediate government action
USA — Filipino organizations from across the country took a historic step forward to challenge President Donald Trump’s deportation drive with the launch of the Tanggol Migrante Movement (TMM).
“We need the Tanggol Migrante Movement,” declared Andan Bonifacio of BAYAN USA. “We need a national alliance that can harness the power, skills, and spirit of bayanihan from Filipinos across the country to protect, defend, and empower those most vulnerable among us.”
The decision to solidify the alliance comes after almost eight months of tireless work under the Tanggol Migrante campaign, which brought together grassroots organizations, labor, churches, health professionals, lawyers, student organizations, elected offices, and most importantly, Filipino detainees and their families to protect migrants threatened by detention and deportation. The community-driven campaign has resulted in the release of five Filipinos from ICE detention.
“Our goal is to continue growing this movement to provide a space for those impacted and an opportunity for people to get involved. We recognize that this fight is intersectional and that there is great power in community,” stated Emily Cristobal, a family member of Lewlyn “Aunty Lynn” Dixon who was released from detention in May.
Organizers, however, acknowledge the need for even more collective action. Since May, Trump has ordered ICE to increase its quota of arrests to 3,000 every day. As of July 2025, ICE has reported over 56,000 migrants in detention, over 70 percent of whom have no criminal convictions. And with the passing of the “Big Beautiful Bill,” billions of dollars in federal funds are being directed to these harmful enforcement departments that infiltrate communities, tear families apart, and wreak havoc in people’s daily lives, sowing fear and mistrust in systems that are supposed to protect us.
In the Filipino community, it is not only undocumented Filipinos—which conservative estimates place at over 300,000—who face significant risks. As high-profile cases like those of Dixon and Maximo Londonio show, even green card holders are being targeted. The recent deportation of 18 Filipino cruise ship workers despite holding valid visas, and despite ICE being unable to offer any evidence to justify the removal, only underscores the urgency of more tightly coordinated action, organizers of TMM say.
The launch of TMM also comes a week after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s state visit to Washington DC. To the dismay of many, Marcos did not raise the issue of immigration during his time with President Trump, mirroring the weak stance that organizers say has been adopted by the Philippine embassy and consulates in the U.S. on the matter. “For too long, we hoped [the Philippine government] would be there for us in our time of crisis,” explained Donna Cristobal, the niece of Dixon. “We looked to them not just as officials, but as fellow Filipinos—public servants with a duty to care for our kababayan abroad. But far too often, we were met with silence, neglect, or dismissal.”
Members of the alliance have their hands full, with ongoing campaigns to release Filipinos being held in Washington, Arizona, Indiana, Kentucky, and Georgia. But despite the intensifying crackdown under Trump and frustratingly inadequate response of the Philippine government, the launch of TMM demonstrates that the Filipino community remains undeterred and ready to fight.
“We are calling on others—especially families who feel isolated or afraid—to stand with us,” said Cristobal. “You are not alone. Your voice matters. Your story has power. And together, we are stronger than any system meant to silence us.”
The Source: Information in this story came from Tanggol Migrante movement, a Filipino immigrant rights organization, and original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle’s Jennifer Dowling.
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