The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said that it has excluded more than 400 foreign nationals in the past month alone.
The BI’s immigration protection and border enforcement section (I-PROBES) said that from March to April, they have excluded a total of 401 foreign nationals for various immigration violations.
Vietnamese nationals top the list, with 254 such nationals excluded, followed by 76 Chinese, 19 Indonesians, 17 Burmese, eight Moroccans, and four Ghanians.
BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said that the rise in exclusions are a result of intelligence information that many of the said aliens are working for illegal online gaming hubs in the country.
“We look at patterns of previous arrests, as well as travel histories of other intercepted aliens. We use this pattern to intercept other potential violators, as well as those holding spurious documents,” he explained.
Majority of said aliens were excluded for likely to become a public charge after being found to be improperly documented or have doubtful purpose of stay in the country.
Tansingco, however, clarified that they are not targeting specific nationalities, but rely on trends and data analysis.
“These illegal hubs are usually operated by syndicates that recruit foreign nationals, enticing them to work without proper documentation,” the BI chief said.
Excluded aliens board the next available flight back to their port of origin. Those denied entry for being likely to become a public charge are included in the BI’s blacklist, barring future attempts at entry.
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