A Filipino activist was denied entry to the United States yesterday and is being detained at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO), a move at least one colleague believes may be connected to US President Donald Trump’s so-called Muslim ban.
Jerome Aladdin Succor Aba of Cotabato, Mindanao, is the national chairperson of Suara Bangsamoro, an organization that fights for the rights of the Moro or the Muslim people of the Philippines.
He is also the co-chair of Sandugo, a movement of Moro and indigenous peoples for self-determination.
According to a statement from Suara Bangsamoro, Aba had a valid 10-year US visa and was invited by American church groups to talk about the human rights situation of the people of Mindanao, site of a recent months-long battle with Muslim insurgents that left at least 1,000 people dead.
“We demand his immediate release and guarantee[d] safety of his passage. Respect his right to be represented by an attorney and his sponsors,” the statement reads.
Activist Amirah Lidasan, former Suara Bangsamoro national president, said in a Facebook message to Coconuts Manila that she thinks Aba was detained because of US President Donald Trump’s “Muslim ban.”
“I cannot discount the fact that he was stopped by US immigration and not in the Philippines BI (Bureau of Immigration),” she said in English and Filipino.
Sandugo, the other organization Aba is affiliated with, has similar thoughts on the issue. In a Facebook post today it said:
“Sandugo condemns the Trump administration for denying entry of Sandugo co-chair and peace advocate Jerome Succor Aba. As of this writing, he is being held incommunicado for 20 hours and denied access to a lawyer.”
Anonymous sources from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection told national TV affiliate CBS SF Bay Area that Aba was denied entry because there were problems with his visa, although they did not specify what those problems were.
However, the agency’s spokesperson Jaime Ruiz said in a statement that country of origin and human rights activism do not factor into their decision to allow or deny someone entry.
Aba’s flight was scheduled to land on Tuesday, 8pm (11am, yesterday, Manila time). As of 5am today, Aba was still detained in a secured area in SFO.
Human rights activists have gathered outside the airport to protest Aba’s detainment, while others are calling for help through social media.
This incident comes just days after the Philippines barred Italian activist Giacomo Filibeck from entering the country when he arrived at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport on Sunday.
He traveled to the country to attend an event hosted by a democratic socialist group that has been critical of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.
On Monday, the BI also arrested and detained an Australian nun for allegedly joining human rights protests; she has since been released.
Yesterday, Duterte said he was the one who ordered an investigation on the nun.
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