Bureau of Immigration (BI) inspectors at the international airports have disallowed more than 9,700 foreign nationals from entering the country as a result of the agency’s intensified efforts to strengthen border security and thwart the entry of undesirable aliens into the country.
Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said yesterday that the number of aliens barred from entering the country last year was 45 percent more than those who were turned away in 2015.
“That we were able to stop these unwanted aliens from entering our borders is proof of our continued vigilance in the discharge of our mandate as gatekeepers of the country,” the BI chief said.
Morente revealed that most of the excluded aliens were denied entry after they were identified as likely to become public charges.
A foreigner may also be refused admission if based on the immigration officer’s assessment his presence here is considered inimical to the national interest or a threat to public health and safety.
According to Marc Red Marinas, acting BI port operations division chief, those who were turned back also included aliens who are in the bureau’s blacklist of undesirable aliens such as fugitives, suspected terrorists, and convicted sex offenders.” (Jun Ramirez)
