Green card holders who are allowed to live and work in the United States permanently could lose that privilege if they commit a crime, the Philippine ambassador to the US said Monday.

This, following news that a Filipina, identified as Lewelyn Dixon, who immigrated from the Philippines to Hawaii 50 years ago has been detained.

Pinay green card holder detained by ICE after returning from PH: report

Philippine Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez said the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, under orders from President Donald Trump, is intensifying its crackdown on illegal aliens, starting with those with criminal records who are considered dangerous. 

A total of 32,809 migrants, half of which are convicted criminals, have been detained in Trump's first 50 days in office, according to ICE. 

“Ang inuuna nila ‘yung mga criminals, ‘yung merong mga criminal case. Siyempre ang susunod na diyan ay mga undocumented. Kailangan preparado na 'yung mga undocumented na meron katunayan na meron slang chance na maiwan dito legally,” he said in a TeleRadyo Serbisyo interview. 

Even those with green cards could lose that privilege if they are convicted of a crime, the ambassador said.

"The green card holders they are considered documented na. Meron na silang status dito. Wala na silang kaba. Ngayon kung meron silan ginawang hindi maganda o labag sa law sa America, pwedeng i-cancel ang green card na 'yan," he said.

A Hawaii News Now report earlier said Dixon was returning home to Seattle from a family trip to the Philippines when she was held by ICE.

Dixon's lawyer, Benjamin Osorio, meanwhile told Newsweek that the Filipina has a single non-violent conviction for embezzlement in 2001 "for which she received 30 days in a halfway house and a $6,400 fine.”

“She was never ordered to serve any active time in a jail or prison. It was the travel that triggered the issue and if she had not traveled, she would not be removable from the United States,” the lawyer said.

Osorio said Dixon had traveled outside of the US before but had never been detained upon her return. He added that Dixon is "not bond eligible, but ICE could choose to parole her. However, parole is pretty much dead these days."

DON'T DO 'TNT'

In the interview, Ambassador Romualdez encouraged those who entered the US illegally to voluntarily leave so that they have a better chance of coming back the right way.

Illegal aliens who employ "TNT" (tago ng tago) tactics will have a hard time since US agencies share information with each other, he said.

“Mahirap na ngayon ang mga tago ng tago (TNT) dahil nag co cross information na ngayon ang lahat ng mga agencies. ‘Yung IRS, immigration, border patrol, Homeland Security. Sooner or later, malalaman nila. Ang balita nga kung bumili ka whatever it is sa credit card, malalaman nila somewhere along the line kung  nasaan ka. So pahirap ng pahirap na ‘yung ganyang tago ng tago,” he said. 

"Mahirap ang buhay na nagtatago ka lalo na kung di ka na lumalabas ng bahay. Para ka nang prisoner niyan eh," he added. 

Some illegal aliens are caught by ICE after authorities are tipped off, sometimes by someone in the neighborhood, the ambassador said.

Undocumented aliens who are caught by ICE and deported are unlikely to return, he said, since their visa privileges will be canceled. 

Even entire families, if they are undocumented and entered the US illegally, can be deported.

In January, the Philippine Embassy in the United States put up 24/7 hotlines for Filipinos there amid the implementation of Trump's crackdown on illegal immigrants. They also stressed that all Filipinos in the United States have rights regardless of their immigration status.

PH Embassy puts up hotlines amid Trump's immigration crackdown

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) earlier advised Filipinos in the United States to stay “low key” and work on legalizing their stay to avoid deportation amid the Trump administration’s fresh crackdown on illegal migrants.

DHS announces ICE enforcement actions on criminal aliens released due to California sanctuary policies. Image by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement