Editorial post written by Michael Mapa
Hi, Yokwe to everyone. I am deeply saddened for my Marshallese community, my brothers and sisters. I am furious about ICE. Last week Immigrant Enforcement Control (ICE) detained and relocated more than 20 Marshallese from Springdale, Arkansas to the Winn Correctional Center in Louisiana. These individuals have families who depend on them for their physical and emotional well-being and financial security.
I strongly believe that we have been unfairly targeted by SCAAP, which stands for “State Criminal Alien Assistance Program.” I first heard about SCAAP and how it works, last year, when I ran for a local office to serve as district justice of the peace on the county quorum court. Justice of the Peace Beth Coger, along with the Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition, has been working to bring attention to SCAPP and the ways that it undermines the safety and trust of the large Marshallese and Hispanic communities that live and work in Springdale. But, the Quorum has continued to refuse to discuss her concerns.
In this year’s application for federal funds through SCAAP, Washington law enforcement provided 187 booking records (some duplicate bookings) of “resident aliens” arrested and jailed for four days or more in the past year. These records include their names, release date, and home and work addresses. Washington County is not federally required to provide this information but in exchange, for the information, the county will receive $117,953 in federal funds for the jail costs. This information is then used by DHS and ICE to target individuals for deportation. Of these 187 records, 116 are here from the Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia under a Compact of Free Association.
Throughout my life in the Marshall Islands, I have never seen an American getting deported from my country. We welcome and treat anyone who visits our islands, the Marshall Islands, with IAKWE (love) and respect.
The United States Government conducted 67 nuclear weapons in the Marshall Islands. The nuclear bombs obliterated our islands, our culture and our way of life. In reparation for this most terrible grievance AND the continued use of our islands for strategic US military presence in the Pacific, the United States established a Compact of Free Association with the RMI and other Micronesian countries. Under COFA, Marshallese and other Micronesian peoples are “non-immigrant residents” who can freely travel between and work in the United States. However, in any encounters with the law, we are treated the same as other “resident aliens”. This is a weakness in our special status under COFA that SCAAP is exploiting.
You can contact Sheriff Jay Cantrell, PH: 479-444-5700, jcantrell@washingtoncountygov.ar and ask him why he participates in this program. It’s voluntary. He could choose not to be involved. Tell him how it hurts our families, our community, and Springdale overall. Tell him about how your friends, brothers, cousins and fathers who have been taken from you. SCAAP incentivizes the Washington County Sheriff’s Office to arrest and hold undocumented individuals, and oftentimes, individuals whom they “believe” are undocumented. The threat of ICE and the constant potential of deportation looms over our families and community because of SCAAP. And, it creates a two-tiered system of justice where we are treated differently in the criminal justice system in the U.S. The police are supposed to keep us safe, not sell our information to ICE for extra money.
SCAAP is wrong because it violates non-immigrants’ and immigrants’ privacy. We, non-immigrants and immigrants, all came to the United States because it is the Home Of The Brave and The FREE. We also deserves Privacy and Freedom. We trusted the United States under their Trusteeship and we placed our trust in the promises made in the Compact of Free Association. We are a large part of the poultry processing workforce in Washington County and our work kept the chicken plants open during the Pandemic at great cost to our community’s health and wellness. Washington County MUST STOP PARTICIPATING IN SCAAP.