There has been a neighborhood petition going around on the island of Guam for sometime now. In it, the Attorney General Douglas Moylan, had said convicted felons from other islands may now be deported back to their own home islands. For instance, Chuukese to the islands of Chuuk, and Filipinos to the islands of the Philippines, etc.

“It’s time we come out and be true to ourselves,” said Damian Jones. “We don’t want that stigma anymore. Enough is enough!” Jones, a hundred-percent Chuukese, is a long-time resident of Yigo. He was talking about what some of the law-abiding Chuukese were thinking about.

Moyland went on to say: “Our intention is to free up cells at (the Department of Correction) to make room for more criminals in order to protect our people. Once deported (the deportees) cannot re-enter the U.S.” If someone doesn’t accept the program, Moylan also said, they will “remain in jail but will be deported upon their eventual release.”

Those who stand to be deported from Guam from Federated States of Micronesia are majority Chuukese — who are brought up on charges of “manslaughter, home invasion and sexual assault.” In the past, there was a loud cry in the Chuukese community. It did not sit well with them, especially the Chuukese leaders around the virtual world. They claimed that as a United States territory, Guam does not have the right to deport anyone, they said.

John Patis, a Chuukese  and a long-time resident of Dededo, said: “The AG will do anything to get this felon off this island, especially FSMers.”

Maverick Namelo agrees with Patis: “That’s just totally racist. It seems like this is just happening to Chuukese.” Namelo is also a long-time resident of Umatac.

The new President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, is very clear on that point, by the way: Deport! Donald Trump, who is taking office again in January, is very big on deportation; especially, where the US has a border with Mexico. Repeatedly, he had said they will deport the 11 millions “illegals” and the criminals in the nation.

Though Marshallese and other Micronesians in the United States are legal residents under the Compact of Free Association, they remain vulnerable to deportation for criminal infractions which also include “crimes of moral turpitude” which includes even missing a court hearing for a traffic ticket or being served an arrest warrant (accused) of rape or murder. The Marshallese Consulate works with local law enforcement to advocate on behalf of Marshallese citizens in the US detained for deportation. The Marshallese community in Springdale, AR experienced this firsthand earlier this year, when 20-30 Marshallese men were taken into ICE custody for deportation. This had a significant impact on the community and families. The RMI government has since formed a taskforce to develop solutions to re-integrate individuals deported back to the RMI from the U.S. and prevent these individuals from falling through the cracks.

Deportation from Guam, a U.S. territory, would result in the same restrictions on travel to and from Hawaii and other parts of the United States. Today, the Chuukese on Guam today are not too quick to protest the petition anymore. In fact, they are beginning to re-think this from a whole thing from different perspective. Now, they’re looking at themselves and their families first.

When this Guam journalist walk the streets among the Chuukese to listen, this is what they heard: “Not all of us are bad people,” said Jones. “We work hard to put food on the table, and we are law-abiding residents.”

Karmeno Ifa, also a Chuukese of Ordot/”Chalan Pago agrees.  “I think it’s better so the criminals will not cause us any problem on Guam anymore.”

Jones added: “I am all for it (the neighborhood petition) to get rid of the bad apples.” Let the law abiding Chuukese community in Guam enjoy life, he said.

Plus, Ifa added, it will be good for the relatives back home to see them. Instead of having them locked-up behind bars on Guam. However, it will be a challenge for Chuuk. So maybe Chuuk public safety would continue to guide the process.

Diano Raigumal at Naval Sea System Command out of Port Hueneme, Calif., offered this: “We’re visitors/guests in the U.S. and we’re required to abide by their country’s laws, rules or policies.  If we break them, we deserve to go back home. Raigumal added, the U.S. is a country of law just like our country. He is a retired Yapese-US service member.

Francis X. Hezel, the foremost scholar on Micronesia, distilled the talking points to 3 items. He begged FSM not to fight Guam over this some time ago. Those in jail are: 1) Embarrassment to the family here struggling to make it on Guam. 2) The deal is good for convicts, win-win. 3) Picking a fight with Guam is not good. They’re the hosts country. They foot a big share of the bill, and it may never get fully reimbursed by the Federal government.

For years, the stigma has has been: Chuukese are ‘uncivilized’, they are straight-up unruly. Put a can of beer in the hands of a Chuukese and he goes berserk. Thanks in no-small part to the work of Mac Marshall (Mayfield, 1979): ‘Weekend Warriors: Alcohol in Micronesia’. That, and coupled with scores of Chuukese exhibiting this behavior over the years… the stain stuck.

The Chuukese sports community and the Chuukese Church Leaders on Guam, for years, have worked tirelessly to combat this negativity. Unbeknownst to them, however, back on Chuuk, there was such a program by the College of Micronesia collaborating with the Salvation Army. They would introduce first-time travelers to life on Guam, the late Joakim ‘Jojo’ Peter once said. 

The government of Chuuk would have to investigate and revive that, said Jones: “Let Chuuk leaders figure it out.” They may want to put some   programs as requirements first. Like orientation programs, they’d require first time Chuukese migrants to go through before actually coming out of Chuuk, Jones said. “Or put it in the school curriculum to teach it,” he also said, “Just so they understand how to survive, and to follow the laws of the land.” So, when the new first-timers reached Guam shores they would have already been steeped, or somewhat, in life on Guam.

Born and raised in Chuuk, Alex Rhowuniong is a freelance journalist and a long-time resident of Guam. He wrote a similar story for Pacific Island Times, Deport Air program: It’s a fair deal. Send feedback to justwrite.ar@gmail.com

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