Ri Majōl ro emālim aer jokwe im amṇak ilo Amedka ekkar ñan kwon im karōk ko iuṃwin Compact of Free Association eo. Mekarta ak elmọkot ko rekāāl an immigration eṃōj aer kōḷapḷọk im kapidodoik ḷọk aer kalbuuj im kōrọọl armej (deportation). Kakkōl in ej etal wōt āinwōt in: Elmọkot in ekāāl an administration in eḷọj an leṃaan ḷọk bwe en erom juon kakien eo ej kemlet bwe aolep ro jān Majōl im Ri Micronesia bwe ren joḷọk jān maroñ ko ak erom juon citizen ak armej in Amedka meñe rej ḷotak ilo Amedka. Diwōj im delọñtok ioon Amedka in rejjab alikkar im kujñeñe ilo elmọkot in.
Opij eo an U.S Immigration eo eaar likūt elōñ pija ko pijain armej, barāinwōt pijain Ri Majōl ro ilo jikin kalbuuj ko aolep raan im ṇa etaer “ri kōṃṃan jorrāān jān likin” (criminal aliens) ak jorrāān ko reḷḷap ḷọk. Jet raar kōṃṃan jorrāān ko reḷḷap, akō elōñ wōt iaer raar pād ilo jorrāān jidik ko āinwōt ire, kadek, ak homeless. Itulik in men kein rej kwaḷọki im post kaki rej baaṃle ko re rup im ajri ro rejepel jān jineer im jemeer.
“Junior, juon likao in Majōl eo ej jokwe ilo Northwest Arkansas, raar kōrọọl e ñan Majōl ālkin an kalbuuj jimettan iiō ilo jikin kalbuuj eo an ICE ilo Lousiana im iḷọk wōt ñan Guantanamo. ICE rein raar kalbuuji im bar kadiwōje ilo 2021 eo ke eaar jino jerbal ilo George’s eo ilo Springdale. Ak ilo February 2025 eo, rein jān ICE raar bar bōke im kalbuuji. Kiiō ej pād ilo Majuro.
Ilo tōre in Junior eṃōj an kiiō tōpar im kōnono ippān baaṃle ko an ilo Springdale, Arkansas, bōtaap epen an tōpar lawyer ro an jān immigration ijokein. Ke Chickin Melele raar kōṃṃane juon iien aer loḷọk opij eo an Ri Majōl ilo Arkansas (Consulate), raar lo enañin wōr joñoul jima armej rej kōttar bwe ren kōnono ippān lawyer rein rej jipañ er ilo ejjeḷọk wōnāān. Juon ri jerbal in ukok eaar barāinwōt pād ijin ñan jipañ ilo jerbal in ukok.
Junior eaar jiroñ ḷọk Chikin Melele wāwein im jekjek in jikin kalbuuj kein eaar ba bwe rej jet jikin ko eḷap aer nana. Ilo Guantanamo, raar kōṃṃan ñane “āinwōt juon terrorist”. Policeman rein raar likūti iloan worwor ko rej pād iuṃwin al im det ilo iien an kakkije. Jet iaan men ko rar waḷọk ñane eaar jab maroñ kōnono kaki. Men eo eḷap an kōnono kake ej kōn ewi joñan an būroṃōj kōn ajri ro nejin im baaṃle eo an.
Junior ejjeḷọk an baaṃle ilo Majuro. Eaar ba: “ro neju, lellap eo jino, leddik ro jeiu im jatu, laddik eo jatu, aunty ro aō, uncle ro aō, im leddik eo jera—aolep repād Amedka.” Eaar kajjitōk ewōr ke an bar maroñ ñan leloñ tak abṇōṇō (case) in an ilo an pād ilo Marshall Islands. Eaar ba, “eḷap aō kōnaan bwe in jeplaak ḷọk ippān ajri ro neju im kōrā eo jera, jouj.”
Rein jeran im ri jerbal rein ṃōttan ilo Arkansas raar kwaḷọk im kōmeḷeḷe kōn mour in an Junior eḷap an oktak jān meḷeḷe ko an ICE. Ilo jikin jerbal eo an George’s, menija ro raar ba ej juon eo eḷap an kate im kūttare ilo jerbal. Eaar barāinwōt erom juon Lead im lale 6 ri jerbal ro raar pād iuṃwin kabbe eo an. Ro ṃōttan raar ba eḷap an akwe jabdewōt armej.
Bwebwenato in an Junior ejjab jeṇoḷọk. Kilmar Abrego Garcia, juon likao in El Salvador, eaar bar waḷọk jekjek in ñane im raar jilkin ḷọk ñan juon iaan jikin kalbuuj ko reḷḷap eo eaar bar diwōj ak ālkin rein jān ICE raar bar kalbuuji. Likao in eaar kwaḷọk ñan rein rej jipañe bwe ilo an ememlokjen kōn baaṃle eo an eaar juon men in kōkajoor e: “Anij enaaj bōktok ekajet jiṃwe ñan aolep ro rej eñtaan.”
Iuṃwin jemenei eo ilo Compact of Free Association eo, Ri Majōl ro ewōr aer mālim in jokwe im jerbal ilo Amedka. Ijo wōt ke elmọkot kein rekāāl an immigration ekōṃṃan bwe en pidodo aer kalbuuji er im kōrọọl er. Jabwe meḷeḷe ilo kajin pālle im jabwe jipañ ikijjien lawyer rej jet abañ ko eḷap ilo menin. Elmọkot ak kakien kein rej wōnṃaanḷọk wōt ilo aer bōk jikier im kōṃṃan an jepel baaṃle ko im bōktok eḷap būroṃōj im metak ioon ro ilo jukjukin pād eo.
The official social media accounts of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) post daily images of people in custody, often with captions generated by artificial intelligence. For Marshallese and other Micronesians, those captions frequently use the term “criminal aliens.” While a few individuals have committed crimes such as fraud or theft, many cases involve struggles with homelessness, alcohol, or minor fights. The broader reality is one of families separated and communities fractured by detention and deportation.
“Junior”, a Marshallese citizen livinging in Northwest Arkansas, has recently arrived in Majuro after spending more than half of a year in ICE detention in Louisiana. Labeled by immigration as a “terrorist” and “the worst of the worst,” he was transferred to Guantánamo in July where he was held until the RMI government repatriated him mid-August. Previously detained by ICE, he was released in 2021 when he started working for George’s in Springdale. But in February 2025, he was again taken into ICE custody. He is currently in Majuro.
Since arriving in Majuro, Junior has kept in touch with his family in Springdale, Arkansas, though he shared that he has struggled to reach his state and immigration lawyers. When Chikin Melele visited the Marshall Islands Consulate in Springdale, nearly a dozen people were waiting for their turn to talk to the pro bono attorney there. An interpreter staffed by the Consulate was also there.
Junior confirmed that conditions in ICE facilities were harsh, but he described Guantánamo as cruel and degrading. “They treated me the same as the terrorists,” he said. Guards would move him outside into cages under the hot sun whenever he tried to rest. Some experiences he refuses to talk about. What he spoke of most was missing his children and family in Arkansas.
Authoritative Marshallese sources confirmed that Junior had prior run-ins with the law when younger. The offense that ultimately led to deportation involved verbal threats during a fight with a former girlfriend and later a parole violation for drinking and driving. ICE labeled him a felon and guilty of “terroristic threatening,” but friends and coworkers described a changed man who had a iakwe for everyone. At George’s, where he worked in the freezer department, Human Resources confirmed his strong work ethic: “He was a very hardworking employee. He worked his way up to being a Lead, and he handled around six employees on his shift.”
Junior said: “I really don’t know why they send me back here to the Marshall Islands now, but all my charges were dropped when I was released in 2021. It was on February 8, 2025, ICE got me… all my paperwork is with my lawyer.” He has no family in Majuro: “All my kids and my mom, sisters, brother, aunty, uncle, and my girlfriend—they’re all in America.”
Junior asked us directly: “Please help me if you can. Do I still have a chance to fight my case here in the Marshall Islands? I really want to come back now with my kids and my girlfriend, please.” It was painful to admit that we had no clear answers for him.
His experience echoes that of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an immigrant from El Salvador who lived in Maryland for 15 years before being wrongfully deported to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison. After returning to the U.S., he was arrested again and now faces deportation to a third country. He talked about the memories that sustained him while in prison: his son jumping on the trampoline and going to the park. He told the crowd that seeing his family over the weekend filled him with hope, and that those moments “will give me strength to continue fighting.” Fighting through tears, he said: “God is with us. God will never leave us. God will bring justice to all of the injustice we are suffering.” ICE has threatened to deport him to Uganda for refusing to plead guilty to human trafficking charges. Still, he urged supporters: “Regardless of what happens today with ICE, please promise me that you will keep fighting, praying, believing in the dignity and the liberty for not only me, but for everyone.”
Under the Compact of Free Association, Marshallese are legal residents in the United States. Yet current immigration policies have increased the risk of detention and deportation. The threat goes further: Marshallese and other Micronesians have been explicitly named in the administration’s proposed executive order seeking to limit birthright citizenship.
Immigrants face systemic obstacles at every step. In immigration court, the burden of proof falls on the defendant, unlike in criminal trials. Interpretation and legal counsel are not guaranteed. While the Department of Homeland Security contracts interpretation services for Marshallese in ICE custody, barriers to language access remain immense. And with the government’s increasingly aggressive stance, meaningful legal aid is even harder to secure.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia: Wrongfully Deported, Still in ICE Detention – Chikin Meļeļe
US ICE ar kōrọọḷọk ri Majōl ro / 18 Ri Majōl Arrive to RMI by US ICE Escort – Chikin Meļeļe
