H.E. President Hilda C. Heine, accompanied by First Gentleman Thomas Kijiner Jr, Speaker Brenson S Wase, Minister Kaneko & Mrs. Kaneko, Senator and Chairman Wilbur Heine, Senator and Chairman Joe Bejan, attended several meetings and events in Arkansas, Washington and Oregon from March 18 to March 25, 2025. Also in attendance: Chief of Staff, Press Secretary, Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Secretary to the Ambassador, Ambassador to the US Charles Paul, Ambassador to the UN John Silk. As part of President Heine’s outreach plan, Consulate representatives have visited 30-some communities thus far and plan to visit 70-some more this year to educate FAS citizens about passport renewal, i94, medicare, SNAP, etc, scholarships etc. The President’s town halls embody the administration’s desire to connect communities in diaspora to government services.

The president and her delegation presided over the opening of the RMI Northwest Consulate in Portland and engaged community concerns at town halls hosted in Springdale, AR, Everett, WA, and Salem, OR. The opening of a third Consulate in Portland, Oregon will better serve the Marshallese living in Washington, Oregon, California and surrounding states. The Consulate is conveniently located in SW Portland, a short drive from Tigard, OR where many Marshallese in the Portland area live. The Consulate opening was attended by guests from all over including Utah, Iowa, Ohio, Indiana, and Arkansas enjoyed the celebration.

The speeches made at the celebration and the various town halls and events engaging the Marshallese communities emphasized President Heine’s commitment to connecting with Marshallese citizens living in the US. President Heine graciously honored every request for photo-ops and greeted hundreds of people throughout the week in traditional greeting and receptions at various events. She laughed and smiled big when her brother waited in line to give his iakwe during the kojota and reception hosted by a local Marshallese congregation in Salem, OR.

Presidential town halls in Springdale, Seattle, and Salem allowed President Heine, Minister of Foreign Affairs Kaneko, and Ambassador Paul to address local communities and answer questions about: changes to the economic terms of the Compact, the status of FAS citizens in the US, risk of deportation from the US, the RMI National Adaptation Plan for climate resilience, cost of airline flights, and disputes to U.S. claims to Wake Island. Consulate outreach visits to 30 some communities already and 70 some more planned community visits will continue to support Marshallese citizens with passport renewals, i94 documentation, access to social benefits such as SNAP, TANF, SSI, SSID, and Medicare, and educate citizens about scholarship opportunities. There was also questions about internet connectivity and Starlink. Watch the town hall meeting in Marshallese recorded by Oregon Marshallese Community Association.

Click to watch OMCC’s live video: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18UMaSUjJV

The first question, though not the only questions, was about recent changes to U.S. immigration policy and redefinition of the legal status of other groups such as Venezuelans and Haitians and the increased efforts of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport non-citizen residents with criminal infractions. The man spoke with much emotion and his hands shook when he said he was nervous that his status in the U.S. could change and he asked for clarification about the changes to the Compact which was recently renewed last year. The Minister of Foreign Affairs assured everyone that their status as Freely Associated Status will never expire even though the specific terms of economic benefits does need to be negotiated and renewed every 20 years. Any change to their status and right to live, work, and travel freely between the RMI and US would constitute a violation to the relationship and consequently the Compact between the two nations.

Another man later asked again about their risks of deportation and he mentioned a close relative that this was impacting. The Minister of Foreign Affairs responded that every country has the right to make and enforce their own laws so it is important to be law abiding and understand how to interact with law enforcement.

Other questions were related to access to social benefits (SSI, SSID, TANF, SNAP, and Medicare), retrieving lost i94 documentation, renewing passports, and applying for a REAL ID, all of which can be answered by the three Marshallese Consulates in the U.S. In particular, Northwest Consul General Eldon Alik said that the Consulate can contact Department of Homeland Security for anyone whose i94 entry number cannot be retrieved online (anyone who arrived prior to 2004) and whose paper information has since been lost.

Another question during the town hall raised the issue of high cost of air transportation on United, with round trip flights now costing sometimes $6000. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and the President explained administrative efforts to encourage competition to bring down prices including investing in domestic air transport and negotiating landing rights with Air Nauru whose flights are subsidized by the Australian government. They mentioned that Air Nauru is considering flights to Honolulu in addition to their flights between Australia, Nauru, Kiribati, Majuro, Pohnpei, and Palau.

The President and her delegation were not unsympathetic and mindful of the challenges and barriers both to life in the R.M.I. and the U.S. Other people shared about personal losses due to king tides, flooding and other extreme weather events. These questions also concerned maintaining a Marshallese homeland as the government is working to maintain air and maritime rights even if atolls become submerged. The Minister of Foreign Affairs explained that must commit to one course of action and that the cost would prohibit them from both successfully adapting to climate changes AND relocating the entire population because of climate change. The Minister of Foreign Affairs said they are committed to maintaining their homeland and adapting to climate change: “jab give up.” The president and her minister of foreign affairs repeatedly used “assure” and “reassure” in their responses.

President Heine explained more about the RMI’s National Adaptation Plan for Climate Change which is research-based and informed by traditional knowledges and community input. The plan was featured in the National Socioeconomic & Climate Change Summit at the end of January 2025. The NAP has been translated into Marshallese for continued educational projects. Another man at the town hall explained that his family were the traditional land owners of Ānen Kio which is currently claimed by the US and known as Wake Island. The US claims no one was there when they took it for military operations but common under traditional Marshallese land management the island was reserved for hunting game and gathering food. Marshallese men would also collect albatross bones for tattooing rituals. The RMI Government continues to dispute U.S. claims to Wake Island.