By Kirsty Needham
SYDNEY (Reuters) – The Marshall Islands has warned citizens living in the U.S. not to open the door to immigration officials without a judicial warrant, amid fears the community is being caught in President Donald Trump’s crackdown on undocumented migrants, an official said.
The Marshall Islands is among three Pacific Island nations whose citizens have the right to live and work in the United States under Compacts of Free Association (COFA) that also give the U.S. military access to swathes of ocean seen as strategic by Washington amid tensions with China.
The three COFA states, which also include Palau and Federated States of Micronesia, are seeking a joint meeting with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) next week, a Marshall Islands foreign ministry spokesman said, amid community “panic” after families were questioned by ICE officers in the town of Springdale, Arkansas.
More than 10,000 Marshallese live legally in Springdale, the spokesman said, and do not require visas but show Marshall Islands passports and a form when they start jobs or enter school.
The Marshall Islands government issued a letter on Facebook on Tuesday with emergency contact details for citizens living in the U.S. to show ICE officials, after video of armed officers entering homes in Springdale circulated on social media. A community news service reported Marshallese were also being questioned at work in the town.
“We are working day and night to make sure our citizens are safe – the consulate in Arkansas is informing them of their rights and not to open the door unless there is a warrant,” the Marshall Islands spokesman said in a telephone interview, confirming the incidents.
Two families “were not aware of their rights and they opened the door and they were questioned”, he said.
ICE have since “stopped doing that”, he added, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Kalani Kaneko will hold a Zoom briefing for Marshallese living in the U.S. on Saturday.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security and U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
The Federated States of Micronesia issued a statement also urging citizens in the U.S. to carry documents with them as evidence of their lawful status.
(Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney, additional reporting by David Brunnstrom in Washington; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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