The Republic of the Marshall Islands Consulate in Springdale is typically quiet, with three consulate staff on hand charged with assisting Marshallese citizens with travel documentation, RMI official communications — and emergencies.
Last week an emergency situation arose after Marshall islanders began to suddenly crowd the consulate, alarmed about President Trump's executive order on mass immigration deportation.
"Many Marshallese in the Ozarks and all across the United States are deeply concerned about the federal immigrant deportation mandate," said Anjanette Anjel, Interim Consul General.
Anjel and her team have been working non-stop, she said, responding to a growing number of distressed islanders showing up for help.
"Their primary worry is the possibility of being deported as they fear they may be targeted under this mandate. And the constant exposure to recent social media coverage has intensified these concerns. In particular there are videos circulating online showing ICE agents knocking on doors of members of the Marshallese community and it has only heightened the anxiety and fear among the local families."
Citizens of the Republic of the Marshall Islands are classified as lawful non-immigrants, under a Compact of Free Association with the United States, free to permanently move to the U.S. with only a passport. In exchange, the U.S. maintains a strategic military weapons base on the Marshall Islands, located halfway between Hawaii and Australia in the north-central Pacific, above the equator.
"The RMI and the United States formally established diplomatic ties back in July 1989," Anjel said. "However, these ties goes back even further to 1986 when the United states enacted the Compact of Free Association known as the COFA. It was renewed in 2003 and more recently in May of 2024. So under this agreement the citizens of the Marshall Islands are legally permitted to live, work, and study in the United states without the need for a visa. This agreement highlights the strong ties and mutual understanding between the two countries."
More than 47,300 Marshallese currently reside in Hawaii, California, Washington State, Utah, Missouri, and Oklahoma, according to the 2020 census, which includes Marshallese Americans. Of those, an estimated 15,000 Marshallese reside in northwest Arkansas.
Barred from becoming American citizens, many Marshallese still choose to enlist in the U.S. military, Anjel said.
"And this further solidifies our legal presence and status in the United States under the terms of the Compact."
Anjel is advising islanders concerned about being approached and questioned by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to know their rights and to have their COFA paperwork in order.
"As lawful immigrants in the United States they are entitled to certain protection under the law," she said. "It is important that they understand these rights and to stay informed and prepared to ensure they are treated fairly."
Members of two Marshallese nonprofits are volunteering at the consulate assisting staff, including Benetick Kabua Maddison. He's executive director of the Marshallese Educational Initiative founded in 2013 to serve and advocate for Marshallese residing in northwest Arkansas.
"ICE is targeting Marshallese communities in Springdale and Rogers," Maddison said, "in both Benton and Washington counties."
Marshall islanders enter the U.S. as Freely Associated Citizens with only a passport and I-94 arrival records, he said, issued by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
"You know, we're trying our best to make sure that community members are aware of their rights," he said. "And to make sure that their passports are up to date, that they have their I-94 numbers with them and that they are able to address any legal matters that should be addressed."
It's unclear how many Marshallese know they must comply with local, state and federal laws in order to remain in the U.S.
"I don't know that there's actually a specific program or class in the islands that prepares people before they move to the U.S.," he said. "But generally we do tell people that if they plan on moving to the states, it's important that they abide by all the laws."
Marshallese began to settle in northwest Arkansas in the 1990s to obtain health care, education and employment, many at the time laboring in poultry slaughterhouses and food processing facilities. Today a growing number of islanders work in medical centers, retail stores, own their businesses, as well as attend trade schools, community college, and university.
Concerned about Trump's executive action, the RMI Embassy in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 28, issued a formal letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration Customs Enforcement.
"And it was addressed to the acting director of ICE at Homeland Security," Maddison said. "And the purpose of the letter was to ensure that the department is well aware of Marshallese status here in the U.S. and are aware of the Compact of Free Association."
The memo also stressed that Marshallese are lawful non-immigrants. Maddison says attorneys, including an Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition lawyer, are working pro-bono at the RMI Consulate advising concerned Marshallese.
Sarah Moore, the coalition’s cofounder and executive director, spoke late last week about the unfolding situation.
"We had over a hundred inquiries by phone," Moore said, "along with fifty coming from out of state to the area. Our attorney was able to see thirty to forty a day. So far we've easily seen over one hundred individuals."
Marshallese guilty of a criminal misdemeanor or felony offense, including those who've failed to comply with court orders, are a deportation priority, she said.
"The individuals most concerned have active cases where they either have failure to pay or failure to appear on charges, and so their concern is about getting their court obligations taken care of to help their immigration standing," she said. "And so those are the individuals that have been reaching out to us."
But Moore warned that COFA migrants' status creates certain legal obstacles.
"Immigration courts, the status of COFA, doesn't give the same rights to Marshallese," compared to U.S. citizens, she said. "And so because of those possible past court proceedings, there's always the chance that the way that immigration agents interprets those past charges, that there is a great potential for some of these individuals and their families to be faced with deportation."
Last year, more than twenty Marshallese men were reportedly taken into custody under the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program or SCAAP. The Washington County Sheriff's Department, financially compensated to participate in SCAAP, provides identities of convicted non-U.S. citizens residing in the county to the Bureau of Justice Assistance.
"And seeing some sweeps that happened over this last year, and an increase of individuals and entangling," Moore said, "really shows us that the presence of ICE even before this administration came in, was already very much in place. And it's been very concerning to see that activity step up because we have seen, that in particular, it seems like some law enforcement agencies in our region do seem to be in some way working alongside ICE as well."
Moore also warns that federal immigration enforcement agencies are not transparent about detainees in custody, including Marshallese citizens.
"Our Washington County Detention Center puts these individuals in a restrictive booking status, so these people basically disappear. And their loved ones don't even have a way, once they're in our local facility, to contact them, to know that they're there, and to get on the jail's kiosk to access an attorney, or to ask for assistance of any kind, so it's incredibly concerning."
Sarah Moore advises Marshallese to take strict precautions during encounters with ICE agents in the coming months, which are expected to escalate.
"These individuals coming to your door should have a signed court order that has a judge's signature for that to be an active warrant," she said. "If they come to your door and they have no paperwork, then you should not step outside your private residence. You are safe when you're inside your private residence and you do not have to allow ICE to come into your residence unless they [are visibly holding] a signed judicial warrant."
"And if they do not, and knock on your door," she said, "first I would not answer the door. But if you do open the door and you recognize it is ICE, I would ask who that individual is and what their badge number is. Make them identify themselves. I would also, if you feel comfortable doing so, record them with your cell phone and make sure that you try to get as much identifying information as you can on record. And again, if they do not produce the signed warrant, and I would tell them that you no longer want to speak with them and close your door, [ending] that interaction."
Trump's executive order on immigration is titled "Protecting the American People Against Invasion." Invasion is a trigger term used to convince the public to support federal round-ups of both unauthorized and authorized individuals that pose "significant threats to national security and public safety, committing vile and heinous acts against innocent Americans."
