Migration from Micronesian Nations Has Had Significant Impact on Guam, Hawaii, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Friberg, Emil (2001). Migration from Micronesian Nations Has Had Significant Impact on Guam, Hawaii, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (Report). Washington, DC: Government Accountability Office. p. 105.
- Has attachment: File:7G32Y3NF.pdf
Abstract: Thousands of citizens from the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau have availed themselves of the migration rights provided under the Compacts. Almost 14,000 migrants were living in Guam and Hawaii in 1997 and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in 1998, according to Department of the Interior surveys. Guam had the most Compact migrants at 6,550, followed by Hawaii with 5,500 and the Commonwealth with 1,755. There were substantially more migrants living in these U.S. areas who arrived under the Compacts of Free Association than there were those who arrived prior to Compact implementation. For the migrants surveyed, the destination for migrants shifted from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in the early 1980s to Guam from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s, and to Hawaii in more recent years.5 Compact migrants moved to U.S. island areas primarily for employment and education opportunities and as dependents of employed migrants. The data show that Compact migrants surveyed were working in jobs that required few skills and paid low wages, and most (over 50 percent) were living in poverty in all three U.S. island areas. Finally, most Compact migrants were not highly educated.
The governments of Guam, Hawaii, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands have identified significant Compact migration impact. The three U.S. areas have collectively reported at least $371 million in costs to local governments for 1986 through 2000 that are associated with migrants from the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau, with Guam’s estimate accounting for close to half of the total amount. All three U.S. island areas have shown that costs have been concentrated in the areas of health and education. Further, all three U.S. areas have raised concerns about public health problems associated with Compact migrants. Concerning impact on sending nations, population growth in the Federated States of Micronesia has essentially stopped in recent years, while falling to under 2 percent annually in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, reportedly due to out-migration. Government officials in these Micronesian countries view out-migration as a key safety valve to easingproblems associated with limited economic opportunities in these small nations.
The U.S. government’s use of options available to address Compact migration impact has not satisfied the governments of Guam, Hawaii, or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. One of these options, financial compensation, has provided funding through fiscal year 2001 for Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands of $41 million and $3.8 million, respectively. These amounts are much less than the financial impact estimated by the two U.S. island governments. Hawaii has received no compensation. All three U.S. areas believe additional funding is in order. The second option, which allows for nondiscriminatory limitations to be placed on the right of Compact migrants to establish continuing residence in a territory or possession of the United States, was enacted in September 2000. U.S. government officials have reported that this action is expected to have limited impact due to insufficient resources to enforce the limitations. Compact impact reports, a tool available to assist the U.S. government in determining whether and how to address impact, have not been prepared annually by the Department of the Interior as required and do not easily allow comparisons across U.S. island area data to determine relative impact.
A reduction in the level of future Compact assistance could spur migration, while targeting assistance to health and education sectors could reduce some motivations to migrate. For example, significant reductions in aid that reduce government employment would be expected to increase migration. In contrast, targeting future U.S. assistance to the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands for education and health purposes might reduce some of the motivation to migrate (although migration will continue as long as employment opportunities in both countries remain limited). Further, improvements in migrant health and education status would be expected to reduce adverse migrant impact in U.S. destinations.
In this report, we are making a recommendation to the Secretary of State regarding the use of future Compact assistance for health and education to reduce adverse Compact impact in Guam, Hawaii, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
We provided a draft of this report to the Department of the Interior, the Department of State, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, as well as to the governments of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, Guam, Hawaii, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The government of the Republic of Palau did not provide comments. The Immigration and Naturalization Service provided technical comments and generally agreed with the substance of the report. Agencies and governments that provided written comments generally agreed with our findings, but each had concerns regarding the scope and content of various issues addressed in the report. Of those who addressed our recommendation, State agreed with us, Guam and the Commonwealth stated that the recommendation should address the lack of employment in the Pacific Island nations, Hawaii proposed that health and education funding be provided only under strict grant conditions, and the Federated States of Micronesia felt that the recommendation was unnecessary. Where appropriate, we made technical changes that incorporated minor comments.
