By Alex J. Rhowuniong
President Donald Trump’s new administration has brought a flood of confusion and chaos nationwide and around the world as he settled into the Oval Office starting on day one.
Before he sat down to sign a pile of executive orders that would turn the world upside down, he looked at the audience and said: “Can you imagine Joe Biden doing this? I don't think so!”
With a stroke of a pen, he began dismantling American legacies and existing policies that didn’t jibe with his political platform.
For citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia living on U.S. soil, Trump’s immigration crackdown brings a cloud of uncertainty and anxiety over their status, causing their heads to spin.
Posting on his Facebook page in his native language, Buster Muritok wrote: “I spoke directly with a judge and several lawyers about this Trump administration. I have mixed feelings. I’m scared, worried, mad and sad.”
Muritok, a young Chuukese musician and court interpreter at the Clark County Courthouse in Washington State, added: “Those of you who were chosen by your people to lead in your community, you should lead and start talking now. Help us understand what's going on.”
Micronesian citizens in the U.S. have swarmed the embassy and consular offices, scrambling to renew their passports and retrieve their I-94s.
“Our limited staff across our four offices are overwhelmed with in-person visits, emails, phone calls and Facebook inbox support. The numbers of consular services provided for the past week are staggering and unprecedented,” the FSM embassy said in a statement posted on Facebook.
During a subsequent meeting with Department of the Interior in Washington D.C. in January, the freely associated states' diplomats reminded the new U.S. administration that migrants from the FSM, Palau and the Marshall Islands have
legal rights to live in the U.S. or any of its territories under the Compacts of
Free Association.
Under the compacts, citizens from these freely associated states are free to enter and remain in the U.S. without visas to live, work and study, without any limitation on the duration of their stays.
Besides granting visa-free entry rights to FAS citizens, the compacts also provide
comprehensive economic packages to the FSM, the Marshall Islands and Palau in exchange for exclusive defense rights in the three Pacific island nations. The Biden administration renewed the compacts' economic provisions in March 2024, pledging $7.1 billion to the three nations for the next 20 years.
As with many countries around the world, especially the recipients of U.S. assistance through the now-defunct U.S. Agency for International Development,
the FSM is feeling lost in limbo, too, unsure whether Trump would honor the compact agreements or reject them altogether.
According to a joint press release from the FAS following an ambassadors’ meeting with U.S. officials, “The U.S. side noted that it understood the compact rights, took these concerns seriously, and would continue to be in touch with the FAS embassies.”
The ambassadors raised the 90-day U.S. pause on some categories of foreign assistance and noted their understanding that the pause was not relevant to compact sector grants, which are administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior and therefore not covered under the foreign assistance order.
Sid Mannetti, who resides in Washington State, said: “Trump's policies are certainly creating confusion and unrest among the COFA citizens.”
So far, Mannetti has not faced any challenging issues. “My FSM passport is good and I have copies of my I-94. My Washington State driver’s license is valid until 2031, so hopefully I won’t be swept up in the mass deportation,” he said.
“Personally, I was concerned about the way they carried out the immigration orders, especially in Hawaii, which I thought would be a haven for COFA citizens. The state of Hawaii is fully aware of our people's status.”
Sato Ruda, a Chuukese living on Oahu, said, “We live in fear—those of us that don't have passports and an I-94, or let these documents expire. We're worried. Yes, we are struggling with this new deportation law.”
During a recent meeting with FSM officials on Guam, the Chuukese community raised their concerns.
Ocho Nicholas, from the Fana Panges Island in Chuuk, was not pleased that the meeting focused on the March elections instead of the chaos and confusion caused by Trump’s new directives.
“What if Trump decided that there should not be any compact anymore?” he said. “Then what would happen to our nation, our states—and their campaign?”
“I heard that with Trump anything can happen,” said Shane Rhowuniong, a Chuukese living in Kansas City, MO. “He could say, ‘Forget the compact. We are trying to cut costs! How much do those FAS governments cost us?’”
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