HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The Office of Insular Affairs continues to encourage Congress to pass the Compacts of Free Association Amendments Act, which includes the Compact Impact Fairness Act, while Guam leaders say the proposal isn’t enough, and additional funding is needed to address the impact of migrants coming from Pacific nations with compacts of free association with the United States.
The House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs held a hearing on the Guam Host Community Compensation Act early Friday morning Chamorro Standard Time, which included testimony from Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero and Piti Mayor Jesse Alig, president of the Mayors’ Council of Guam.
For two decades, Congress provided $30 million to American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam and Hawaii to offset the cost of hosting compact migrants. Another $3 million to $6 million in discretionary funds were appropriated each year, beginning in 2012.
However, the authorization for that funding expired at the end of fiscal year 2023.
The Guam Host Community Compensation Act, or H.R. 6273, introduced by Guam Delegate James Moylan, proposes to extend compact impact funding another 20 years, except for Hawaii. It would also impose certain requirements regarding the imprisonment and residency status of compact migrants.
The Compact Impact Fairness Act, or CIFA, proposes to restore various federal benefits for compact migrants residing in the U.S. The measure is a bipartisan proposal, to which Moylan is a cosponsor for the version in the House of Representatives.
At Friday’s hearing, Keone Nakoa, the deputy assistant secretary for insular and international affairs at the Office of Insular Affairs, acknowledged the costs to Guam and other jurisdictions related to the compact agreements, but added that the office could not support H.R. 6273.
“This bill would impose additional requirements for nonimmigrant residency in Guam, which would place at risk our close relationships with the (freely associated states) – a cornerstone of U.S. national interest in the Pacific. Further, the intended effect of the proposed legislation on the compacts and the Immigration and Nationality Act is somewhat unclear, given that under the compacts, eligible FAS citizens do not require visas to travel to the United States, including Guam,” Nakoa said.
CIFA presents a long-term solution on the financial impact of compact migrants to Guam and other jurisdictions, and allows the federal government to “rightfully share” in covering a significant portion of that financial burden, according to Nakoa.
Leon Guerrero, however, testified in support of extending the authorization for compact impact funding in H.R. 6273. The governor said she totally supported CIFA, but it would only address federal programs, while local moneys within the government of Guam fund other services for compact migrants living on island, including education, public safety, and law enforcement services.
“These services are very important to provide for the quality of life. CIFA does not address the expenses that comes from those programs. These are programs that we provide from our local funding. And that’s the difference between CIFA and our local funds. So, the impact is greater to our local funds than what CIFA is meant to address,” Leon Guerrero said.
House rules committee member Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández noted that the COFA agreements grant residents from the freely associated states nonimmigrant residency status, but H.R. 6273 would require proof of employment or admission to an education facility, as well as proof of a residential address for any FAS citizen to obtain nonimmigrant residency status in Guam.
Asked to address that apparent conflict, Leon Guerrero stated that GovGuam supports migration but there has to be some reconciliation.
“What we do not want to experience is (them) becoming wards of our state. We want every migrant that comes in to be able to be educated, to be able to learn, to be able to get medical care, to be able to provide residency for their family. And so, there is some necessary work … that can be done for reconciliation. And I’m very confident that our congressman … in conjunction with our support … and with your committee (will) come into some very positive reconciliation,” Leon Guerrero said.
Alig related an example involving a migrant from Chuuk, one of the states within the Federated States of Micronesia, part of the FAS. In that example, the migrant is not proficient in English and has difficulty finding work because he is not accustomed to searching for jobs online.
“After months on Guam living with 15 relatives in a substandard wood and tin two-bedroom home, and remaining unemployed, he finally lands a job as a yard maintenance worker and earns less than $500 a month. He slowly discovers that reunification with his family will be more complicated than he imagined, and he longs for his wife and children,” Alig said.
In his example, the migrant turns to alcohol to deal with this situation and unintentionally commits vehicular homicide while inebriated.
“This story I just shared with you is more common than you think. Although the man in this story unintentionally committed vehicular homicide, if you were to Google crimes on Guam involving COFA migrants, you would quickly see stories that include sexual abuse, home invasion, assault, robbery and the list goes on and on … Guam’s homeless population has increased exponentially since the COFA agreement was enacted, many of whom are FAS citizens. Our mayors have to deal with this issue at the village level,” Alig said.
The MCOG president said he would propose using compact impact funding enabled by H.R. 6273 to establish a welcoming process for COFA migrants coming to Guam, to get them educated on social services, legal processes and local and federal laws.
“Guam cannot financially support these necessary services using its current budget. Let it be clear that there are success stories of COFA migrants on Guam Guam is a melting pot of many cultures but the hard reality is that there is a cost to ensuring a safe and caring community,” Alig said.
In a press release following the hearing, Moylan stated that his team will continue to work with the House natural resources committee to fine tune H.R. 6273 and identify a funding source for the measure.
“Unlike the previous Congress, this leadership requires the identification of funds before advancing such measures, which is a responsible approach,” Moylan stated in the release.
He also stated that testimonies from the governor and Alig further evidenced the need for compact impact reimbursements.
“The questioning by committee members certainly led to an educational opportunity, as one message was evident: Guam needs additional support to manage legal migration authorized by the federal government,” the delegate stated in the release.
Keone Nakoa, the deputy assistant secretary for insular and international affairs at the Office of Insular Affairs, far left, Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero, second from far right, and Piti Mayor Jesse Alig, far right, testify before the House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs during a hearing on Jan. 19, 2024, Chamorro Standard Time, which included the Guam Host Community Compensation Act.
