The team admits that the information is anecdotal and interpretative but emphasized its importance.
The Compact of Free Association was viewed by the team as a system that was poorly planned, which has resulted in the lack of support from the federal government to Guam.
Some residents from the Federated States of Micronesia just end up in Guam’s correctional facilities, the judicial system and entitlement programs, the report said.
“Our social and community resources are stretched beyond its capacity and where our schools, hospital, public health clinics, corrections and courts are suffering from overcrowding, overuse and lack of adequate funds to cover operations,” the committee reports.
The members also covered the arrival of citizens from the CNMI, with village mayors on Guam noticing an increase of CNMI citizens living in a meager state such as a family of 11 in a one bedroom apartment.
“The collapse in the CNMI has been documented for many years now and much of it is due to federal laws and policies that profoundly changed the CNMI economy for the worse resulting in many CNMI families from Rota, Tinian and Saipan coming to Guam looking for a better life and jobs. Like the Compact issue, poor planning and foresight from the federal government has resulted in more immigration to Guam from our Marianas brothers and sisters,” said the committee.
The members feel Guam is not prepared for the influx and should look to the feds to step up to the plate. This includes pushing the feds to give about $400 million in Compact-Impact money owed to Guam so it can be invested in schools, the hospital, clinics, public health, mental health programs, etc. and to account for the nearly 25 years of immigration from the FSM.
Another suggestion was to start a Guam/Chuuk Charter school and to partner with Chuuk High School officials on the Chuuk main island of Weno in developing curriculum that would help FSM teens. No mention, however, was made in the report of connecting with officials from Kosrae, Yap, or Pohnpei.
A recommendation was also made for Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo, D-Guam, to contact other congressional delegates affected by compact-impact and assess the decades old agreement, then make recommendations for change, including a freeze in new immigration to the U.S. and its territories.
“Our committee felt that our island cannot properly care for the existing immigrants and our own indigenous people at this moment in history. It appears to be a human and civil rights issue when many new immigrants and local residents are living in extreme poverty and unsanitary conditions. Meanwhile more and (more) immigrants come to Guam and other U.S. territories without any viable housing, employment and finances,” states the report.
