Legal status hinders islanders, study says
State’s Marshallese still outsiders
SPRINGDALE — The “nebulous legal status” of first-generation Marshall Islanders living in the United States makes their long-term economic integration challenging, according to a study released Tuesday.
Only 2 percent of 120 Marshallese in Arkansas who were surveyed claimed U.S. citizenship, according to the study.
Arkansas has the thirdhighest population of Marshallese in the world with 4,324, according to the 2010 Census. That’s up from an estimated 2,600 in 2000.
“Lack of citizenship status prevents voting in Arkansas and thus slows civic integration,” according to the report, “A Profile of the Marshallese Community in Arkansas.” “Lack of status as immigrants or permanent residents can create barriers to accessing public benefits such as health insurance.”
The report is the third volume of a three-part study conducted by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation called “A Profile of Immigrants in Arkansas 2013.” The foundation funded a similar study in 2007, but it omitted the state’s Marshallese com-
munity, which is concentrated in and around Springdale, because the demographic wasn’t tracked in the 2000 Census.
Volume 1 of the new report is on work-force and family demographics, and Volume 2 is about economics.
The study’s Volume 3, about the Marshallese, was conducted by Rafael Jimeno, assistant professor of political science at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
The foundation held simultaneous news conferences Tuesday in Little Rock and Springdale to announce the release of the new report, which is available through its website, wrfoundation.org.
Things will be easier for the children of the first-generation Marshallese, Jimeno said at the news conference. The children of Marshall Islanders automatically become U.S. citizens if born in the United States.
Under a Compact of Free Association, Marshallese can travel and work in the United States without visas but aren’t considered permanent residents by the U.S. government. To become permanent residents or citizens of the U.S., people from the Marshall Islands must apply on the same terms as other foreigners. If they come to the U.S. under terms of the compact, Marshallese can’t begin the process of naturalization after they’re in the U.S., according to the study.
As a result, the vast majority of Marshallese living in Arkansas aren’t U.S. citizens.
That was reflected in their detachment from American politics. About 65 percent of those surveyed didn’t know anything about the nation’s two major political parties, and 57 percent didn’t know the terms “liberal” and “conservative.”
Arkansas has the largest Marshallese population outside the Republic of the Marshall Islands and Hawaii, according to the study. The Marshall Islands is the fourth-largest country of origin for Arkansas’ foreignborn residents after Mexico, El Salvador and India, according to the study.
The Marshall Islands are two chains of coral atolls and more than 1,000 islets in the Pacific Ocean just north of the equator. The islands are actually coral deposits on the crater rims of two submerged volcanoes, ac- cording to BBC News.
The Marshall Islands have a total of 70 square miles of land spread out over 750,000 square miles, according to a State Department fact sheet. That’s less land than the combined cities of Fayetteville and Springdale.
The United States gained military control of the Marshall Islands from Japan in 1944. The Marshall Islands became independent from the United States in 1986 through the compact.
From 1946-58, the U.S. tested nuclear weapons on two of the Marshall Islands’ atolls, Bikini and Enewetak. That led to high levels of radiation and severe health problems, according to the survey. Enewetak has been partially decontaminated, but Bikini is still uninhabitable, according to the BBC.
Only two of the 120 survey respondents mentioned nuclear testing as a reason for health concerns now in the Marshall Islands.
Speaking before a crowd of about 50 people at the news conference in Springdale, Sandy Harris Joel, Marshallese program coordinator at Credit Counseling of Arkansas, said the study will be a valuable tool in helping Arkansans learn more about the Marshallese.
Joel said life is much better here than in the Marshall Islands, particularly for economic reasons.
“They had no chance but to move out of their own land to find a better life,” said Joel. “I know why they come. After living here, I know why they’re here.”
The survey indicated 76 percent respondents worked for one of three poultry companies — Tyson Foods, George’s or Butterball.
About 12 percent of the survey respondents indicated they came to Arkansas for educational purposes. Thirty-five percent of respondents didn’t have a high school diploma.
About 63 percent of Marshallese surveyed have health insurance, compared with only 38 percent of Hispanics, according to the study. Poultry companies, where the majority of Marshallese work, usually provide insurance for employees.
Foreigners make up about 5 percent of Arkansas’ population, according to the study. Arkansas ranks fourth among the states in foreign migrant population growth from 2000 to 2010, with the foreign-born population increasing by 82 percent.