As U.S. immigration officials ramp up enforcement, Arkansas church leader Albioss Lattore is offering advice to the Pacific Islander community. He emphasizes that the most important thing when facing questioning from immigration officials is to avoid self-incrimination, as this could lead to swift deportation under the Trump administration's removal policies. It's crucial to understand your rights and seek legal counsel if approached by ICE.
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02-23, 2025The Trump administration has increased its crackdown on immigrants without valid visas or with criminal records, causing concern among Pacific Islanders living in the United States about sudden deportation and separation from loved ones, jobs, and the homes they have come to know. This sense of worry is spreading, with many living in fear of potential enforcement actions. This has created a climate of uncertainty and anxiety within the community.
Pacific Island governments have also expressed similar concerns, believing that large-scale deportation operations would place a heavy burden on already under-resourced law enforcement agencies that are struggling to cope with the reintegration of criminals deported from the United States. Among them, the Tongan government hopes to negotiate with U.S. officials to seek opportunities to suspend deportation orders. They are seeking avenues for dialogue and potential collaboration to address the issue.
Experts generally agree that Pacific Island nations lack the capacity to cope with this problem, so non-governmental organizations, community groups, and churches in the region need to strengthen cooperation and find ways to help more people deported from the United States reintegrate into society. Data from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shows that Fiji faces the highest number of Pacific Islanders being deported, with 353, followed by Tonga (151), Samoa (57), and the Marshall Islands (39). This highlights the varying degrees of impact across different island nations.
After the Trump administration pledged to deport "millions" of immigrants, ICE officials launched searches in major cities, unsettling the Marshallese diaspora. ICE officials have reportedly conducted door-to-door searches in the Springdale, Arkansas area in recent weeks, home to 15,000 Marshallese residents. Many fear that even minor infractions or a lack of necessary documentation could lead to their deportation back to the Marshall Islands, separating them from their families. The aggressive enforcement tactics have heightened the sense of vulnerability within the community.
Lattore pointed out that even Pacific Islanders living in the United States under special immigration agreements between the U.S. and the Marshall Islands, Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia could face deportation if their passports have expired or if they were convicted of a crime long ago. "That's why we're shocked right now," he said. "Many of our families are afraid of being deported. One of my family members has already been taken from Arkansas to a detention center in Louisiana. He's lived here for 10 years." The fear of separation and displacement is palpable among many families.
Many Marshallese citizens have moved to the United States under a special agreement that allows them to immigrate without a visa in exchange for U.S. military access to territory in the Pacific island nation. Lattore says he has been helping the community understand how U.S. law works, "because some people don't understand that even small things can give them a criminal record." He is focused on providing education and resources to help community members navigate the legal system.
Associate Professor Jose Sousa-Santos, convener of the Pacific Regional Security Center at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, said that the Trump administration's deportation policies are less targeted than those of former President Joe Biden. "Although Biden deported more people than Trump in his first term, there was a system in place to respect asylum seekers and legal immigrants at the time," he said. "For Pacific Islanders, it used to be mainly deporting criminals, but what we're seeing now is targeting visa overstays, which was not a priority under the Biden administration." This shift in focus has raised concerns about the potential for increased deportations.
Sousa-Santos also noted that another key difference from the Biden administration is that the Trump administration has given ICE new powers to enter schools or churches and authorize local police to make arrests. "These local law enforcement agencies are not trained or knowledgeable about the relevant laws to arrest possible deportees," he said. "The concern is that once you are arrested and detained, you enter a massive immigration system that speeds up your processing and deports you before you can get legal help to stop the deportation." Sousa-Santos expects the number of Pacific Islanders deported to increase over the next four years. The expanded authority granted to ICE raises significant due process concerns.
The threat of mass deportations has raised different concerns in Pacific Island nations. While many of the immigrants facing deportation have only committed minor offenses, Pacific Island nations are already dealing with a large number of deportees convicted of serious crimes. They say they will not have the capacity to reintegrate them into society if the Trump administration's immigration crackdown leads to an increase in the number of deported criminals. The strain on resources and social services is a major concern for these nations.
A former Marshall Islands government official, who asked not to be named, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that the country was already struggling to absorb deportees before the Trump administration's reforms and is now even less able to accept more people. "Some of these people have only committed minor offenses that aren't too serious, but you can also run into rapists and other criminals," he said. An ICE report showed that a record 67 Marshallese residents were deported during the Biden administration in 2024. Over the past four years, some of those repatriated to the Marshall Islands from the U.S. have committed murder, knife attacks and rape after returning, prompting the government to form a deportation task force to address concerns about deportees from the U.S. The severity of the crimes committed by some deportees has heightened public safety concerns.
"Many of these people grew up in the United States and have been badly influenced by Western culture, and we're going to get more of these people," the former official said. Tonga's Minister of Police, Piveni Piukala, said that another wave of deportees would further strain law enforcement agencies that are already struggling to cope with the reintegration of criminals deported from the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. "All the police forces in the Pacific Islands, in their current state, do not have enough resources. Not one of them does. But we won't turn a blind eye," Piukala said. "These people are products of the system they were in. Throwing this 'product' at us without any assistance should be seen as an injustice to our society." The lack of support and resources for reintegration is a major point of contention.
According to a list of deportation orders released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Tonga is set to receive 151 deportees. The list does not specify how many have been convicted of crimes, but Tonga Police Commissioner Sean McLennan said that about 50% of all deportees Tonga receives have criminal records. Danielle Watson, an associate professor at the Queensland University of Technology's School of Law, said that in a country of about 107,000 people, even a sudden influx of 20 criminals could overwhelm the country's under-resourced immigration and law enforcement agencies. "Tonga does not have a legal framework in place to monitor deportees with criminal records," she said. "These countries do not have mandatory re-entry or re-adaptation programs, so it's not just the police who are affected, it's the whole society." As a result, many end up re-offending and being incarcerated in overcrowded prisons, Dr. Watson said. The lack of adequate support systems exacerbates the challenges of reintegration.
Tonga's Minister of Police Piukala said he would meet with U.S. Embassy officials in hopes of reaching an agreement to prevent the country from receiving all deportees at once. "I think all Pacific Island nations should negotiate with partners like the U.S. or China to address this huge challenge," he said. Dr. Watson said that in order for Pacific Island nations to successfully absorb more deportees from the U.S., there needs to be greater cooperation between government and community groups. "If you look at the cutting-edge agencies for reintegration, it's not state agencies, it's NGOs, community groups, and religious groups," she said. Collaborative efforts are essential for effective reintegration strategies.
Back in Arkansas, Lattore says that since the Trump administration took office, Marshallese residents have been flocking to the Marshallese consulate to sort out their paperwork. Many have outstanding warrants and have been referred to Lattore's office. "We don't know what Trump is going to do next, so we just want to avoid getting into trouble," he said. "A lot of people are afraid that their loved ones might get taken away." The uncertainty surrounding immigration policies has created a climate of fear and anxiety within the community, prompting many to seek assistance and guidance.
