SPRINGDALE, Ark. — Despite being able to live and work in the U.S. without a visa, citizens born in Marshall Islands haven't been able to qualify for federal assistance programs — until now.
In March, President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, reinstating certain federal benefits for citizens who are described as being a part of the Compacts of Free Association (COFA), which is the agreement between the U.S. and a small group of islands in the Pacific region that allows those residents to live on U.S. soil without a visa.
The COFA agreement was approved in the U.S. in 1986, and 10 years later a welfare reform took away the chance for COFA residents to apply for certain health benefits.
Before Biden signed the law, Carolina Bien, the project coordinator with the Arkansas Coalition of Marshallese (ACOM), said those who were born in the Marshall Islands did not qualify for federal funding even if they lived in America.
"Me and my niece were born in the Marshall Islands. My nephew was born in the States, so we were only getting benefits for one person. So does that mean one of my kids is more important than the other? One of them should be fed, but not the other one due to where they were born? I did not agree with that, so I could not depend on the benefits. I had to get a second job. I had to improvise," Bien said.
But now, four months after the legislation reinstating those benefits was signed, the U.S. made an announcement for those eligible for SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and who are a part of COFA.
"If you go to the USDA website for their guidelines for COFA, it says that we don't have to wait. There's no waiting period. We can actually start enrolling people into this SNAP program," said Michelle Pedro, the policy director of ACOM.
She said many Marshallese communities across the U.S. are food insecure, and have been for a long time.
"This is something that is needed, and it's not just from our community, but the whole of the United States. Everybody's hungry, and we just want to feed everybody," Pedro said.
"We have a saying in Marshallese where it means 'What you have, you share,' and we love to share food. That's how you build community. That's community resilience to me, and building a stronger community."
They still had to go through a long waiting period before gaining access to those benefits. But now, Marshallese people living in the United States have immediate eligibility for SNAP benefits.
"When we got that email, we just got a lot of calls saying, 'We're so excited,'" Pedro said.
While enrolling into the program can start right away, just like with any agreement, people will have to wait as the Arkansas Department of Human Services implements the program.
"It could take up to a few weeks, or even a few months. But I'm just glad that they recognize ACOM, and they want to partner with us and help us with SNAP enrollment. But I think it's better to wait so that way we know what kind of rules, regulations, procedures the Arkansas Department of Human Services will put in place, and if there are any barriers or challenges that come with that," Pedro said.
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