Latest news with #KalaniKaneko
RNZ News
27-07-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Island military veterans hope for US action
[autho:giff_johnson] During the visit of the USS Cincinnati to Majuro in July, Marshallese veterans were honored with a dinner and program onboard the U.S. Navy vessel. U.S. Ambassador to the Marshall Islands Laura Stone is in the center back row and Marshall Islands Foreign Minister Kalani Kaneko is fourth from right Photo: Wilmer Joel United States military veterans in the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia and Palau received increased attention during the Biden administration after years of neglect by the US Veterans Administration. That progress came to a halt with the incoming Trump administration in Washington in January, when the new Veterans Administration put many programs on hold. Marshall Islands Foreign Minister and US military veteran Kalani Kaneko said he is hopeful of resuming the momentum for veterans living in the freely associated states. Two key actions during the Biden administration helped to elevate interest in veterans living in the freely associated states: Kaneko said he submitted a report to the Veterans Administration recently on its activities and needs. The Foreign Minister said it is now up to the current administration of the Veterans Administration to take next steps to reappoint members of the advisory committee or to name a new group. Kaneko pointed out that in contrast to its virtually non-existent program in the Marshall Islands, FSM and Palau, the VA's program for veterans is "robust" in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Citizens of the three Compact nations enlist in the U.S. military at higher rates per capita than Americans. But when they leave the service and return home to their islands, they have historically received none of the benefits accorded to US veterans living in the United States. Kaneko and island leaders have been trying to change this by getting the Veterans Administration to provide on-island services and to pay for medical referrals of veterans when locally available medical services are not available. Kaneko said the 134-page report submitted in June contained five major recommendations for improved services for veterans from the US-affiliated islands: Kaneko said he is hopeful of engagement by high-level Veterans Administration officials at an upcoming meeting to review the report and other reports related to services for Compact nation veterans. But, he cautioned, because there is nothing about Compact veterans in President Trump's Big Beautiful Bill passed recently by the US Congress, it means fiscal year 2027 - starting October 1, 2026 - would be the earliest to see any developments for veterans in the islands.
Reuters
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Marshall Islands seek US meeting as citizens 'panic' over Trump migrant crackdown
SYDNEY, Jan 31 (Reuters) - The Marshall Islands has warned citizens living in the U.S. not to open the door to immigration officials without a judicial warrant, amid fears the community is being caught in President Donald Trump's crackdown on undocumented migrants, an official said. The Marshall Islands is among three Pacific Island nations whose citizens have the right to live and work in the United States under Compacts of Free Association (COFA) that also give the U.S. military access to swathes of ocean seen as strategic by Washington amid tensions with China. The three COFA states, which also include Palau and Federated States of Micronesia, are seeking a joint meeting with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) next week, a Marshall Islands foreign ministry spokesman said, amid community "panic" after families were questioned by ICE officers in the town of Springdale, Arkansas. More than 10,000 Marshallese live legally in Springdale, the spokesman said, and do not require visas but show Marshall Islands passports and a form when they start jobs or enter school. The Marshall Islands government issued a letter on Facebook on Tuesday with emergency contact details for citizens living in the U.S. to show ICE officials, after video of armed officers entering homes in Springdale circulated on social media. A community news service reported Marshallese were also being questioned at work in the town. "We are working day and night to make sure our citizens are safe - the consulate in Arkansas is informing them of their rights and not to open the door unless there is a warrant," the Marshall Islands spokesman said in a telephone interview, confirming the incidents. Two families "were not aware of their rights and they opened the door and they were questioned", he said. ICE have since "stopped doing that", he added, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Kalani Kaneko will hold a Zoom briefing for Marshallese living in the U.S. on Saturday. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security and U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. The Federated States of Micronesia issued a statement also urging citizens in the U.S. to carry documents with them as evidence of their lawful status.
