A CASE STUDY OF OPEN BORDERS: THE EXPERIENCES OF PEOPLE FROM THE REPUBLIC OF MARSHALL ISLANDS, FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA, AND REPUBLIC OF PALAU IN HAWAIʻI
A CASE STUDY OF OPEN BORDERS: THE EXPERIENCES OF PEOPLE FROM THE REPUBLIC OF MARSHALL ISLANDS, FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA, AND REPUBLIC OF PALAU IN HAWAIʻI
Date
2023
Authors
Chun, Grace
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Jones, Reece
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Geography
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In light of the violence of borders, scholars and activists alike advocate for open borders, claiming net positive benefits of free movement. There are very few places to examine the lived realities of open borders, however. Migration through the Compacts of Free Association (COFA), which allows free migration to the United States to reside and work indefinitely, provides a unique opportunity to assess the claims and criticisms of open border ideals. The purpose of this case study is to evaluate the benefits of and limits to free movement between the Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI), Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), and Republic of Palau (ROP) and the United States, particularly Hawaiʻi. Through oral history interviews with people from RMI, FSM, and ROP who move to Hawaiʻi, this research analyzes their experiences in Hawaiʻi after they arrive. I argue that while this open border is situated in complex military and imperial history, these people take advantage of the migration provisions of the three COFAs through education, providing evidence of the positive impacts of open borders. Furthermore, I argue that they experience inclusive exclusion resulting from the continued hierarchy of citizenship and racial hierarchy in the state. As open borders do not challenge the nation-state itself, the nation-state can continue to differentially include these migrants regardless of their legal residence status in such places as Hawaiʻi. This research aims to further unsettle the racial paradise discourse in Hawaiʻi and instead shed light on the differential inclusion into belonging in Hawaiʻi. By producing publicly accessible oral histories of migrants’ experiences in Hawaiʻi, this research redirects the narrative in their own voices, combating the negative stereotypes that racism perpetuates.
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Geography,
Political science,
COFA,
Hawaiʻi,
migration,
open borders
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89 pages
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