2 Jun 2011

Marshalls in talk with US over migration strains

2:46 pm on 2 June 2011

The Marshall Islands government has been discussing issues related to Marshallese living in the US with a visiting US delegation.

Some US senators want their government to consider adopting a screening process for immigrants from the Marshall Islands, Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia.

They say the cost to the US of the open door policy for freely associated states has become unsustainable, with Micronesians being described as a strain on social services.

The Marshall Islands' acting secretary for Foreign Affairs, Mack Kaminaga, says his government wants to address these issues:

"To try and correct those so that everybody can benefit from getting education, and getting jobs and other opportunities in the United States, it would be best in our interests to try and work with the United States to come to a solution that would serve our people to continue to stay and live in the United States."

Mack Kaminaga