Pastor Ranet John and his wife, Eline, have been tenants at Palolo Homes since 1977 and were recently served eviction notices. The couple sought counsel at the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii but were turned down.
Micronesians cut
from legal aidA rules technicality leaves
free legal help out of public
services available to them
When Ranet John, a pastor, was told in March that he had to vacate his Palolo apartment within 45 days or face eviction, the former Marshall Islands resident was unsure what to do.
John, who moved to Hawaii a decade ago but is still a citizen of his native country, wasn't familiar with the state's landlord-tenant laws. He didn't know what his legal rights were. And he wasn't sure how to fight what he considered an unfair eviction notice, especially given that it didn't say why his Palolo Homes lease was being terminated.
Not knowing what recourse he had, John, 43, his wife, Eline, 40, and their five children began packing their bags.
If John were not Micronesian, he could have turned to the government-funded Legal Aid Society of Hawaii for possible representation. Scores of other low-income residents regularly seek such free services when they believe they're being unfairly evicted.
But because of a technicality in federal regulations, John and other low-income Micronesians who are not U.S. citizens but live in Hawaii cannot get legal representation from the nonprofit law firm.
Even though they're entitled to use public housing, education, health care and other government-funded programs in Hawaii and can join the U.S. military, low-income citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands and Republic of Palau can't get free legal representation here for problems like evictions, divorces, custody battles, benefits disputes and temporary restraining orders.
They're denied representation basically because of where they're from. In an irony that many Micronesians find puzzling, the services denied them in Hawaii are available to them in their home countries -- and are funded by the U.S. government. In Hawaii, however, low-income Micronesians generally have no way to obtain legal services short of hiring a private attorney -- many can't afford to -- or finding a lawyer to work for free. Legal Aid will give them very basic legal advice, but nothing beyond that.
"They ought not to be arbitrarily excluded because of some stupid technicality that everybody agrees should be changed," said Victor Geminiani, executive director of Legal Aid in Hawaii.
The technicality is found in federal regulations that govern Legal Services Corp., a private nonprofit corporation created and funded by Congress to provide legal services to the poor. A big chunk of Legal Aid's funding in Hawaii comes from the nonprofit corporation.
Because of that, Legal Aid is bound by an LSC regulation that since 1996 has specifically excluded Micronesians who are not U.S. citizens from receiving representation, according to Geminiani. Before 1996, Micronesians were able to get assistance from Legal Aid, but that year, LSC adopted a different interpretation of a federal law that resulted in the revised regulation.
Legal Aid has been trying since then, especially since last year, to get the regulation changed. As recently as three weeks ago, Geminiani was in Washington, D.C., discussing the issue with LSC officials.
"I said, 'Come on, this is ridiculous, let's change this,'" he said.
Even the U.S. State Department, according to Geminiani, has told LSC that its position is wrong.
An LSC spokesman didn't respond to several requests for comment.
Geminiani isn't optimistic a change will be made any time soon, even though the issue is getting more attention on a variety of fronts.
The state Senate this session passed a resolution urging LSC to remove the restrictions on Micronesians, although the measure didn't pass the House. Micronesians United, an advocacy group in Hawaii, also plans to take up the issue. Inquiries have been made at the congressional level, as well.
More than 7,000 Micronesians are estimated to live in Hawaii, and some aren't well versed on how the legal, business and government systems work here. Like John, many are more comfortable speaking in their native languages, even if they can speak English. Under such conditions, the ability to access legal services is critical, advocates say.
"If I take what I know from my experiences (with Micronesians) and project that to the full community, I would say there are hundreds of Micronesians who could use free legal advice," said Ronald Fujiyoshi, a retired pastor who helped organize a Micronesians United branch on the Big Island. "If you don't know your rights, then you've got no rights."
Because of the agreements between the United States and the Micronesian nations, citizens of those island nations can travel freely to this country and have access to many state and federal programs here. Free legal service is among the exceptions.
"It's very bad because we need legal services, we need justice," said Benito Muritok, who moved to Hawaii in 1996 from Chuuk. "But how can we have justice if we don't have access?"
Even if LSC lifts the restrictions on Micronesians, the practical effect may be limited.
Federal and state funding for Legal Aid has shrunk over the past decade even as demand for its services has grown. If Micronesians are able to qualify for legal representation, "they're going to stand in line with everyone else," Geminiani said. "We'll do the best we can."
Legal Aid is able to provide basic advice to those who meet its income criteria. But to take on specific cases, it must be selective because of funding and staff limitations. About 150,000 people in Hawaii are eligible to use Legal Aid services.
Unable to get representation from Legal Aid because of the LSC regulation, John, the pastor, has turned to Micronesians United and another advocacy group, Island Tenants on the Rise, for help. The two groups are trying to help John and his family stave off an eviction.
Last week, John received another letter from the attorney representing his landlord, Palolo Valley Homes LP, which cited four reasons for his lease termination, including having an unauthorized person living in his apartment.
John disputed the landlord's contention that the person was living there or that lease violations occurred.
The landlord, which does business as Mutual Housing Association of Hawaii, a nonprofit organization, has given John until May 31 to vacate the unit, according to last week's letter.
David Nakamura, executive director of Mutual Housing, said his company starts termination proceedings immediately upon discovering certain lease violations pertaining to household incomes and who is authorized to live in the apartments. Otherwise, the tax-credit status -- a form of government assistance to developers and operators of low-income housing -- for the entire 306-unit Palolo Homes project could be jeopardized, Nakamura said.
Palolo Homes used to be a public housing project but became a private one in 2002, owned and operated by Palolo Valley Homes, which renovated the units.
