Pacific islanders weigh
on state

The cost of services for poor immigrants
routinely exceeds the federal contribution

As Hawaii continues to provide social services for a growing number of poor immigrants from Micronesia and the Marshall Islands, state officials continue to try to get more money from the federal government to help pay for their care.

Hawaii received $10.5 mil- lion this year from the federal government to help offset the costs of providing health care, education and other social services for immigrants.

But the price of two immigrant medical services programs was estimated at $23 million alone. The state has budgeted $7.3 million from its own coffers for the programs, meaning they are still about $5.2 million short. Additionally, using the funds for health services left none available for education programs.

"We are continuing to encourage the U.S. Department of the Interior and Congress to revisit how they make the distribution," said state Human Services Director Lillian Koller. "Not only do we encourage them to put more money into the pot overall, we're encouraging them to look at the formula."

Hawaii's $10.5 million was the state's share of $30 million set aside by Congress under new partnership agreements with the governments of the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands known as the Compacts of Free Association.

The money was split between Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands -- regions where many Micronesians and Marshallese are free to immigrate to under terms of the compacts -- to help offset their costs for providing services for poor immigrants.

The funds were divided based on the number of immigrants in each place, with Guam receiving the largest share, $14.2 million.

Koller said state officials are encouraging Congress to re-examine the formula to account for the amount of money being spent and the quality of services provided in each U.S. region.

"Our benefits that we afford to these immigrants is much greater," Koller said. "It's not just a question of how many people live here ... more importantly, it's how much are we spending on them here compared to other places."

Hawaii officials estimate the state has spent more than $100 million since 2000 providing services but has gotten back far less in compensation from the federal government to cover the costs of what amounts to an international treaty.

Meanwhile, a Pacific islands expert is waiting to see how the new compacts will affect immigrant populations and what is being done to address the issue.

"I think now is the time to think about what can be done in the critical fields of health and education to make sure that Micronesians and Marshall Islanders are fully incorporated into our society," said Gerard Finin, an expert on Pacific island studies at the East-West Center in Honolulu.

Some have predicted that the number of immigrants to Hawaii will increase under the new compact agreements.

The new agreements, approved in December by the Bush administration, authorize the federal government to provide $3.5 billion during the next 20 years, with the goal of weaning the two countries from U.S. aid. The compacts expire in 2024.

"The real question is, What are we going to see over the next five or 10 years as the amount of support that is provided directly continues to be reduced in favor of building up the trust funds?" Finin said.

The United States has contributed an estimated $2.6 billion to the two island states since 1986.