Demonstrating the ramped up focus on deportations under the Trump administration, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement used a military plane for the first time ever in June to deliver 18 Marshallese deported from the US to Majuro. Photo: Office of National Security, Marshall Islands

People deported to the Marshall Islands from the United States face a tough road to survival, experiencing difficulties being accepted by locals and often lacking the basics of life.

Marshallese are one of the main groups of Pacific peoples caught up in the immigration crackdown in the US.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, officers have been directed by the Trump Administration to arrest and deport large numbers of people to their country of origin, sometimes simply for a traffic infringement or a misdemeanour.

Last year alone, over 40 Marshallese were deported from the Northwest part of Arkansas, the state with the biggest concentration of Marshallese in the US.

RNZ Pacific has been talking to Marshallese - whom we have given pseudonyms in this article to protect their identity - deported from the US.

A Marshallese man deported in the past few months by ICE found himself back in an island nation he was born in but lived in only for a short time before his family migrated to the States where he was raised and lived most of his life.

Jack* had just served a custodial sentence when ICE came for him. Despite his good record inside, an Immigration Hold was placed on him just prior to his release.

"It was around the time that Donald Trump became president. It was messed up. They waited until I was done doing my time and then hit me with that information. If that was the case, they should have just came and picked me up from the beginning," he said.

ICE swiftly removed Jack from the community he grew up with, who are all still back in the state of Arkansas.

"People I grew up with: my siblings, my nieces and nephews, my daughter, my parents, my grandparents, my uncles, my aunties, everybody is over there," Jack explained.

Majuro Atoll, the capital of the Marshall Islands. Photo: Giff Johnson

At least one Marshall Islander whisked away by ICE last year ended up at Guantanamo Bay, the United States' infamous offshore detention facility, before diplomats secured his repatriation.

For deported Marshallese, finding themselves in Majuro or Kwajalein, without family or a job, has been challenging. Local people are suspicious of them.

"Some of these people deported back can't go to those houses, because people in that family, in that house, are scared. They're like, 'oh, he's a criminal'," said Junior Bay, a Marshallese who was deported in 2013.

"Some of these guys are coming back for minor crimes or not even crime citations, and they're having the hardest time with their life, so it's hard for them to move around if they get judged."

This was echoed by Jack.

"It's a scary experience. Even though they are our people, we got a label on us. We're already looked down on, and they haven't even got to know us yet," he said.

The deportations didn't just begin with Trump's crackdown.

Figures released by ICE for the year 2024 show that 67 Marshallese were deported that year - a clear increase on prior years, partly because the border had previously been shut for almost three years during the pandemic, so there was a bump in 2024 when the backlog got cleared.

Last year's figures aren't yet available, but it's expected the number of those deported will rise again due to the Trump administration's crackdown.

Given that the US administration is also making deals with other countries in Micronesia to take on deportees from third-party, it's likely more Pacific communities will be presented with issues of displaced people in the medium term.

Tina*, a Marshallese deported two years ago after a second, minor felony conviction, spoke of the sense of a cultural gap.

"I was born here in the Marshall Islands but I'm not raised here. I'm raised in the US. So like, the mindset and mentality and tradition and customs here are different than back home," she said.

"I'm still trying to get used to it. It's not easy. But if you don't have family here or anybody that you can turn to, if you don't have money, or if your name is not well known, or if you're not a landowner or a chief, it's a big struggle."

Half of the Marshall Islands' 50,000-strong population live in the capital city of Majuro. Photo: Public domain

Tina said that those like her who have been deported could do with some help - at least an opportunity to work - because they often bring useful qualifications and skills.

"Most of the deportees have a lot of experience and are highly qualified for the job here, but just because we're labelled as deportees, it's a struggle."

In the absense of government support, Junior Bay has been working with a small NGO to support returnees, as he prefers to describe them, to get into work or find a place to live

"These guys are always open to (having) help," he said, adding that he reaches out to people who can provide some work or a place to stay for returnees while they get back on their feet.

He is working with Riem Simon, another who was deported to the Marshall Islands over a decade ago, in a bid to establish a transitional housing programme for recent arrivals.

"It's a recovery programme centre," Simon explained, noting their mandate is to help not just returnees, but also people with mental health issues, and people who have been incarcerated, internationally or locally.

The main thing he urged people to consider before judging the returnees is that the social dislocation they experience is severe.

"The most hurtful part is when we leave our family's home. This is what really killed us, we the deportees. And that makes us think so much negative on how do we survive? What can we do to survive here in the Marshall Islands?"

The Marshall Islands government has not responded to RNZ Pacific's requests for comment.

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The Trump administration's aggressive action on deportations has resulted in over 40 Marshallese being deported from the Northwest Arkansas area this year.

United States immigration and deportation enforcement continues to ramp up, affecting Marshallese and Micronesians in new and unprecedented ways.

The Trump administration's aggressive action on deportations has resulted in over 40 Marshallese being deported from the Northwest Arkansas area this year.

Tonga and Fiji warn that the arrival of more deported migrants will only add to the region's many problems.

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