Fellows mentioned in this story: Josie Howard

From Hawai‘i Public Radio:

Pacific Islander migrants from nations that have treaties with the United States are now eligible for assistance with food, housing and other federal benefits that they've been denied for decades.

The change is part of the Compact Impact Fairness Act that was signed into law this month by President Joe Biden. It's a policy that was introduced in 2021 by Hawaiʻi delegates after citizens from the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and Palau couldn't access safety net programs due to the 1996 Welfare Reform Act.

Although it's signed into law, federal guidelines are still unclear as to when states can implement their social service programs for migrants.

"I don't think it's going to be a couple of months," said Josie Howard of We Are Oceania, a nonprofit that services Micronesians and Pacific Islanders in Hawaiʻi.

"It can also take months, up to a year. … I'm hoping by then, it's implemented," she said.

Continue reading at hawaiipublicradio.org.