>> Sreenivasan: THERE'S A

GROWING POPULATION OF MIGRANTS

IN THIS COUNTRY COMING NOT

ACROSS THE SOUTHERN BORDER, BUT

FROM ISLAND NATIONS IN THE

EQUATORIAL PACIFIC.

THEY ARE FLEEING DEEPENING

POVERTY AND THE DESTRUCTIVE

EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND

THEY ENJOY A STATUS IN AMERICA

UNLIKE THAT OF ANY OTHER

IMMIGRANT GROUP.

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT MIKE

TAIBBI REPORTS FROM THE MARSHALL

ISLANDS AND SALEM, OREGON.

THIS REPORT IS PART OF OUR

ONGOING SERIES, "CHASING THE

DREAM," AND WAS FUNDED IN PART

BY PACIFIC ISLANDERS IN

COMMUNICATIONS.

>> Reporter: IN SNAPSHOTS, THE

MARSHALL ISLANDS LOOK LIKE

PARADISE, A PACIFIC ARCHIPELAGO

OF CORAL ATOLLS MIDWAY BETWEEN

HAWAII AND AUSTRALIA.

BUT WHAT PICTURES DON'T TELL YOU

IS THAT A THIRD OF THE ISLAND'S

POPULATION HAS LEFT FOR THE

UNITED STATES.

AND WHY LEAVE THEIR ISLAND HOME?

THE PRESIDENT OF THE MARSHALL

ISLANDS, DR. HILDA HEINE,

EXPLAINS.

>> THERE'VE BEEN PEOPLE WHO

LEAVE FOR EDUCATION, FOR HEALTH

PURPOSES, FOR JOBS, AND I'M SURE

THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE LEAVING

BECAUSE OF THE THREATS OF

CLIMATE CHANGE.

>> Reporter: CLIMATE CHANGE IS A

BIG ISSUE HERE, MUCH IN THE NEWS

RECENTLY, AS PUNISHING KING

TIDES COMBINED WITH PERSISTENT

DROUGHT HAVE WREAKED HAVOC ON

DWINDLING FRESH WATER SUPPLIES.

THE VIEW AMONG CLIMATE EXPERTS,

AND MANY HERE WHO KEEP

REBUILDING THEIR SEA WALLS

AGAINST THE WARMING, RISING

PACIFIC, IS THAT THE ISLANDS ARE

SINKING IF NOT DISAPPEARING.

>> SO OF COURSE PEOPLE ARE

LOOKING FOR BETTER THINGS, AND

THEY THINK THAT ANYTHING IN THE

UNITED STATES IS BETTER THAN

WHAT WE HAVE HERE.

WE'RE COMPETING WITH THE

STRONGEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD.

>> Reporter: THERE'S ANOTHER

REASON THEY'RE MOVING TO THE

UNITED STATES, WHERE THE

MARSHALLESE COMMUNITY CURRENTLY

NUMBERS AROUND 30,000.

CITIZENS OF THE MARSHALL ISLANDS

CAN LIVE AND WORK IN THE U.S.

WITHOUT VISAS AND WORK PERMITS.

THAT'S BECAUSE OF A 1986 LAW

CALLED THE COMPACT OF FREE

ASSOCIATION: OR COFA.

COFA ESTABLISHED U.S. ECONOMIC

AID AND SPECIAL RIGHTS FOR A

TRIO OF EQUATORIAL PACIFIC

ISLAND NATIONS USED BY THE U.S.

MILITARY, INCLUDING FOR THE

SCORES OF NUCLEAR TESTS IN THE

1940S AND '50S THAT RENDERED

SOME OF THE MARSHALL ISLANDS,

LIKE BIKINI ATOLL,

UNINHABITABLE.

TODAY, WITH GOOD JOBS IN SHORT

SUPPLY IN THE MARSHALL ISLANDS,

UNEMPLOYMENT IS HOVERING AROUND

40%, LEAVING FOR AMERICA MAKES

SENSE FOR MANY.

>> AND THE NEXT PLACE FOR

CONCRETE, NOT TOMORROW.

>> Reporter: AMERICAN JERRY

KRAMER'S COMPANY, PACIFIC

INTERNATIONAL, HAS BEEN HERE FOR

HALF A CENTURY AND IS THE

COUNTRY'S BIGGEST PRIVATE

EMPLOYER.

HE SAYS THAT SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE

MOVED AWAY THAT IT'S A STRUGGLE

TO HIRE AND HOLD ONTO SKILLED

LOCAL WORKERS.

YOU EMPLOY HUNDREDS, HOW MANY

HAVE YOU LOST TO MIGRATION TO

THE STATES?

>> I'M AFRAID TO GUESS.

>> Reporter: OVER THE YEARS,

HUNDREDS?

>> OH, YEAH, DEFINITELY.

>> Reporter: RECENT YEARS, MANY

MORE?

>> WITHOUT A DOUBT.

MOST OF OUR MARSHALLESE ARE

EITHER VERY YOUNG, OR VERY OLD.

THE MORE PRODUCTIVE AGES,

BETWEEN 25, 45, THERE'S A

SMALLER PERCENTAGE, BECAUSE

THOSE PEOPLE GO.

>> Reporter: ISAAC MARTY TOLD US

HIS $4 AN HOUR NEWSPAPER JOB

BARELY PAID FOR FOOD, MAKING

LEAVING THE ISLANDS THE ONLY

OPTION TO MAKE SENSE.

>> I LOVE THE ISLANDS.

THIS IS WHERE I WAS BORN AND

GREW UP.

AND I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE THE

ISLANDS, BUT THEN I HAVE NO

OTHER CHOICE BUT TO TRY TO MAKE

SOME LIVING FOR MY FAMILY.

>> Reporter: BUT MOVING FROM

HERE IS EXPENSIVE.

SO HIS WIFE, AMELIA, AND TWO OF

THEIR KIDS WERE THE FIRST TO

LEAVE IN APRIL OF LAST YEAR FOR

SALEM, OREGON, WHILE ISAAC AND

HIS SON ISAIAH STAYED BEHIND,

BUNKING WITH RELATIVES.

THERE ARE NIGHTLY CALLS TO

AMELIA IN SALEM, NOT KNOWING IF

IT WILL BE MONTHS OR YEARS

BEFORE THEY'LL ALL BE REUNITED.

IN THE MEANTIME, AT ISAIAH'S

SCHOOL, 80 KIDS DIDN'T SHOW UP

ON OPENING DAY BECAUSE THEY AND

THEIR FAMILIES HAD LEFT, AND

MANY OF HIS REMAINING CLASSMATES

CAN'T AFFORD SCHOOL SUPPLIES.

POVERTY HAS A HUGE IMPACT ON

EDUCATION THROUGHOUT THE

ISLANDS.

ALSO LIMITED: MEDICAL CARE HERE:

NO KIDNEY DIALYSIS, NO CANCER

CARE.

EVEN BASIC CARE IS IN SHORT

SUPPLY.

ISAAC MARTY FOUND HIMSELF

FRUSTRATED, WHETHER IT WAS ONE

OF THE KIDS NEEDING TREATMENT

FOR AN AILMENT, OR HIS WIFE

AMELIA, BATTLING CHRONIC

DEPRESSION.

>> WE DON'T GET THE QUALITY

SERVICE THAT WE WANT.

WE GET SENT AWAY WITH PILLS AND

OTHER MEDICATION THAT DOES NOT

HELP MOST OF THE TIME.

SO THAT'S, TO ME THAT'S AWFUL.

>> Reporter: FINALLY, FIVE

MONTHS AFTER AMELIA AND THE

OTHER KIDS LEFT, ISAAC AND

ISAIAH WERE ABLE TO JOIN THE

REST OF THE FAMILY IN SALEM,

AFTER RELATIVES ALREADY IN THE

STATES HELPED PAY FOR THEIR

AIRFARE.

WHEN THE MARSHALLESE COME HERE

TO OREGON, TO THE STATE OF

WASHINGTON, TO ARKANSAS, PLACES

WHERE THEIR NUMBERS HAVE

INCREASED EXPONENTIALLY IN

RECENT YEARS, THEY ARE NOT

CITIZENS, THEY ARE NOT ILLEGAL

OR UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS,

THEY'RE NOT REFUGEES SHIELDED BY

TEMPORARY PROTECTIVE STATUS.

THEY'RE WHAT MANY ARE NOW

CALLING "PERMANENT NON-

IMMIGRANTS."

AMONG THEM, JESSE GASPER, ONE OF

THE FIRST TO ARRIVE THREE

DECADES AGO, WHO CAME HERE UNDER

COFA YEARS AFTER HIS

GRANDPARENTS AND GREAT

GRANDPARENTS HAD BEEN RELOCATED

FROM BIKINI ATOLL DUE TO THE

NUCLEAR TESTING OF THE EARLY

'50S.

GASPER SPENT HIS CHILDHOOD IN

ARKANSAS, WHICH HAS THE LARGEST

POPULATION OF MARSHALLESE LIVING

IN THE U.S.

>> IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL I CRIED

A LOT.

I CRIED A LOT WHEN I WAS GOING

HOME BECAUSE I WAS DIFFERENT.

>> Reporter: WERE YOU EVER

CONFRONTED WITH OUTRIGHT RACISM

OR DISCRIMINATORY--

>> ALL THE TIME.

I LEARNED TO I GUESS BE A

POLITICIAN.

I TRIED TO BE PLEASING TO

EVERYBODY.

>> Reporter: GASPER AND HIS

FAMILY EVENTUALLY SETTLED IN

SALEM, WHERE HE WORKS AS AN

INSURANCE AGENT.

HE'S ALSO THE PRESIDENT OF AN

ADVOCACY GROUP CALLED THE OREGON

MARSHALLESE COMMUNITY.

>> WHEN SOMEBODY COMES HERE FROM

THE ISLANDS, THEY EXPECT TO HAVE

THIS HOLLYWOOD-TYPE LIFESTYLE.

WHEN THEY DO COME HERE, THEY ARE

FACED WITH RENT, THEY'RE FACED

WITH A JOB THAT DOESN'T

SUFFICIENTLY PAY FOR ALL THE

BILLS THEY HAVE.

>> Reporter: HE SPREADS THE WORD

ABOUT RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO THE

COMMUNITY AT THE CHURCHES

WHERE HUNDREDS OF MARSHALLESE

FLOCK TO ON SUNDAYS.

>> THESE ARE THE REASONS WE'VE

MIGRATED HERE.

>> Reporter: AND HE MEETS WITH

CITY OFFICIALS LIKE MAYOR CHUCK

BENNETT.

>> SO I'M HOPEFUL THAT

EVERYTHING'S GOING WELL.

>> Reporter: GASPER TALKS ABOUT

THE CHALLENGES FACING HIS FELLOW

ISLANDERS.

SINCE THEY'RE NOT CITIZENS THEY

CAN'T VOTE, AND IN OREGON, HAVE

ONLY RECENTLY GAINED ACCESS TO

BENEFITS FULL CITIZENS ENJOY,

INCLUDING HEALTH CARE OPTIONS,

AND JOBS IN FIELDS LIKE LAW

ENFORCEMENT.

THEY ARE STILL SEEKING ACCESS IN

OTHER AREAS, LIKE FOOD STAMPS

AND IN-STATE COLLEGE TUITION

DISCOUNTS.

BUT THIS GENIAL CITY OF 170,000

HAS MADE ADJUSTMENTS FOR THE

SWELLING POPULATION OF

MARSHALLESE AND OTHER PACIFIC

ISLANDERS.

>> NUMBERS ARE GROWING.

CURRENTLY THERE'S OVER 1600

PACIFIC ISLANDERS IN OUR SCHOOL

DISTRICT, WHICH IS A PRETTY BIG

NUMBER.

I MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE GETTING

WHAT THEY NEED AND THEIR VOICES

ARE HEARD.

>> Reporter: WITH SO MANY

PACIFIC ISLANDERS IN ITS SCHOOL

DISTRICT, SALEM EMPLOYS KENNY

RAMIREZ AS A RESOURCE SPECIALIST

NOW WORKING EXCLUSIVELY WITH

THAT COMMUNITY.

>> THEY'RE COMING TO SCHOOL A

LITTLE TIRED BECAUSE THEY

COULDN'T EVEN START THEIR

HOMEWORK UNTIL AFTER THE

YOUNGEST SIBLINGS WERE IN BED.

>> Reporter: SURE.

>> OUR ABSENTEE RATE FOR OUR

PACIFIC ISLANDERS IS HIGH.

OUR GRADUATION RATE IS NOT THE

GREATEST RIGHT NOW.

SO THAT'S ONE OF OUR MAJOR

FOCUSES.

I NEED TO LISTEN TO THEM AND

FIND OUT WHAT THE UNDERLYING

REASON IS WHY THEY'RE NOT AT

SCHOOL FIRST, BECAUSE THERE'S

USUALLY A BIGGER REASON TO WHY

THEY'RE NOT AT SCHOOL, IT COULD

BE TRANSPORTATION, IT COULD BE

HOME SITUATION.

>> Reporter: IT'S A 24/7 JOB,

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH

PARENTS THROUGH HOME VISITS.

>> I'VE ALREADY SPOKE WITH THE

TEACHERS, THEY SAID THAT HE'S

DOING HIS BEST.

>> Reporter: AND CONNECTING WITH

KIDS ONE ON ONE.

>> SO GREAT JOB WITH THAT.

>> Reporter: EITHER IN SCHOOL,

WHERE HE TRACKS THEIR ATTENDANCE

AND GRADES.

>> YOU KNOW YOUR GRADES ARE

GREAT.

WE HAVE ONE CLASS OF CONCERN.

♪ ♪

>> Reporter: OR IN THE PACIFIC

ISLANDER CLUB, WHOSE MEETINGS, A

JUNIOR NAMED ROSE MAE TOLD US,

ARE ALWAYS PACKED.

THE AIM HERE IS TO CREATE A

SENSE OF COMMUNITY AND TO

PRESERVE A PACIFIC ISLAND

CULTURE THAT GOES BACK THOUSANDS

OF YEARS.

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO HAVE THIS

CLUB?

>> VERY IMPORTANT.

IT'S LIKE MY OWN LITTLE ISLAND,

IN THIS CLASSROOM.

>> Reporter: DURING OUR VISIT,

THE KIDS TALKED ABOUT THE

DIFFICULTY OF TRYING TO EMBRACE

AN AMERICAN-STYLED ADOLESCENCE.

DID YOU FIND IT A STRUGGLE TO

JUST SHOW UP AT SCHOOL?

>> I WASN'T USED TO HERE.

IT WAS CONFUSING AT FIRST.

MIDDLE SCHOOL YEAR I NEVER CAME

TO SCHOOL BECAUSE I WAS JUST TOO

SCARED.

>> Reporter: SOME IN THIS CLUB

ARE DETERMINED TO SOMEDAY VISIT.

>> I HAVEN'T BEEN TO MARSHALL

ISLANDS OR ANYTHING.

>> Reporter: IF NOT MOVE TO THE

MARSHALL ISLANDS.

WILL THE ISLANDS BE THERE, AS A

PLACE TO LIVE?

IF YOU ASK PRESIDENT HILDA

HEINE, AND WE DID, SHE'LL INSIST

THE MARSHALL ISLANDS ARE NOT

DONE YET.

>> I HOPE THAT PEOPLE WILL SEE

THAT THE MARSHALL ISLANDS AS A

COUNTRY AND AS A PEOPLE CONTINUE

TO LIVE AND CONTINUE TO EXIST.

THAT WE DIDN'T ABDICATE AND JUST

SAY 'FORGET IT' AND LEAVE.

>> Reporter: THERE ARE EFFORTS

HERE TO CREATE MORE

OPPORTUNITIES IN THE ISLANDS,

BUT THEY HAVE LIMITATIONS.

THIS PROCESSING AND PACKING

PLANT SERVES THE WORLD'S BIGGEST

TUNA FISHERY, THAT PRODUCES

MILLIONS IN LICENSING FEES

YEARLY FOR FOREIGN BOATS.

BUT THERE IS NO FULL SERVICE

HARBOR HERE THAT WOULD ALLOW THE

MARSHALLESE TO SUPPORT THEIR OWN

FLEET OF TUNA BOATS AND TO

TO CATCH THE FISH THEMSELVES.

THIS AQUACULTURE FISH FARM

OPERATION, PRODUCES MORE THAN A

TON OF THE FISH DELICACY CALLED

MOI EACH WEEK.

BUT IT ISN'T PROFITABLE YET, AND

CURRENTLY EMPLOYS FEWER THAN 50

ISLANDERS.

AND THIS WORKSHOP TRAINS YOUTH

IN CARPENTRY, CRAFTING THE

SAILING CANOES THAT FOR A

MILLENNIUM HAVE EXPLORED THESE

ISLANDS.

BUT THOSE LOVELY CANOES AREN'T A

BUSINESS SO MUCH AS AN ACT OF

DEVOTION.

AS FOR ISAAC MARTY, HE AND HIS

SON, ISAIAH, HAVE BEEN LIVING IN

SALEM, OREGON FOR MORE THAN A

YEAR NOW, THIS REUNITED FAMILY

STRIVING TO BE SELF-SUFFICIENT

IN THIS NEW CITY: THEY SPEND

AFTERNOONS AT A SUN-SPLASHED

NEARBY PARK.

THEY HAVE A DECENT USED CAR, A

NEW APARTMENT, AND JUST ENOUGH

MONEY FOR FOOD AND A FEW TOYS

FOR THE KIDS.

>> YOU'RE DOING A GREAT JOB.

>> Reporter: ISAAC HIMSELF HAS

LANDED HIS BEST JOB YET, $17 AN

HOUR AS A MUCH-IN-DEMAND

TRANSLATOR FOR THE SCHOOL

DISTRICT.

>> YEAH I'VE GOT ABOUT FIVE MORE

SYLLABUS TO WORK ON.

>> Reporter: AND HIS KIDS ARE

THRIVING IN SCHOOL.

>> THE WORKLOAD THAT THEY GIVE

TO ELEMENTARY STUDENTS HERE ARE

LIKE THE WORKLOAD THAT THEY GIVE

TO MIDDLE SCHOOLS BACK HOME.

I FEEL THAT THEY'RE GETTING

SMARTER THAN ME.

>> SO SHE'S EIGHT POUNDS, SEVEN

OUNCES.

>> Reporter: AND THERE'S A NEW

BABY IN THIS FAMILY, PETUNIA.

>> 36 CENTIMETERS.

>> Reporter: SHE GETS REGULAR

NEONATAL CHECKUPS THROUGH

OREGON'S HEALTH PLAN, AND THE

DOCTOR ALSO CHECKS IN WITH MOM,

AMELIA, TO MAKE SURE THAT HER

ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION ARE UNDER

CONTROL.

>> YOUR MOOD IS OKAY?

NOT GETTING TOO SAD, OR WORRIED?

>> A LITTLE BIT.

>> WELL WE GET A LITTLE BIT UP

TO NEAR BOILING POINT, AND THEN

JUST CALM DOWN A BIT.

>> Reporter: ISAAC TRIES NOT TO

SECOND-GUESS THE DECISION HE

MADE TO LEAVE THE MARSHALL

ISLANDS.

>> IT'S LIKE TWO THINGS PULLING

YOU IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS.

I'VE GOT THE ISLANDS AND THEN MY

FAMILY.

SO I HAD TO LET ONE GO SO THAT I

CAN HAVE THE OTHER ONE.