KUAR | By Antoinette Grajeda / Arkansas Advocate
A report released Thursday advocates for extending Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to the thousands of Marshallese migrants who lawfully reside in Arkansas and struggle with food insecurity.
Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families worked with the Arkansas Coalition of Marshallese for more than a year on the report, which recommends granting Marshallese migrants SNAP eligibility through one of three pieces of legislation currently under consideration by Congress, such as the Compacts of Free Association.
After testing nearly 70 nuclear bombs in the 1940s and 1950s that contaminated the Marshall Islands with radiation, the United States signed Compacts of Free Association (COFA) with the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia. The compacts allow the U.S. to operate military bases in the Freely Associated States, while FAS citizens may live and work in the U.S. and its territories as lawful non-immigrants.
Antoinette Grajeda/Arkansas Advocate
Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families Northwest Arkansas Director Laura Kellams (left) looks on as Arkansas Coalition of Marshallese CEO Melisa Laelan (right) discusses a new report advocating for extending SNAP benefits to the Marshallese community. The two nonprofits released the report Aug. 31, 2023, during an event at The Jones Center in Springdale.