FEMA to reopen emergency assistance program to COFA citizens

Kacie Yamamoto, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Updated ·3 min read

Mar. 17—The Federal Emergency Management Agency will reopen enrollment for its Individuals and Households Program to include Compacts of Free Association citizens—citizens of the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau who can live and work in the U.S. indefinitely without a visa.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will reopen enrollment for its Individuals and Households Program to include Compacts of Free Association citizens—citizens of the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau who can live and work in the U.S. indefinitely without a visa.

FEMA's announcement came a week after President Joe Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, into law. The act includes U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono's Compact Impact Fairness Act, which restores COFA citizens' access to federal benefits, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Supplemental Security Income and FEMA assistance.

"In addition to solidifying our relationship with the Compact nations for the next 20 years, this agreement corrects a nearly 30-year old policy failure that has prevented the tens of thousands of COFA citizens who live, work and pay taxes in the U.S.—many of whom choose to build their lives in Hawaii—from accessing federal benefits, " Hirono said in a news release.

Immediately following the wildfires, state Sen. Angus McKelvey (D, West Maui-Maalaea-South Maui ) introduced Senate Concurrent Resolution 223, urging Congress to pass legislation that gave COFA citizens access to federal aid.

"It's good to see the federal government set up and live up to their responsibilities to COFA migrants, " Mc ­Kelvey said in a statement Wednesday. "I am confident and encouraged that this action by Congress and President Biden will hasten and broaden the recovery of our community as a whole."

After the act was passed, Hawaii's Congressional delegation—U.S. Reps. Jill Tokuda and Ed Case, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz and Hirono—sent a letter to FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell advocating for the reopening of the IHP program for COFA citizens.

The IHP program provides financial assistance and direct services to eligible individuals and households impacted by a disaster. Assistance includes temporary housing units, or funding for temporary housing, home repairs or replacements, hazard mitigation, or uninsured or under-insured costs caused by a disaster. It is one of multiple FEMA-run programs providing aid to survivors of the Aug. 8 wildfires on Maui.

"As recovery efforts on Maui continue, we are glad to see FEMA reopen IHP enrollment for COFA citizens who have been impacted by the devastating wildfire, " the delegation said in a statement Friday. "FEMA's decision will unlock critical assistance for those COFA citizens impacted by the fires. We appreciate the Biden Administration's responsiveness to our request, and the ongoing support they are providing to help Maui's families recover and rebuild."

The Hawaii Coalition for Immigrant Rights is hosting a virtual press conference on Tuesday with Hirono, Case and COFA leaders from across the state to discuss the "significant impacts " of the renegotiated COFA, as well as Hirono's CIFA.