Deportees Are Not Refugees

Dear Editor,

Mr. President, you spoke at a news conference before the nation and told us the deportees are not criminals. That their only crime was being in the United States illegally. But if that is true, if they are not criminals, then why doesn’t the United States send them home? Why does the US want them to arrive here, in Palau, a nation already burdened by our own struggles?

We are not fools. We are not blind. We are not so easily swayed by the polished language of press conferences and diplomatic smiles. You ask us to trust the word of the U.S. government under Donald Trump, a man convicted who masquerades as a leader while his own Secretary of State brands these deportees as “despicable people,” “perverts,” and “child rapists.” These are not our words, they are theirs. And yet you ask us to house them, to welcome them, to believe they are harmless.

Let us be clear: this is not about compassion. This is about sovereignty. This is about dignity. This is about the right of people to say no when their leaders forget who they serve. You sold us a tax system that favors corporations and leaves our people behind. You ignored the voices of the Olbiil Era Kelulau and our Traditional Leaders, who have already said no. And now your selling money to shelter those the U.S. itself has cast out. All while our own people suffer under the weight of drugs, high cost of living and the silent epidemic of non-communicable diseases.

Mr. President, this is not leadership. This is betrayal. You speak like a businessman, not a statesman. You act as if your education places you above the wisdom of our elders, our leaders, our people. But we see through it. We see the silver in your hands, the price of your silence, the cost of your compliance.

Do not try to compare these deportees to refugees we brought into our country, the Uyghurs. The Uyghurs fled persecution. These individuals were expelled. There is a difference between refuge and rejection. And we reject them, not out of hatred, but out of necessity. We cannot carry the burdens of another nation while our own house is in disrepair.

We are a smaller nation, but we are not without pride. We are not without memory. We remember the promises made to us. We remember the values we were raised with. We remember that leadership is not about pleasing foreign powers, it is about protecting your people.

So, hear us clearly: We do not want deportees. They are not refugees. And if you continue to push this agenda, we will push back. Not with violence, but with truth. Not with anger, but with resolve. Because this is our land, our people, our future. And we will not trade it away, not for money, not for favor and not for 30 pieces of silver.

We are the Silent Majority. We do not shout. We do not threaten. But we do not forget. And we do not forgive easily when our leaders choose foreign interests over local dignity. You may wear the title of President, but you do not speak for us when you ignore our voices. You do not lead us when you follow the whims of a foreign administration that sees our islands as a dumping ground.

This is our stand. This is our line. Deportees are not refugees. And Palau is not for sale.

Your Humble Servant

Al Kahalic