TRUMP'S DEPORTATION CRACKDOWN PUTS US PACIFIC ISLAND COMMUNITIES ON EDGE

A Queensland man arrested in Thailand has been deported back to Australia after he allegedly left while facing multiple sex offences. Footage shows the moment Helio Taiyang Richardson was arrested at a resort on an island in south-east Thailand in September 2024.(Supplied)

Donald Trump's immigration crackdown promises to deport millions of illegal or migrant criminals back to their country of heritage.

For Pacific people in the diaspora, there's fear that people without updated documentation, or those convicted of low end or petty crimes might be sent away from their families.

Even certain people in the US living under special immigration arrangements, such as those from Palau, the Marshall Islands might be at risk.

Pacific community leader in the California area, Papali'i Manumalo said the swiftness of Trump's executive orders caught many folks off-guard.

'LA and San Francisco has a large population of Pacific Islanders,' he said.

'There’s a good number of overstayers who haven’t been current with their visa documentation, whether it was through school or work that brought them here.

'I don’t know why certain people haven’t had their documents updated, but they are here.'