From the first Polynesians arriving by canoe from Kahiki Nui to the final 747 disembarking at Honolulu International Airport last night, Hawai’i continues to be a destination for incoming migration.

Each wave of migration has brought its own contributions to our economy and to the diversity of our island culture. And each new migrant has been challenged in turn to overcome the obstacles and hardships of adapting to their new home.

The afternoon panel, Opportunities & Challenges of Population Change, will look at the past and present of migration to Hawai’i, and attempt to envision a way forward in keeping with our traditions of welcome and hospitality.

Can we maintain our Aloha spirit when the prevailing national narrative seems to be ever more anti-immigrant? Can our own history of labor migration to Hawai’i help us understand the current dynamic and the experiences of our newly arrived? How can our own institutions and culture address the challenges of migration now and in the future?

University of Hawaii Professor Austin Dias (retired) will discuss the plantation migration history of Puerto Ricans here in the islands, and the role of labor migration in underpinning economic growth. The critical impact of immigration regulation on the family unification of workers and migrants will be discussed by Hernando Tan, President of Local 5 UNITE HERE. The impact on families and communities resulting from the increasingly harsh enforcement methods implemented in place of meaningful immigration reform will be borne witness by Herlinda Jacobo-Roque of Hawaii Island and Edelmira Salayes-Araiza of Maui. Claudia Crowell, a high school student from Maui, will put in plain terms the impact in Hawai’i of the recent failure of the DREAM Act in the U.S. Congress. Immigration attorney and advocate Clare Hanusz will discuss her work with immigrant families and the victims of labor trafficking.

During this past year FACE and its partners in the Hawai’i Coalition for Immigration Reform, have worked to bring attention to these and other related issues. While we have met success in widening the scope of the discussion and bringing new voices to the table, the coming year will bring more challenges yet, as the political changes in Washington, D.C., unfold.