PRI’s The World has this story. Excerpt:

It may come as a bit of a surprise, but the southwest corner of Missouri is home to a growing community of migrants from the Federated States of Micronesia, a country of hundreds of islands in the western Pacific. Reporter Anna Boiko-Weyrauch has the story of how Micronesians came here–and how their journey sharply contrasts with the legal struggles faced by other immigrants.

Hang around southwest Missouri long enough and you’re bound to meet someone named Rehobson. The family name is common in Micronesia, and in parts of this state.

“I get a lot of that, ‘Missouri?’” Micronesian migrant Lou Rehobson said. “We like it here.”

Rehobson has lived the rural town of Goodman, Missouri, for the past 18 years. She is originally from the island of Pingelap, which is so small you can walk across it in an afternoon.

In 1995 Rehobson wanted to move up, get a better education and better provide for her family.

“I was working at a bank (in Micronesia) but I was making a $1.95 an hour,” she said. …

Photo courtesy mattk1979.

—Chad Blair