Overview

Unlike most mainland fights (which center on a community resisting an ICE facility), the Guam “fight” is a local Attorney General actively pulling the territory deeper into federal deportation, set against a civil-rights committee scrutinizing the disproportionate impact on Chuukese / COFA migrants. The contest is over who Guam’s enforcement apparatus targets and whether it discriminates by national origin.

The Drive

• “Deport Air” (since 2023): AG Douglas Moylan’s program for removing convicted noncitizens — early release with ICE detainers, voluntary departure via stipulated amended judgments. 101 noncitizens deported from Guam since 2023, ~12 pending (per Moylan, Aug 2025).
• 2024 billboard campaign (“Deport Air 40”): mugshots of 40 convicted noncitizens posted publicly. Status as of Aug 2025: 3 self-deported, 1 pending court action, 9 under self-deportation review, 6 awaiting progress.
• 287(g) deputization: MOA with DHS signed ~Sept 2025, certified January 2026, deputizing 11 AG criminal investigators as ICE agents able to identify, detain, and remove convicted deportable noncitizens. AG claims $4M/year in savings ($43,070 per incarcerated noncitizen).
• Federal operations: HSI Honolulu + ERO + USMS conducted enforcement in Guam on Jan 31, 2025, targeting immigrants with outstanding criminal warrants.

The COFA / Chuukese Dimension

Moylan’s program explicitly targets Federated States of Micronesia (Chuukese) nationals, citing higher crime rates. Because COFA migrants live in Guam visa-free and are only removable on criminal convictions, this is a criminal-removal drive aimed at a specific national-origin population — which is precisely what makes it contested.

The Counterweight

The Guam Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights ran a 2024–2025 briefing series (final panel Dec 16, 2025) on the overrepresentation of COFA migrants in Guam’s criminal-justice system, examining whether discrimination drives it and flagging aggravated-felony deportability as a substantial factor. Immigration advocates separately warned that people with legal status or citizenship could be caught in the raids.

Facility Conditions Crisis (Dec 2025–Jan 2026)

The Hagåtña Detention Facility — where these detainees are held — hit a breaking point: broken HVAC, overcrowding, detainees in dome tents. Federal authorities pulled ~20 federal detainees; lawmakers and Moylan warned of lost revenue and possible federal court intervention. The deportation drive is colliding with the territory’s inability to humanely house detainees.

Why It Matters

Guam shows the deportation buildout reaching a Pacific U.S. territory through a willing local AG rather than federal facility expansion — and doing so against a vulnerable, visa-free COFA population whose treatment is already under federal civil-rights review.

Sources

• Island Times: 101 deported from Guam since 2023; AG seeks to join ICE dragnet (Aug 15, 2025)
• KANDIT News: Guam AG and ICE to Ramp Up Deportations
• Marianas Variety: ICE deputizes Guam AG investigators
• Newsweek: ICE Raids Expand to Guam (Feb 2025)
• U.S. Commission on Civil Rights — Guam Advisory Committee: COFA overrepresentation (Panel VI, Dec 16, 2025)
• KUAM: Guam’s jail system is at a breaking point (Dec 26, 2025)