President Manny Mori continued his tour of FSM communities throughout the United States as he visited the Beyond The Reef Church in Aurora, Oregon around 5:30p.m today.

President Mori was also joined by Assistant Secretary Tony Babauta of the U.S. Department of the Interior, the department that oversees the implementation of the FSM-US compact. Also present were Senators Roger Mori and Bonsiano Nethon.

As part of the focus for the President and his delegation, Mr. Asterio Takesy, FSM Ambassador to the United States, did a run-through of the newly completed survey of FSM residents of the U.S., offering a glimpse of the findings of the survey.

Some inquiries were made relating to scholarship, eligibility to social assistance in the U.S., procedures for deportation, legal status for college students, establishment of an official FSM presence in the West Coast, something that even the Portland City Council seemed to wonder about as expressed by their staff, and other school and passport related matters.

The Beyond The Reef Church hosted the meeting on behalf of FSM citizens in the Aurora area and nearby places who could not attend the Portland Town Hall type meeting yesterday.

After finishing two meetings in Oregon State, President Mori will move on to California the morning of the 7th to also meet with citizens there before continuing on his return to Pohnpei, FSM.

For questions, write to Marz Aakapit at markapito@gmail.com.