18,000 Beds Planned

18,000 beds planned: Worker housing project begins soon
By Dionesis Tamondong
Pacific Daily News
April 12, 2010

The construction of an 18,000-bed facility to house temporary workers for military buildup projects is set to break ground at the end of this month.

The Ukudu Workforce Village, which covers about 75 acres of property spanning Tamuning and Dededo, is just one of a few sites that have been approved for living quarters for foreign workers needed for military construction work.

The Guam Land Use Commission has also recently approved an application by Black Construction Corp. for its workforce housing project in the Harmon Industrial Park. When completed, that complex can house up to 1,200 workers.

On Thursday, the commission approved DDT Konstract International's application for its 300-capacity barracks along Bello Road in Barrigada.

If the GLUC was to approve all the pending applications for temporary worker housing facilities, the existing and pending barracks would have the capacity to accommodate more than 23,000 foreign laborers, Department of Land Management Director Chris Duenas said.

That figure is close to the combined populations of Santa Rita, Agat, Talofofo, Umatac, Inarajan and Merizo.

Dededo Mayor Melissa Savares said she was initially concerned about the impact the Ukudu Workforce Village could have on her village -- from the strain on water lines to the traffic congestion. But she said most of her concerns have been allayed after learning more about the facility and requirements placed on the developer.

Younex Enterprises Corp., as part of the conditions of the commission's approval, is required to mitigate potential adverse impacts.

Younex must work with Guam Waterworks Authority to ensure water services in surrounding areas aren't disrupted by its workforce housing facility. As well, buses will transport the workers during non-peak traffic hours to alleviate traffic congestion.

One of the many other conditions requires that "written assurances are submitted stating that the conduct or behavior of the H-2 workers will not be disruptive to the island and its people. The workers should be briefed on Guam's culture and customs ... ," according to the conditional approval letter.

The commission and the Department of Defense have certain standard requirements for housing facilities of companies vying for military buildup projects.

So far, the Ukudu Workforce Village is the largest planned worker housing facility. Whether the complex actually meets its capacity depends on the projects awarded to Younex and the number of workers needed for those projects.

"We expect to open the first 2,000 beds in the fourth quarter of 2010 and will continue to add sectors of 2,000 beds as demand warrants, said Younex Senior Vice President David Tydingco. "By the end of 2011 we expect to be up to 8,000 beds, and that will grow as additional demand warrants."

The workforce village will provide workers three meals a day, a 24-hour medical clinic, organized recreational activities, banking services, convenience stores and other services.

The 252-acre property sits on the Harmon Annex adjacent to the Navy's South Finegayan family housing. About 75 acres of that property is dedicated for the worker housing facility, which is also conveniently located near the planned Marine Corps base.

The major buildup projects won't start until the Record of Decision is handed down by the Navy's top officials, and that's expected this summer.

An estimated 15,000 to 20,000 workers from off island will be needed for numerous projects related to the military buildup over several years.

Already, developers and construction companies are gearing up for those multi-million dollar contracts and subcontracts, and that includes obtaining additional workers and finding or building facilities to house them.

Core Tech International's application for its workforce living quarters -- the Royal Hawaiian Apartments in Tamuning -- is pending before the Land Use Commission, and it has two other sites it can use as barracks, said Joshua Tenorio, Core Tech's business development director.

Last year, Core Tech acquired the Royal Hawaiian Apartments and the vacant El Dorado apartment complex in Upper Tumon. The company can also convert its Tiyan facility, which it's currently leasing to the local government for the temporary John F. Kennedy High School, into a barracks.

"We're doing what we need to do in terms of upgrading our facilities and going through the regulatory process so that we're able to exercise our options if we're fortunate to be awarded one of those contracts," he said.

Bordallo urged to push buildup resolution

Bordallo urged to push buildup resolution

By Dionesis Tamondong • Pacific Daily News • February 13, 2010

With the unanimous approval of Resolution 275, Sen. Frank Blas Jr. reminded Delegate Madeleine Bordallo of her promise to support and represent to Congress the many issues listed in the measure.

The resolution, which the Legislature approved on Thursday, raises many issues concerning the draft Environmental Impact Statement and the impact of the military's buildup plans on Guam.

Resolution 275 also urges Congress to address long-standing local issues, including war reparations, Compact-impact reimbursement, the removal of Medicaid funding caps and unreturned ancestral land.

"In light of your commitment to represent the position of the Legislature on behalf of the people of Guam as contained in Resolution 275 to members of both the House and Senate, I thank you for this promise and look forward to your introduction of measures that would address our concerns and also provide resolution to our long-standing issues," Blas wrote in a letter sent to her office yesterday afternoon.

The letter was just one of several sent by local senators to Bordallo's office this past week.

Foreign workers

Vice Speaker Benjamin Cruz, in a series of letters, called on Bordallo to reconsider her position on allowing the use of foreign workers on buildup-related construction projects.

Cruz cited estimates in the draft EIS report that H-2 workers will spend about 20 percent of their income in the local economy, while workers hired locally are estimated to spend 45 percent of their income here.

"Based on the (Department of Defense's) anticipated expenditures from 2010 through 2016, local workers are expected to infuse about $471 million into Guam's economy, while H-2 workers are anticipated to infuse about $294 million," Cruz said in his letter.

He said the decision to use H-2 workers represents a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars that otherwise would've contributed to Guam's economy.

Bordallo's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent to her office Thursday.

Though Guam is exempt from the national annual cap on the hiring of foreign workers, the labor regulations require employers to hire local workers first.

For example, before employers file an application, they have to put out an advertisement and make efforts to recruit locally before applying to Guam's Department of Labor to hire foreign labor.

The Guam Contractors Association Trades Academy continues to train and prepare residents for thousands of construction jobs anticipated with the buildup.

But officials have said companies still will have to hire from off island because there aren't enough skilled construction workers to hire locally.

DOL cites rampant labor abuses on Guam

DOL cites rampant labor abuses on Guam

Wednesday, 03 February 2010 01:55
by Jennifer Naylor Gesick | Variety News Staff

GUAM Department of Labor receives an average of 500 labor complaints a year, but many of the foreign workers seem unaware of their rights under the law, according to department director Maria Connelley.

Many of the foreign workers abandon their posts after filing a complaint with the department. “For whatever reason, when H2B workers come to us they fear to go back to work, so it is our responsibility to let H2 workers know that they have the same benefits and privileges of other U.S. workers," Connelley said.

Complaints include employers allegedly nonpayment of wages, withholding overtime pay and discrimination, but the percentage of cases resolution is not available as of press time.

Labor advocates warn of a possible increase in the number of labor abuse cases with the influx of H2 workers who will come to Guam for jobs related to military buildup.

To curb incidents of labor abuses, Connelley said the labor department offers educational classes to employers.

"At least once a year,” Connelley said, “we have a summit or a conference for all the employers with H2B (workers), and we bring in different administrators and speakers to address the local law and federal law,” the labor chief said in an interview with Variety after her presentation before the Rotary Club of Northern Guam at the Hyatt Regency Guam on Monday.

"We will continue to offer those courses, so that employers will continue to understand their obligation and requirement,” Connelley said.

Recently, five H2 workers from the Philippines filed a complaint against their employer, Prime Pacific Builders, alleging they have never been paid since they came to Guam in November.

“We told those five people to return to work, and we need to continue to emphasize that these foreign hires were brought here as guests,” Connelley said.

“When they didn’t return to work, the employer had the responsibility to report to the DOL. When these employees did not return to work, they have become illegal and they have to return home," she said.

When the employees came to the labor department, Connelley said she subpoenaed the employer and asked for the employees’ records.

“We were working with the employer to make it a win-win situation. However they didn’t return to work and then it became a separate issue from the wage and hour issue and it becomes an immigration issue," she explained.

The five workers, Ysrael Espinosa, Jhaniel Perez, Alejo Ongotan, Ernesto Maglaque and Benedicto Calaguas, Jr. paid their own way to come to Guam. They each paid between $1,500 and $2,000 for labor processing and plane tickets.

Their H2 visas were good until l October.

Connelley said the labor department is now investigating the workers’ employer, Noel Calaguas.

"It means that if these employers continue to violate or commit an infraction and in the future they submit a request to bring in temporary workers we may not endorse their request because they need to take care of their workers while they are there," the labor director said.

US military build-up on Guam worries islanders

US military build-up on Guam worries islanders

Fri, Jan 22, 2010
By Mar-Vic Cagurangan

HAGATNA, Jan 22, 2010 (AFP) - Residents of the US territory of Guam fear the planned influx of thousands of American troops and their families will leave their Pacific island home swamped.

Around 19,000 personnel and their families are set to relocate to Guam from southern Japan in a move that will treble the US military presence on the island.

But despite proclaimed economic benefits, not all of the 178,000-strong population is looking forward to the troops' arrival.

"This proposed military build-up, with our current political status, will result in the cultural and racial genocide of the Chamorro people," said Frank J. Schacher, chairman of the Chamorro Tribe Inc., a group representing the island's indigenous people, who make up a third of the population.

"It is our island, our ancestral remains, our sacred artifacts, our waters, our culture, and our right to exist as a race that would be destroyed by these intended actions."

It is a long time since the Chamorro have been masters of their own destiny: Spain controlled the island for more than two hundred years until the late 19th century, when it was taken over by the United States, and it was occupied by Japan during World War II.

In 2006, Washington and Tokyo agreed to shift thousands of marines from Okinawa after complaints that, with half of the country's 47,000 US military personnel, the island was over burdened.

Guam's US Congress delegate, Madeleine Bordallo, hailed the plan as a great opportunity for the territory. The local government and the business community have also welcomed an expected economic boom fuelled by the build-up.

"We acknowledge the unprecedented growth that lies ahead," Guam Governor Felix P. Camacho said recently.

"Our future, however, will test our resolve and we will be called upon to display our commitment to doing what is good and right for our people."

An 11,000-page US Defense Department draft environmental impact statement said the military expansion would strain the island's limited infrastructure, healthcare, and ecology.

The study says the relocation, costing up to 15 billion dollars, would bring 8,600 marines, 630 army personnel, and about 10,000 dependents to Guam.

More than 33,000 foreign workers would also be needed to build wharves, aircraft carrier berths, roads, military barracks, and homes.

The Guam Chamber of Commerce, an early supporter of the relocation, said it was not oblivious to growing scepticism within the community.

"We're the voice of the businesses, but our members all live in Guam too. So we're looking out for the best interests of our businesses and the community at large and so we're looking at everything," Chamber president David Leddy said.

"There are positive and negative impacts. We just have to weigh the positive and negative and see what's good for the people."

About a third of Guam's 549 square kilometres (212 square miles) is already owned by the US government, mainly for military use, and it wants to buy another 2,200 acres (890 hectares) as part of the troop transfer.

"Lands that our ancestors fought for are passed down from one generation to the next until they are indiscriminately taken away for purposes other than sustaining and nourishing the family clan," said Gloria B. Nelson, whose property is being eyed by the Department of Defense.

Melvin Won Pat, one of the founders of a new activist group opposed to the build-up, said it was false to suggest the move was supported by the wider community.

"I think a lot of our people have been misled into believing the general population is in full support of this move," he said.

The Department of Defense's Joint Guam Project Office, which is in charge of the relocation, has held a series of public meetings to discuss the draft report, but some locals remain sceptical.

"I refuse to dignify this whole charade," resident Filamore Alcon Palomo said.

"Attending public hearings would just be a waste of time because I know - everybody knows - this is a done deal. The military won't listen to us. They will do what they want to do."

Landowners oppose GLUC roadway decision

Landowners oppose GLUC roadway decision

By Laura Matthews • Pacific Daily News • January 4, 2010

Some Harmon Annex landowners are opposed to the Guam Land Use Commission's decision to grant Younex International sections of Dededo land to build a 100-foot wide roadway that they said will take away from their properties.

Ike Pangelinan, a 57-year-old landowner, said the commission did not adequately inform all the landowners in the area before making its decision at a Dec. 10, 2009 public hearing.

Meeting

The landowners called a meeting yesterday, and only one of them, Terry Aguon, said she received a letter from the Department of Land Management outlining how the parcels of land is to be used.

Now they are asking that the department call a meeting with the landowners and all the major stakeholders so they can share their concerns.

"They skipped me," Pangelinan said. "And right now it is already passed."

According to the letter sent to Terry Aguon dated Nov. 23, 2009, Parcel J and Parcel K, which includes several lots owned by various landowners, would be reviewed by the GLUC as public access or utilities right-of-way.

Right-of-way

"Should these easements be known as Public Access or Utilities Right-of-Way, it will allow for its improvement and placement of other critical infrastructure that will benefit you as well," the letter stated.

Some of the parcels and lots, which are located off of Route 3 in Dededo and known as the Harmon Annex, were transferred from the federal government to the Government of Guam and are under the administration of the Department of Public Works.

The planned easement would allow for Younex to develop a road that will be needed for the new Ukudu Workforce Village, which is a temporary workforce housing facility for thousands of foreign laborers needed for the military buildup.

'Terrible' decision

Aguon called the land commission's decision "terrible." She noted how for one small plot of land, Lot 5315, the planned road cuts through it.

Many were left with questions they said need answering.

"Under what circumstances did they sign off on that thing? How did it get that far?" Michael Aguon, 46, asked at yesterday's meeting.

Department of Land Management officials could not be reached for comment yesterday.

David Tydingco, senior vice-president for Younex, said they, too, are experiencing similar problems that the landowners are facing.

"When we got the property, it also identified that we had limitations on how we can build our facility because pre-existing easements were there," Tydingco said. "So we are under the same dilemma that the other landowners have. We are very limited to how we can develop our property based on the easements that were pre-existing when we acquired the property."

He added that Younex has no choice but "to follow the authorities on this."

Housing facility

Last month, a South Korean construction company signed a $200 million contract with Guam-based Younex Enterprises Corp. to build an 18,000-bed facility in Dededo to house the thousands of temporary workers coming for the buildup.

The deal was signed by STX Group Chairman Duck-soo Kang and Younex Enterprises Chairman Kil Koo Yoon on Dec. 22, 2009. The housing facility will be located in the Harmon Annex adjacent to the Navy's South Finegayan family housing facility.

Younex already started the site surveying and preliminary groundwork that would lead to the opening of the first phase of the project in October 2010. It is expected to be completed around 2013 and require about 400 workers, according to Pacific Daily News files.

RP group likely to grow further

RP group likely to grow further

Tuesday, 29 December 2009 04:10
by Therese Hart | Variety News Staff

FOREIGN workers hired under the H2B program to fill the workforce void during the military buildup are likely to stay behind and make Guam their home, according to the draft environmental impact statement.

Based on multiple interviews with construction contractors familiar with Guam projects, it is expected that a large proportion of H2B workers will originate from the Philippines.

Furthermore, since two-thirds of Guam’s foreign-born population is from the Philippines, it is expected that most “stay-behind” workers and related future population growth would originate from there, stated the report.

Increased migration

The immersion of the migrant worker into the Guam population will further encourage increased migration, resulting in a population boom on island, the study said.

Many working immigrants are younger people who have children over time, so that their population impacts accrue gradually, the buildup planners stated in the report.

Typical to socioeconomic impact assessment and assumed in this analysis is the assumption that migrant households have an average household size either like the place where they come, or the place where they are going, in this case, Guam, which captures the probable long term population size.

The “out-migration” of these populations is also an issue. The question that remains to be answered is whether the temporary H-2B worker population will leave Guam when their time of employment ends. The report assumes that the H-2B population will leave as military construction concludes. However, there is a concern that out-migration might not be so prompt.

While employers of H2B workers are required to prove that workers have left Guam once the particular project the worker was brought in for is completed, there are anecdotal reports of “stay-behind” H2B workers who have married Guam residents and in that way become permanent residents.

’Stay-behind migrants’

There are also concerns that migrants from freely associated states and the CNMI who come to Guam for construction-period jobs but either do not become employed or lose those jobs may stay on Guam as well, according to the report.

FAS and CNMI migrants have the status of U.S. citizens and can migrate within the U.S. without constraint. Developing an estimated number of “stay-behind” H2B workers is problematic because the factors involved are each difficult to measure and produce ambiguous results. Nonetheless, studies do show that stay-behind workers can be expected.

Finally, the Guam Department of Labor has concerns that immigration flows stemming from temporary workers can generate more immigrants than there were visas originally allocated.

It was also noted that U.S. immigration policy can inherently lead to increased immigration over-time, wherein family members apply to have relatives immigrate, increasing the number of immigrants.

Indefinite hold

Indefinite hold

Written by Margaret Jao-Grey
Not Business as Usual / margiegrey_ph@yahoo.com
Sunday, 27 December 2009 17:55

Did you know 1: Uh-oh. The processing of 20,000 Filipino workers expected to work in Guam next year is now on indefinite hold. That means the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration may have to significantly revise downwards its rosy projections for next year.

Right now, the Japanese and the Americans aren’t seeing eye-to-eye on the conditions leading to the relocation of 8,000 Okinawa-based US Marines and their 9,000 dependents to American territory.

As it is, Japan, which is footing the bulk of the $10 billion needed for the relocation, has already handed over the first installment of $350 million to the US government (read: no refunds allowed should the relocation not take place) as scheduled). For its part, the US Congress has drastically reduced its first counterpart funding from $300 million to $89 million.

YouNex greenlit to build $200M facility

YouNex greenlit to build $200M facility

Posted: Dec 27, 2009 4:36 PM
Updated: Dec 27, 2009 6:16 PM

by Michele Catahay

Guam - YouNex Enterprises Corporation recently signed a contract to design, build and assist with the operations and management of an 18,000-bed workforce village. The project is expected to house foreign workers during the construction phase of the military buildup on Guam.

A signing ceremony was held in Seoul, Korea last week by STX Group and YouNex to pave the way for construction for a new facility to house foreign workers for the military buildup. The contract is valued at approximately $200 million to design, build and assist with the operations and management of an 18,0000-bed, fully integrated workforce village to house temporary labor. The project, Ukudu Workforce Village, will be located in the Harmon Annex, bordering the Navy's South Finegayan Family Housing Facility and just north of Two Lovers Point.

The campus will include a medical clinic and fire and security response, transportation for workers to and from worksites and non-work activities, laundry, banking and convenience store services and organized recreational and individual activities to include religious worship facilities.

YouNex Senior Vice President Dave Tydingco said, "We had to go through the land use commission process to rezone the property there, N1, which is a light industrial zone because that was the only zoning that would allow for this type of development. The second phase of planning, which allows for the Land Use Commission to review your site development plan, which was approved on October 29."

Tydingco says the first sector, which will include up to 2000 beds will open up on October 2010. He says depending on the demand of workforce housing, YouNex could construct up to 18,000 beds, if necessary. "We provide a solution that allows for maximum benefits to the customer with the customers being contractors and minimal impact to the community," he continued. "It is isolated and we'll be able to contain and control the foreign workforce population that will be there."

YouNex will not only help with work force housing, but Tydingco says there may be a possibility that his company may help construct residential housing. In fact, he says as part of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, one of the alternatives is to build housing for military personnel in areas near property they own. "We've actually had initial discussions with JGPO about proposing at least 110 acres of the 252 acres we own for residential housing and we are pursuing that with the military and we hope that if they find it a viable solution, we're prepared to move forward, finance and construct and manage that facility for them," Tydingco said.

Japan gets ultimatum

Japan gets ultimatum

Monday, 14 December 2009 02:59
by Romeo Carlos | Variety News Staff

US wants Japanese government to decide by Friday

THE United States has given Japan until the end of this week to decide whether or not it will implement the 2006 pact involving the relocation of U.S. marines in Okinawa, saying the 2011 budget allocation for the transfer plan is at stake, Yomiuri Shimbun reported.

U.S. officials are taking a hardline suggesting allocations planned for the transfer of the Marines might be spent elsewhere in the federal budget if Tokyo failed to comply with a reasonable response by Friday.

It was strongly indicated by the U.S. that Washington would not be able to alleviate the prefecture's burdens as a host of U.S. bases if Tokyo chooses not to accept the current plan.

A policy research committee head for a center-right conservative partner of the new government in Tokyo met to discuss the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa prefecture with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and other U.S. officials at the State Department in Washington on Friday.

The relocation of the air base has become a stumbling block in the much-anticipated transfer of 8,000 Marines from Okinawa as part of a massive realignment on Guam.

During a courtesy call with Gov. Felix P. Camacho last week, Japanese defense minister Toshimi Kitazawa confirmed moving the entire Futenma air base to Guam had been presented as an option for consideration.

During his Guam visit, Kitazawa acknowledged that it would be difficult for the island to accommodate more than 8,000 Marines.

“On Guam the government has already begun to prepare for the buildup based on the 2006 plan agreed to by the United States and Japan,” Kitazawa told reporters. “[Relocating Futenma to Guam] is not included in that plan.”

The defense minister recognized his country’s responsibilities in negotiations with the U.S., he said, emphasizing the need to discuss the matter “intensively” with Democratic Party of Japan coalition partners.

In the meantime, amid growing uncertainty and incongruities, Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo issued a written statement heralding almost $740 million in military project spending the delegate described as “moving from planning to implementation phase” which she claims will “create jobs for our local workforce.”

The military impact study downplays any significant economic contributions to the economy however and cites among the reasons the high levels of foreign workers that will actually get most of the 33,000 jobs the impact report projects will be created.

Bice insists buildup good for Guam

Bice insists buildup good for Guam

Monday, 07 December 2009 04:00
by Jude Lizama | Variety News Staff

GUAM and the CNMI will experience economic growth and opportunity as a result of the massive military buildup on Guam, according to Joint Guam Program Office executive director David Bice.

“They will come here from far and wide and see the jewel that you have here,” Bice told island leaders during the 12th Micronesian Chief Executives’ Summit which concluded at Sheraton Laguna Guam Resort Friday.

Despite hints in the draft environmental impact statement that Guam does not have much to expect from the military buildup, Bice maintained the future will be “very bright” for small business as a result of the Marine relocation and buildup.

According to the JGPO director, Marines will take advantage of the regional tourism industry and regional tourism will benefit from allied forces that will frequently come to Guam and the CNMI for training.

Because of a number of factors, the draft impact study indicates the island will not be able to “capture” any significant pools of the billions of dollars that are expected to flow into numerous military projects.

With a plan to use upwards of 30,000 foreign workers who will send most earnings off-island and no recirculation in the local economy and other factors, the low capture rate will mean Guam government coffers, employment and small businesses will be shorted the lion’s share of the billions targeted for preparing for the military’s increasing footprint.

Local turmoil

“Our program is going to maximize the use of workers from Guam and neighboring islands before we seek other labor sources,” Bice said.

The program director, however, weighed that assessment by saying the local labor market will “probably remain in turmoil for the next 10 years or so, if not longer.

He said there will be only 1,700 civilian workers supporting the Marine relocation.

Bice recounted his dialogue with Guam labor director Maria Connelly, and hopes for a collaborative effort to host a symposium geared toward ensuring “NAVFAC, the Guam Department of Labor, and the U.S. Department of Labor are all speaking as one voice.”

Water too

In addition to the economics of the military realignment, Bice sought to assuage concerns over natural resources and utilities.

The retired major general spoke about Guam Waterworks Authority’s lack of capacity to provide sufficiently for the requirements of the projected buildup construction workforce.

“They are operating at near capacity in terms of water production, at this point,” Bice explained on the military’s plan to bring online 22 additional wells to support their needs.

Moreover, Bice believes an interim solution could be achieved to assist in improving the island’s water and wastewater systems. “There is a lot of unaccounted for water loss,” he said.

In the end

Curiously, Bice addressed upgrades at the Port Authority of Guam which he claimed will “not only help the needs of our construction effort,” but will also help to transform the port into a “viable, integral conduit for goods and services.”

The military impact study leaves open the possibility that the Navy may actually repossess the Guam Shipyard facilities and loading equipment Sen. Ben Pangelinan claims to have observed at Navy docks suggest the military will handle off-loading and cargo movement from their own ports.

Without facilities, Guam can’t absorb growth

Without facilities, Guam can’t absorb growth

Monday, 07 December 2009 03:54
by Therese Hart | Variety News Staff

IT IS uncertain if Guam has the capacity to fully absorb and benefit from the sudden injection of large expenditures into its economy during the “boom” period when peak construction overlaps with military arrivals, according to the draft environmental impact statement.

The impact report noted that, theoretically, large expenditures in this period would circulate throughout the economy and create opportunities for spin-off growth in jobs and population.

However, the report noted that if the economy and social infrastructure cannot expand rapidly enough to provide the labor, housing, and other requirements for these jobs to be realized, then much of these expenditures could leak out of Guam’s economy and the potential growth would not all occur before the construction period ends.

Economic models were used to estimate the extent of indirect economic impacts and these models assume it would be easy for business to finance new operations and to find additional workers rapidly.

However, fast-growing economies in general – and a small U.S. territorial islands far from the mainland – can face many challenges in taking advantage of new economic opportunities, the report said.

Because of the size and remoteness of Guam, the available supply of resident workers is limited, and direct jobs from the proposed action would take up much of this labor. The economy of the neighboring CNMI is depressed so some workers may move to Guam. Although they are close, there are limited numbers of skilled workers from the freely associated states.

The U.S. Congress has temporarily lifted the normal limits on H-2B work visas-temporary work permits for foreign labor-for Guam during the construction period. However, foreign workers would not be admitted in large numbers forever, and it would be impractical for many types of employers, especially small businesses, to meet the legal requirements for importing workers and also provide them with housing and health benefits, stated the report

Although U.S. military personnel and foreign workers entering on H-2B work visas would have housing built for them as required by law, other workers moving to Guam to take spin-off jobs would likely rely on housing provided by Guam’s private market. Whether the local market can or would provide such housing in sufficient supply and at affordable prices is uncertain, said the report.

CNMI grapples with federalization

CNMI grapples with federalization

By Amritha Alladi • Pacific Daily News • December 5, 2009

Saipan's business leaders are still trying to make sense of the federalization that went into effect Saturday.

It's not that the new federal presence has caught anyone off-guard; it's that residents still are waiting to find out what the new policies are.

David Sablan, president of Century Insurance on Saipan, said the federalization was agreed upon in 1976, when the islands signed the covenant that established political ties between the CNMI and the United States. The minimum wage and right to implement U.S. immigration laws were agreed upon at that time, he said.

"It would seem logical that all the gateways of the United States must be handled by the proper agency of the U.S. government. That's mainly immigration," he said.

However, he said the business community has been operating independently for the last "twenty-something years," and that's left a lot of unknown terrain when it comes to how the business community should handle foreign labor now.

The public law has yet to be implemented as a binding regulation in the CNMI, he said.

"That's basically what we're waiting for, ... to go through legal procedure by which a regulation may become a binding regulation," Sablan said.

Jim Arenovksi, president of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce and president of the Delta Management Corp. in Saipan, said even before the shift to U.S. immigration law, economic opportunities on the island dwindled mainly because investors didn't know what to expect of the new rules.

"This has hurt any opportunities for investment in the CNMI, simply because investors have no idea of what the regulations are going to be," he said Monday. "That's what we've been dealing with the last year-and-a-half to two years. No one is coming to the CNMI until this is settled."

The upside to the federal presence on the islands is that it makes services more accessible to CNMI residents.

"Now that (U.S. immigration) is here, it is within walking distance to make an appointment and go to see them (to get an) on-the-spot opinion on any ambiguity that we are facing here today," Sablan said.

Furthermore, businesses won't be able to hire foreign workers under a CW-1 visa after the transitional period, he said. The new classifications for foreign workers won't include a CW category.

"If a person does not fit a certain visa requirement, then they'll have to leave sooner or later," he said. "What immigration is telling us is that they will issue a blanket CW-1 if you're wanted for the next two years, and within that next two-year period, they will try to fit in these various jobs into the established U.S. immigration categories," Sablan said.

But according to Arenovski, a federal judge has put a halt on federal worker regulations so that even CW visas currently don't exist, although they were supposed to as of Nov. 28. Foreign worker regulations are still "up in the air," he said.

"That's going to cause a bit of a concern in the interim period right now. We're not allowed to bring anyone into the NMI from a worker standpoint unless they fit into a federal category," Arenvoski said.

Sablan said the industries that would be most affected are hoteliers and restaurants.

"The benefit to this is that this will enable us to look at the local manpower needs and get those people trained to fit into the various vacuums that will be left by the various alien workers," Sablan added.

Another benefit is the visa waiver program that has been implemented in the CNMI as part of the federalization.

In late October, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano allowed the CNMI, on a parole basis, to waive visa requirements for Russians and Chinese tourists -- two markets that generate about 20 percent of the region's tourist revenue, according to Arenovski.

He said he expects other benefits of the federalization will surface over time.

"We deal with storms and typhoons and earthquakes, we'll be able to deal with this as well," he said.

Economic excitement fizzles

Economic excitement fizzles

Friday, 04 December 2009 04:18
by Therese Hart | Variety News Staff

DEIS says there’s not much to expect from military buildup



MANY local business leaders and government of Guam officials continue to believe the looming military buildup will bring about an economic bonanza for the local economy and government coffers.

However, a careful reading of the recently released draft environmental impact study done by the military as a critical guiding document for the military development planned for Guam makes it clear that is not true.

The military study determined money that will actually enter the local economy will have very little effect as Guam will experience low capture rates.

Capture rate is the term describing the portion of new construction or operational expenditures expected to circulate, or be captured, within the local economy.

Citing a large percentage of foreign workers and their high rate of remittances, limited military spending at off-base enterprises and an increasing trade deficit, the impact report dryly spins technical data detailing how Guam is expected to lose out on the economic boon of the military buildup as it has been hyped thus far.

Easy come, easy go

During the construction phase of the impending buildup, a considerable portion of labor is expected to come from off-island, mostly from the Philippines. Notably, H2 workers tend to spend considerably less of their earned income in the Guam economy, instead remitting large sums off-island to their place of origin, to support families who in turn take that money and circulate it in their economies.

Guam residents working on military-related projects are naturally expected to spend a greater deal at local businesses than foreign workers.

But, the exploding population of Marines and Army personnel, their dependents, workers to support the realignment and other projects, who are housed on-base are likely going to do much of their spending with on-base businesses.

Establishments operating on-base are mostly headquartered off-island and that is where those hefty profits margins will go.


Not made on Guam


Almost all of the goods needed to construct or operate military bases would not be produced on Guam. The island would capture much lesser value than often anticipated from goods shipped from off-island and onto military bases.

Geographic isolation and low-production capacities have contributed to a near-total reliance on valuable imports. In 2008, the assessment of Guam’s imports stood at $225 million, more than twice the export value of $105 million. The island’s trade deficit was $120 million at the end of that year.

Furthermore, Guam exports do not provide a strong trade position for the territory as the most prominent exports in 2008 were vehicles. That accounted for nearly 50 percent of total exports.

But cars are not manufactured and built on Guam representing an export with zero production value for the island.

Not cashing in

The capture rate during the initial period of construction is determined by how much firms will expend for required goods and services and construction workers for their household needs. Neither of these sources is expected to contribute as much to the Guam economy, the impact report states, as it might in other regions.

The Guam Contractors Association anticipates a meager 17.5 percent of total construction expenditures will actually be spent on Guam goods and services, including 5.5 percent on equipment and supplies from Guam companies; 5 percent on Guam-supplied materials (mostly rock products); and 1.5 percent on Guam architectural and engineering services.

Catch up rate

Once the military buildup is complete and encampments and installations are operational, another supposed economic stimulus often touted by local and federal officials begins to look a lot weaker as well.

The amount of money spent locally by military bases to staff and operate the larger military enterprises on Guam determines the capture rate of monies during the operation phase of the buildup.

In general, Guam companies do not capture a large portion of military contracts of the largest, most lucrative contracts to date all going to off-island companies even when credible local options have tried to avail themselves of the opportunities with the realignment.

In 2008, only 42 percent of contracts for military related work on Guam went to Guam companies.

Other issues that complicate the retention of any considerable economic long-lasting benefit to the island include military housing provided by the government rather than through the private sector and local shippers and wholesalers that find it difficult to capture meaningful margins with products sold on-base.

Even then, the majority of the value is never realized when imported goods are sold on-base and profits not reinvested locally.

Guam exempt from H-2B cap

Guam exempt from H-2B cap

By Amritha Alladi • Pacific Daily News • December 4, 2009

Guam is now exempt from the national annual cap on the hiring of foreign workers under H-2B visas, the Guam Department of Labor announced yesterday.

However, local program filing requirements and procedures remain the same, the release stated.

Guam's exemption from the visa limit was allowed under the law that phased in U.S. immigration law in the Northern Marianas. The federal law went into effect on Nov. 28.

The same law allows Guam employers to apply -- with the Guam Department of Labor -- for a Temporary Labor Certification and authorization to import H-2B workers, said Greg Massey, Guam Labor's Alien Labor Processing and Certification Division administrator. The approval comes from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Massey said the exemption from the national cap is a "good thing," because it gives employers on Guam the opportunity to file applications on a needs basis rather than trying to "jump through a window to get in the cap," he said.

Prior to Guam's exemption, applications had to be filed prior to the October and April cap openings to be considered for approval by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Massey said that each year about 66,000 foreign workers enter the country each year under the H-2B visas.

The new legislation was enacted to give employers the ability to temporarily meet increased manpower needs that will come as Guam ramps up for the military buildup, the release stated.

But Massey said the program's procedures and requirements have not changed.

"Does that mean people can, wholesale, just bring (H-2B workers) in? No. We still regulate how many they're allowed to bring in, and it's based on what that project amounts are and some other factors," Massey said.

There are some safeguards in place to ensure that employers hire local workers first, he said.

Before employers file an application, they have to put out an advertisement and make efforts to recruit locally before applying to the department to hire foreign labor, he said.

Once they've filed an application with the department, there are a series of advertisements they have to place, and the department places the job in the Guam online job bank. After a 30-day period, if there are still openings left, the department issues a labor certification allowing the employer to bring in the H-2B workers to fill in the remaining positions, Massey said.

"All the protections are still in place," Massey said. "It's the same protections that have been in place for the last 15 to 20 years."

CNMI anger over US immigration takeover

CNMI anger over US immigration takeover

Last Updated: Wed, 2 Dec 2009 15:16:00 +1100

Many businesses on the Northern Mariana Islands remain angry at the lack of consultation by Washington on the federalization of the Pacific territory's immigration system.

The federal government took over the CNMI's immigration system on Saturday.

The only real evidence of the takeover is at the airport, where state immigration agents have replaced locals.

However, the business community and Governor Benigno Fitial remain concerned about the impact on the employment of foreign workers, foreign investment and tourism.

And Jim Arenovski, the president of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, says there should have been more consultation.

"Quite frankly we were given the final regulations for our foreign workers, which is probably the most sensitive topic that we chat about, 30 days before implementation," he said.

"And so the last day for comments was actually the 26th or the 27th of November, so how do you make comments on a set of regulations that were supposed to be implemented immediately?"

Judge stops DHS from implementing interim final rule

Judge stops DHS from implementing interim final rule

Friday, November 27, 2009

Agency told to come up with regs for alien workers to travel in, out of NMI
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter

The federal government's interim final rule on the CNMI transitional worker program will not go into effect tomorrow, Saturday, after the judge handling the CNMI government's lawsuit against federalization issued a preliminary injunction yesterday to prevent the rule from going into effect pending the outcome of the lawsuit.

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Paul L. Friedman agreed with the CNMI government that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had no reasonable basis for publishing the interim rule without giving the CNMI and other stakeholders time to comment, as required under the Administrative Procedures Act.

To help alien workers leave and re-enter the CNMI or for employers to hire needed off-island workers, Friedman suggested that DHS promulgate a narrowly focused and temporary emergency regulation that addresses these issues.

Labor special counsel Deanne Siemer said this is virtually a command for DHS to come up with an emergency regulation that would allow aliens in the CNMI to travel in and out.

Also, since no U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' regulations on CW status or business permits will come into effect tomorrow, the CNMI will continue to operate under its existing labor system except for entry and exit, Siemer said.

The interim rule defines the types of businesses that will be eligible to receive permits for alien workers. It sets a numerical limit on the number of permits that will be granted between Nov. 28, 2009 and Sept. 30, 2010. It also outlines requirements that must be met by employers seeking to obtain a permit.

The CNMI, through the Block and Jenner law firm, asked the court to bar the implementation of the regulations, citing that DHS violated the APA in promulgating them. The CNMI argued that DHS wrongfully dispensed with the notice-and-comment procedures required by the law.

The federal government countered that DHS' action does not violate the APA because it had “good cause” to dispense with the requirement.

In granting the CNMI's motion, Friedman said DHS first provided public notice of the rule when it published the rule in the Federal Register on Oct. 27, 2009.

“Since the interim rule was already in its final form on that date, it is undisputed that DHS failed to provide the notice and opportunity for comment typically required by the APA,” Friedman said.

The judge concluded that upon consideration of the totality of the circumstances surrounding the issue, the CNMI is likely to succeed on its claim that DHS did not have “good cause” to dispense with the notice-and-comment procedures and thus violated the APA.

The federal government suggested that providing notice and an opportunity to comment prior to promulgating the rule was impracticable because Congress, in passing the Consolidated Natural Resources Act (federalization law), imposed several burdensome administrative duties on DHS and only allowed the agency 18 months in which to fulfill them.

Friedman found this argument unpersuasive. He said the interim rule will dramatically alter the CNMI's current system for admitting guest workers, who constitute two-thirds of the CNMI's private workforce.

In short, the judge said, the rule will enact far-reaching changes that likely will have significant effects on the CNMI labor market, and it will do so despite the fact that it has not “been tested via exposure to diverse public comment.”

Friedman found convincing the CNMI's arguments that residents and government have meaningful concerns about the rule.

Friedman cited that the criteria established by the rule for issuance of permits for new guest workers to employers may be inadequate.

As written, the judge pointed out, the rule requires employers seeking permits to “consider all available U.S. workers for the position” that is to be filled by a new guest worker, but does not require those employers to consider guest workers already present in the Commonwealth for the position.

To ensure that employers have “considered available U.S. workers,” the rule only asks that employers attest that they have done so, Friedman said.

“The CNMI posits that such attestations may 'be prone to fraud and leave qualified U.S. citizens unemployed,' a matter it would have raised and documented if it had been given the opportunity to comment,” he said.

The judge added that if he ultimately decides the merits of the CNMI's APA claim in the Commonwealth's favor, the damage done by DHS' violation of the APA cannot be fully cured by later remedial action.

He noted that once the program structured by the rule has begun operation as scheduled on Nov. 28, 2009, DHS is far less likely to be receptive to comments.

“If the interim permit rule is not enjoined prior to its effective date, the CNMI will never have an equivalent opportunity to influence the rule's contents,” Friedman said.

The federal government has provided no evidence to show how many workers and businesses will be affected by a temporary delay in the implementation of the rule, and the court is aware of none.

Friedman said it is unclear that foreign workers otherwise eligible under the Immigration and Nationality Act will be able to leave the CNMI and re-enter it within the first several weeks after Nov. 28, 2009, even if the rule is in place.

“Similarly, while the interim permit rule creates a mechanism whereby a CNMI employer may arrange to hire foreign workers from outside the Commonwealth, it is difficult to know whether employers will have much need for that mechanism in the weeks immediately following Nov. 28, 2009.”

Friedman said the emergency rules to address the problem of foreign workers seeking to leave and return to the CNMI or employers in need of workers from outside the CNMI may be promulgated without notice and comment, since they fall within the APA's “good cause” exception.

“It is unfortunate that DHS may have to issue such ad hoc emergency rules. The court emphasizes, however, that this is a problem of the agency's own making,” he said.

Had DHS released the rule earlier in the year and provided the public with notice and an opportunity for comment, the current problem would never have arisen, he said.

“DHS should not now expect to excuse its violation of the APA by pointing to the problems created by its own delay,” Friedman said.

By failing to meet even the minimum standards set by the APA, DHS has also failed to comply fully with Congress' intent to secure the meaningful involvement of the Commonwealth in the transformation of the CNMI's immigration law, he said.

Friedman said the transitional work permitting program “is of great importance to the CNMI, since it has the potential to transform the nature of the Commonwealth's workforce.”

“That program also involves an area-the regulation of immigration into the CNMI-about which the Commonwealth has significant expertise, having knowledge of the needs of its own economy and having operated its own immigration program for decades,” he said.

The judge said the public interest will be best served if the rule is temporarily stopped so that it may be revised as necessary by DHS upon receipt of comments and advice from the CNMI and other parties.

Fitial, workers welcome ruling

Fitial, workers welcome ruling

Friday, November 27, 2009

Federal takeover excludes labor-for now
By Haidee V. Eugenio
Reporter

The federal government will only be able to implement border control at the stroke of midnight on Nov. 28, but not the existing CNMI labor program, at least for now.

This is because of a federal judge's order dated Nov. 25 preventing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from implementing in its current form the interim final rule on the CNMI transitional worker program, which takes effect on Saturday.

Gov. Benigno R. Fitial and the United Workers Movement-NMI separately welcomed yesterday U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Paul L. Friedman's ruling granting the CNMI government's motion for a preliminary injunction preventing DHS from implementing its CNMI transitional worker (CW) classification rule.

“I am very pleased with this favorable decision by Judge Friedman. The interim final rule fails to comply with Public Law 110-229 and will be very damaging to the Commonwealth if it goes into effect in its present form,” Fitial said in a statement yesterday.

Fitial, who turns 64 today, sued the federal government over federalization.

He urged DHS to consider the over 100 comments that have so far been filed on its transitional worker program rule.

In an interview with Saipan Tribune on Wednesday, Fitial reiterated that a federal takeover of local labor is “unnecessary.”

“We don't have any problem having the federal government take over immigration. Let them control our border because we don't have the capabilities to do that, but we have a strong enforcement mechanism to control our labor. Why do they have to remove labor from us? It doesn't make sense and we're the only one. All the other [U.S.] territories, they control their own labor,” he said.

'Green card'

Ronnie Doca and Rabby Syed, leaders of the workers group, hope that latest court ruling will give DHS more time to consider their concerns.

Workers groups in the CNMI want the federal government to grant “green cards” or legal permanent resident status to certain classes of nonresidents in the CNMI, including long-term foreign workers.

“We are happy with the ruling so DHS will have more time to look into our concerns. Among the most important things we are asking [for] is a better immigration for long-time nonresident workers, and a blanket authority for those with valid CNMI permits to re-enter the CNMI after a vacation or emergency exit,” said Doca, board chairman of the group, which comprises thousands of foreign workers in the CNMI.

Worker groups have started a signature campaign asking President Obama and the U.S. Congress to grant “green cards” to certain foreigners in the CNMI, ahead of the May 10, 2010, deadline for Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to recommend to Congress whether a grant of permanent immigration status to nonresidents in the CNMI is necessary.

'Exit, entry'

DHS' interim final rule, which is supposed to take effect Saturday, prohibits foreign workers from re-entering the islands using only their valid CNMI work and entry permit.

Friedman said DHS could “promulgate a narrowly focused and temporary emergency regulation” that addresses only the “exit and entry” problems presented in the department's interim final rule.

Regulations by DHS' U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services would have required foreign workers to secure a CW-1 visa from a U.S. embassy for them to re-enter the CNMI, but only after they first secure a CNMI-only transitional worker status, which may take up to 60 days to acquire.

This means foreign workers can exit but not re-enter the CNMI up to at least early 2010, in order to secure a CW status and a CW-1 visa to comply with the DHS interim final rule.

DHS, however, repeatedly said that nonresident workers can exit the CNMI any time during the transition period from Nov. 28, 2009 to Dec. 31, 2014, but they cannot re-enter the islands without a CW-1 visa obtained from a U.S. embassy.

There is also a possibility that an applicant may be denied a CW-1 visa and therefore won't be able to re-enter the CNMI and continue working on the islands despite possessing a valid CNMI work and entry permit.

The Form I-29CW is a modified form of the Form I-29, but it is specifically used for the Commonwealth-only Transitional Worker, or CW, program.

A “transitional worker” under P.L. 110-229 is defined as an alien worker who is currently ineligible for another classification under the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Act and who performs services or labor for an employer in the CNMI.

Most of the foreign workers in the CNMI are from the Philippines and China, while others are from Korea, Thailand and Bangladesh.

Florida-based human rights activist and former Rota teacher Wendy Doromal expressed hope that the comments so far submitted on the DHS interim final rule “should now be considered by DHS.”

Many relate to travel restrictions and the requirement for a visa for a foreign worker to return to the CNMI after traveling for personal or medical reasons.

Friedman agreed with the CNMI that DHS had no reasonable basis for publishing the interim final rule without complying with the notice and comment provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act.

The judge also made clear that he was denying any possible effort by the U.S. Department of Justice representing DHS to obtain a stay of his order pending appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C.

Border control

The DHS transitional worker rule is supposed to take effect Saturday, when DHS' U.S. Customs and Border Protection takes over border control.

Edward H. Low, public affairs liaison at CBP's San Francisco office, earlier said that between 40 and 50 CBP officers will be on Saipan to take over immigration control at the Saipan International Airport at the stroke of midnight on Nov. 28.

But as of press time yesterday, Low said he's still checking to see what, if any, impact the court ruling will have on CBP operations.

Among other things, the federal takeover of local immigration means U.S. visas will be required of foreigners to enter the CNMI, just like Guam, Hawaii, and the rest of the United States, except for nationals of countries that are included in visa waiver programs.

The CNMI is the last U.S. territory that controls its own borders.

Fingerprinting and eye scan will also become main fixtures at the airport, just like anywhere in the U.S.

P.L. 110-229 or the Consolidated Natural Resources Act, signed by President George Bush in May 2008, not only applies federal immigration control in the CNMI but also gave the CNMI its first non-voting delegate to the U.S. Congress.

As a result of the federalization law, the CNMI held its first delegate election in November 2008, won by Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan, a former executive director of the Commonwealth Election Commission.

'Federalization law is legal'

'Federalization law is legal'

Friday, November 27, 2009

NMI arguments 'unpersuasive, plain wrong'
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Paul L. Friedman has upheld the constitutionality of the law that applies federal immigration laws to the CNMI.

In explaining his order dismissing counts 1 and 2 of the CNMI government's amended lawsuit against federalization, Friedman described the Commonwealth's arguments “unpersuasive, unavailing, and just plain wrong.”

Friedman said that Congress was authorized to enact the Consolidated Natural Resources Act by the plain and unambiguous terms of Section 503 of the Covenant. CNRA, the federalization law, is also known as Public Law 110-229.

The judge also ruled that the challenged provisions of the CNRA comply with the mutual consent provision of Section 105 and the “self-government” guarantee of Section 103 of the Covenant.

“No doubt the CNMI would prefer that federal legislation never affect any matters of local concern, no matter how inextricably intertwined they may be with federal affairs. But it cannot rely on the Covenant to ensure that result,” said Friedman in a 39-page opinion that explained his Tuesday order dismissing two of the CNMI government's three-count lawsuit.

The CNMI, through the Jenner and Block law firm, had asked the court to prevent the federal government from acting in violation of the Covenant and urged the court to issue a permanent ban against the implementation of the federalization law in the Commonwealth.

In Count 1, the CNMI claimed that federalization is in violation of the Covenant in that it infringes on the right of the CNMI to self-government and abrogates that right without the CNMI's consent.

The CNMI argued, among other things, that the federalization of immigration and foreign worker-related labor matters in the CNMI violates sections of the Covenant which call for local control over local matters and require mutual consent for any changes to the Covenant.

The CNMI insists that Congress acted in excess of its authority in passing some provisions of the CNRA, and that those provisions must be stopped.

Friedman disagreed. He concluded that under the express and unambiguous language of Section 503 of the Covenant, Congress was free after Nov. 3, 1986, to apply immigration and naturalization laws of the U.S. to the CNMI.

“As a result, the CNRA is a legitimate exercise of federal congressional authority so long as its challenged provisions qualify as being among 'the immigration and naturalization laws of the United States.'”

Friedman said so long as the CNRA qualifies as an “immigration and naturalization law,” it does not infringe upon the “internal affairs” of the CNMI within the meaning of Section 103.

He said the CNMI's argument that the CNRA cannot be viewed as an “immigration law” is unpersuasive.

The judge said the CNMI is just plain wrong when it asserts that nothing in federal immigration and naturalization law permits an “employer-by-employer, worker-by-worker local labor permitting scheme.”

“The fact that the application of federal immigration laws to the CNMI through the CNRA may have a dramatic impact upon the CNMI's labor force does not convert an immigration law into a labor law,” he said.

Friedman said even if the court were to agree with the CNMI that the CNRA is not an immigration and naturalization law that Congress is specifically authorized by the Covenant to enact, the court will still find the CNRA valid under the Covenant.

The CNMI had argued that the provisions of the CNRA dealing with foreign workers already in the CNMI “have nothing whatever to do with border security” but are internal labor matters.

Friedman rejected this argument, saying this appears to be based on the assumption that “border security” is achieved only at the border and nowhere else.

“That assumption makes little sense here. Thousands of individuals who would have been ineligible to enter the CNMI under federal immigration law already reside in the CNMI,” he said.

Obviously, Friedman said, the U.S. could not simply ignore these individuals and at the same time regard the CNMI's borders as “secure,” because one of the principal ways the U.S. secures its borders is by requiring compliance with its immigration laws.

He said the CNMI wishes to characterize the regulation of foreign workers already admitted to the CNMI as a local matter because the CNMI's economy is dependent on the labor of foreign workers.

“In addition to being circular, that argument fails to recognize that the presence of thousands of foreign workers in the CNMI, few of whom would qualify to enter the CNMI under federal immigration laws, raises legitimate foreign policy and security concerns-concerns solely within the province of the federal government,” Friedman said.

DHS interim rule deficient for many reasons-Willens

DHS interim rule deficient for many reasons-Willens

Friday, November 20, 2009
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security should not implement the interim rule on the CNMI-Transitional Worker Classification on Nov. 28, 2009, as it is deficient for many reasons, according to Gov. Benigno R. Fitial's special legal counsel, Howard P. Willens.

In the CNMI's comments on the interim rule, Willens said the rule fails to implement the statutory requirement that the DHS Secretary establish and enforce a transitional work permit system in the CNMI that provides for allocation and a reduction in the number of foreign workers to zero by Dec. 31, 2014.

Willens said DHS failed to conduct an economic impact analysis of the proposed regulations, as required by Executive Order 12866 and the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980.

He added that the rule fails to implement the statutory goals of minimizing harm to the CNMI, protecting and increasing job opportunities for U.S. citizens; and fostering the expansion of tourism and economic development.

“We believe that DHS has an obligation under the Administrative Procedure Act to review all the comments submitted in this rule-making proceeding and amend its proposed regulations so that they comply with the requirements of Public Law 110-229 (federalization law) and will not cause the serious injury to the Commonwealth people and economy that will otherwise result,” he said.

Willens said the rule describes no system for how the permits are to be divided among employers.

“In view of the law's mandated reduction in the number of permits to zero within five years, there can be no question but that DHS will be required to confront the need to allocate permits among CNMI employers whose collective demand for foreign workers is greater than the available number of permits during the next year,” he said.

The proposed regulations, he noted, do not even identify the criteria that might be used in making critical distinctions among employers competing for foreign workers.

Second, Willens said, the proposed rules do not identify any procedure for reducing the number of the permits to zero by the end of the transition period.

Based on data supplied by the Commonwealth in August 2008, Willens said, the rule indicates that 19,083 foreign workers are in the CNMI and concludes that about 14,543 of these workers (13,543 in-status and 1,000 out-of-status) “will be granted CW status in 2009.”

“With these figures at hand, DHS certainly had sufficient data to consider the alternative means of reducing the number of foreign workers during the transition period as required by the law,” he said.

The counsel said DHS' failure to comply with the law imposes additional burdens and uncertainty on CNMI citizens.

He said the CNMI economy is composed almost entirely of small businesses, many with less than five employees and only a handful with more than 50 employees.

“Without some clear indication of DHS' intentions with respect to the allocation and reduction of the available permits for foreign workers, all participants in the economy suffer,” Willens said.

He said the proposed rule will also hurt the Commonwealth's “very successful efforts” to stop human trafficking under its 2007 labor reform law.

“The federal rule lacks safeguards to ensure that women coming to the Commonwealth possess the necessary skills in their intended occupation; it has no procedures for checking credentials or an orientation at the airport before entry; and provides no available employment history records that could flag likely abuses and previous infractions by employers before a permit is granted,” he said.

Petition for 'green cards' begins

Petition for 'green cards' begins

Ahead of federal decision on immigration status of guest workers

Monday, November 16, 2009
By Haidee V. Eugenio

A petition seeking “green cards” or lawful permanent resident status for foreign workers and others with relatives who are U.S. or Freely Associated States citizens has started circulating ahead of the May 10, 2010, deadline for Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to recommend to Congress whether a grant of permanent immigration status to nonresidents in the CNMI is necessary.

The Coalition of United Workers-NMI started circulating the petition on Nov. 9 but temporarily halted it to prioritize the issue of securing umbrella permits for “overstayers,” its president, Rene Reyes, said yesterday.

Reyes said they will resume the signature drive later this week.

Florida-based human rights activist and former Rota teacher Wendy Doromal started the online petition on Saturday, and expects to gather at least 5,000 signatures by January 2010.

“This is our last major push before the May 10, 2010, recommendation from the secretary of Interior to Congress regarding granting United States citizenship or some other permanent legal status to the nonresidents,” Doromal told Saipan Tribune when asked for comment.

The petition is addressed to President Obama, members of the U.S. Congress, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

As of 4pm Sunday, the online petition has gathered 69 signatures.

Ronnie Doca, board chairman of the United Workers Movement-NMI, said yesterday they will begin the signature drive on Tuesday, 6pm, at the Fiesta Pilipino by Juvy restaurant across the road from Saipan Grand Hotel in Susupe.

Doromal and the two organizations of foreign workers in the CNMI are using the same petition form.

CNRA requirement

The federal government will take over CNMI immigration on Nov. 28 pursuant to Public Law 110-229 or the Consolidated Natural Resources Act, signed by President George W. Bush on May 8, 2008.

The CNRA requires the Interior secretary, in consultation with the Homeland Security secretary and the governor of the CNMI, to recommend to the U.S. Congress, as the secretary deems appropriate, a permanent immigration status to guest workers legally residing in the CNMI, by May 10, 2010.

Also included in the Interior's report are the numbers of aliens residing in the CNMI, a description of their legal status under federal law, the number of years each alien has been residing in the CNMI, and the current and future requirements of the local economy for an alien workforce.

Improved status

Over the last three years, Doromal has hand-delivered petitions and letters to the U.S. Congress and offices in Washington, D.C., seeking improved status for many in the CNMI.

The quest for improved immigration status, as the petition reads, is for foreign contract workers, CNMI permanent residents and their nonresident spouses, FAS citizens and their nonresident spouses and family members, nonresidents who are married to U.S. citizens, widows and widowers of U.S. citizens, U.S. citizen children of nonresidents, foreign-born children of U.S. citizens and nonresidents, and parents of disabled and special needs U.S. citizen children.

The FAS includes Palau, the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia (Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae).

Doromal said she and her daughter Nani will personally deliver written letters and the written petition that is circulating in the CNMI to Congress and offices in Washington, D.C. at the end of January after Congress is back in session.

“I will submit the online petition when we reach or surpass our goal,” she added.

Doromal said she has notified friends at non-profit organizations that support human rights, social justice, and immigration reform to appeal for nationwide support.

“Some of my friends are writing stories to post on major progressive Web sites, and we are creating a Facebook page. I am also reaching out to the media to appeal for support,” she added.

Pathway to US citizenship

Doromal said some people mistakenly assume that it is only the nonresidents who support status for the residents of the CNMI.

“This is not true. Millions of Americans believe that all guest worker programs should provide a pathway to citizenship. I put the petition online so that people from across the United States can sign it. The U.S. officials that the petition seeks to influence will see that the support comes not just from the people in the CNMI, but from coast to coast across our nation. The petition has only been up for about five hours and we have people signing from not just the CNMI, but from Florida, Virginia, Georgia, New York, Missouri, Tennessee, South Carolina, Texas, California, Oregon, and Connecticut,” she said.

The online petition is posted on Doromal's blog, “Unheard No More,” at http://unheardnomore.blogspot.com.

“We support the nonresidents of the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in their quest for green cards and a pathway to citizenship as expressed in this petition. We appeal to you to take immediate action to secure their standing and to keep their families together,” the petition's introductory paragraph reads.

The federalization law establishes a goal of phasing out the CNMI guest worker program and requires a report from the Department of the Interior as to the number of guest workers in the CNMI, and recommendations for status, if any.

“There is no assurance that there will be recommendations for status, nor any assurance that status would be granted through subsequent legislation even if such recommendations were made. We appeal to you today to support the introduction of legislation that would grant green cards and a pathway to citizenship to long-term foreign workers and nonresidents,” the petitioners say.

Majority of foreign workers-now only at a little over 10,000-have been in the CNMI for more

“Many of us have children who serve in the U.S. Armed Forces. We are valuable workers and law-abiding, contributing members of our island home. We call upon you to provide protection and equal rights to those of us who have dedicated our lives to building and developing this great U.S. commonwealth,” the petition reads.

In 2000, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed legislation that would have provided these segments of the CNMI population with immigration status.

However, a provision for U.S. status did not make it into the final version of the bill that would become part of Public Law 110-229 or the CNRA.

“While we understand that permanent status and a pathway to citizenship for us in the CNMI may be included in future national comprehensive immigration reform legislation, we plead with you not to wait,” it adds.

The petition cited a precedent for such a relief. In the 1980s, the Virgin Islands and the U.S. Congress realized that special legislation was needed to prevent the separation of guest workers from their U.S. citizen families. Congress passed a law allowing guest workers in the Virgin Islands to adjust to permanent residency status.

“Congress should pass a similar law tailored to the unique needs of the CNMI,” the petitioners say.

Doromal said foreigners invited to U.S. shores to work and build the economy “should be regarded as future citizens rather than replaceable commodities.”

“Those who support a just and democratic guest worker program in the CNMI and in the mainland, support opportunities where foreign workers and immigrants have control over their destiny and the destiny of their families. They embrace the words of President Barack Obama: 'In America, no dream is beyond your grasp if you reach for it, and fight for it, and work for it,'” she added.