Feds tighten NMI border security
Thursday, 03 December 2009 00:00 By Gemma Q. Casas - Reporter
THE U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the largest investigative agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, is tightening the border security of the Northern Marianas, particularly on Saipan, now that federal immigration law applies here.
ICE said immigration document and benefit fraud poses a serious threat to national security and public safety because they create vulnerabilities that may enable criminals and even terrorists to enter the U.S.
Wayne Wills, special agent-in-charge of ICE Office of Investigations, Honolulu, Hawaii, said uniformed ICE agents will be roaming Garapan, the center of business activities on Saipan.
His office is responsible for pursuing criminal offenses such as human smuggling and human trafficking, money laundering, narcotics, weapons trafficking, financial crimes, commercial fraud, child exploitation and violations related to intellectual property rights.
Wills said their focus here are human smuggling and human trafficking.
“[Our] agents will be very visible,” Wills said in a press conference on Tuesday at their new office in Puerto Rico.
He said it would be best for foreign nationals to posses their CNMI immigration documents.
“My suggestion would be to carry whatever proper immigration documents that show they are legally admitted to the CNMI,” he added.
Securing the islands’ maritime area with the help of the U.S. Coast Guard is also another focus of his office.
Wills said ICE’s primary mission is to enforce the law. It may be sometimes uncomfortable to the community but the law must be enforced, he added.
Showing posts with label Federal Immigration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Federal Immigration. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Parole status offered to foreign dependents of FAS citizens, others
Parole status offered to foreign dependents of FAS citizens, others
Wednesday, 02 December 2009 00:00 By Gemma Q. Casas - Reporter
THE U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services says it will grant a two-year parole status on a case-by-case basis to eligible foreign nationals from certain impacted groups in the CNMI, like the foreign spouses and immediate relatives of citizens of the Freely Associated States.
This will allow them to stay on the islands even as the U.S. immigration law is applied here.
This parole status will also be offered to CNMI permanent residents and their immediate relatives and the spouses and children of deceased CNMI permanent residents.
The FAS are the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia — Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, Yap — and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
Citizens of these independent nations can freely travel, work and study anywhere in the U.S. and its territories like the CNMI.
But authorities said the law that extended U.S. immigration jurisdiction to the CNMI, U.S. Public Law 110-229 or the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008, does not provide any U.S. immigration status to their foreign dependents living in the CNMI.
David Gulick, district director of the USCIS, said this parole status is not mandatory and is being offered for humanitarian reasons to minimize potential adverse economic impact on the CNMI and support future business growth here.
“We’re not going to mandate that they take advantage of it but we will make it available for them…. This is unique to the CNMI. Let’s say, a Marshallese has a spouse from Mexico [then the parole status is recommended],” he said.
Alexander Y. Hartman, immigration policy advisor of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Policy Development, said their department is offering the parole status to these foreign nationals in good faith and for humanitarian reasons.
“It is a compassionate decision made by DHS recognizing the unique situation of the islands,” he said.
The parole status is valid for two years and will be renewable subject to certain conditions.
The USCIS has the discretion to terminate the parole status if the parolee committed a crime in the CNMI or is experiencing a personal change in circumstances affecting eligibility.
Under this parole policy, the USCIS defined an immediate relative as a legally recognized spouse; a child under the age of 21 whether natural or adopted before the age of 18; a stepchild if the marriage that established that relationship took place before the child’s 18th birthday; or a surviving spouse or child of a CNMI permanent resident.
Gulick said there is no filing fee to obtain parole in the CNMI under this program.
However, fees will be charged if they leave the islands and get the appropriate documents to travel.
Applicants for the parole status are advised to first make an appointment online to visit the USCIS Application Support Center on Saipan.
Wednesday, 02 December 2009 00:00 By Gemma Q. Casas - Reporter
THE U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services says it will grant a two-year parole status on a case-by-case basis to eligible foreign nationals from certain impacted groups in the CNMI, like the foreign spouses and immediate relatives of citizens of the Freely Associated States.
This will allow them to stay on the islands even as the U.S. immigration law is applied here.
This parole status will also be offered to CNMI permanent residents and their immediate relatives and the spouses and children of deceased CNMI permanent residents.
The FAS are the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia — Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, Yap — and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
Citizens of these independent nations can freely travel, work and study anywhere in the U.S. and its territories like the CNMI.
But authorities said the law that extended U.S. immigration jurisdiction to the CNMI, U.S. Public Law 110-229 or the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008, does not provide any U.S. immigration status to their foreign dependents living in the CNMI.
David Gulick, district director of the USCIS, said this parole status is not mandatory and is being offered for humanitarian reasons to minimize potential adverse economic impact on the CNMI and support future business growth here.
“We’re not going to mandate that they take advantage of it but we will make it available for them…. This is unique to the CNMI. Let’s say, a Marshallese has a spouse from Mexico [then the parole status is recommended],” he said.
Alexander Y. Hartman, immigration policy advisor of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Policy Development, said their department is offering the parole status to these foreign nationals in good faith and for humanitarian reasons.
“It is a compassionate decision made by DHS recognizing the unique situation of the islands,” he said.
The parole status is valid for two years and will be renewable subject to certain conditions.
The USCIS has the discretion to terminate the parole status if the parolee committed a crime in the CNMI or is experiencing a personal change in circumstances affecting eligibility.
Under this parole policy, the USCIS defined an immediate relative as a legally recognized spouse; a child under the age of 21 whether natural or adopted before the age of 18; a stepchild if the marriage that established that relationship took place before the child’s 18th birthday; or a surviving spouse or child of a CNMI permanent resident.
Gulick said there is no filing fee to obtain parole in the CNMI under this program.
However, fees will be charged if they leave the islands and get the appropriate documents to travel.
Applicants for the parole status are advised to first make an appointment online to visit the USCIS Application Support Center on Saipan.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
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.
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.
'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.
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.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Federal immigration officials arrive in NMI
Federal immigration officials arrive in NMI
Thursday, 26 November 2009 00:00 By Gemma Q. Casas - Reporter
AN official of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection says their office is ready to administer and operate the immigration system of the Northern Marianas on Nov. 28.
Edward Low, chief CBP officer, said some of the permanently assigned personnel for the Saipan international airport have arrived on island and more will come in the next few days.
Part of the contingent are armed CBP officers.
“CBP officers are armed. That is the function of their duty. That weapon is part of who they are,” said Low who arrived on Saipan on Friday. He is scheduled to leave on Dec. 4.
“We’re scheduled to take over immigration on Nov. 28. With any luck it would be relatively seamless,” he said in an interview on Monday.
According to its Web site, CBP is one of the most complex components of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security with a priority mission of keeping terrorists and their weapons out of the country.
It is also responsible for securing and facilitating trade and travel while enforcing hundreds of U.S. regulations, including immigration and drug laws.
Local customs, however, will remain under the jurisdiction of the local government.
Low said CBP will enforce the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Act by screening passengers entering all points of entries in the CNMI.
“As it stands now, when CBP takes over immigration on the 28th, anybody who wants to enter the CNMI must have a U.S. passport, a U.S. permanent card or green card, a U.S. visa or they have to be a member of the visa-waiver country or Chinese or Russian nationals who are seeking to visit the CNMI. But those two countries will be dealt with a little bit differently. But you know I can’t speak about anything else,” he said.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, another agency of DHS, deals with people who have already entered the nation and its territories. It is expected to bring in a contingent as part of the federalization law’s implementation.
The USCIS is in-charge of collecting biometrics and processing the Commonwealth Worker or CW-1 status that will be offered to foreign workers on the islands who are otherwise ineligible for other U.S. employment-based programs.
Thursday, 26 November 2009 00:00 By Gemma Q. Casas - Reporter
AN official of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection says their office is ready to administer and operate the immigration system of the Northern Marianas on Nov. 28.
Edward Low, chief CBP officer, said some of the permanently assigned personnel for the Saipan international airport have arrived on island and more will come in the next few days.
Part of the contingent are armed CBP officers.
“CBP officers are armed. That is the function of their duty. That weapon is part of who they are,” said Low who arrived on Saipan on Friday. He is scheduled to leave on Dec. 4.
“We’re scheduled to take over immigration on Nov. 28. With any luck it would be relatively seamless,” he said in an interview on Monday.
According to its Web site, CBP is one of the most complex components of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security with a priority mission of keeping terrorists and their weapons out of the country.
It is also responsible for securing and facilitating trade and travel while enforcing hundreds of U.S. regulations, including immigration and drug laws.
Local customs, however, will remain under the jurisdiction of the local government.
Low said CBP will enforce the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Act by screening passengers entering all points of entries in the CNMI.
“As it stands now, when CBP takes over immigration on the 28th, anybody who wants to enter the CNMI must have a U.S. passport, a U.S. permanent card or green card, a U.S. visa or they have to be a member of the visa-waiver country or Chinese or Russian nationals who are seeking to visit the CNMI. But those two countries will be dealt with a little bit differently. But you know I can’t speak about anything else,” he said.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, another agency of DHS, deals with people who have already entered the nation and its territories. It is expected to bring in a contingent as part of the federalization law’s implementation.
The USCIS is in-charge of collecting biometrics and processing the Commonwealth Worker or CW-1 status that will be offered to foreign workers on the islands who are otherwise ineligible for other U.S. employment-based programs.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Fitial: ‘I will never support federalization’
Fitial: ‘I will never support federalization’
Monday, 23 November 2009 00:00 By Gemma Q. Casas - Reporter
GOVERNOR Benigno R. Fitial hopes the federal judge handling the lawsuit he filed against the federalization law will rule in the CNMI’s favor.
Judge Paul Friedman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia is scheduled to hear oral arguments on Nov. 23, which is Tuesday local time.
But Rep. Tina Sablan described the lawsuit as “wasteful.”
“I am hopeful that Judge Friedman will soon dismiss the governor’s wasteful lawsuit against the federal government, and that the CNMI will finally begin to work cooperatively with the federal government to ensure a transition to federal immigration control that is as smooth as possible,” she said in an e-mail.
But the governor believes that federalization will be fatal for the local economy.
“I will never support federalization,” he said.
This month, his administration began issuing umbrella permits to thousands of guest workers.
The governor said this should protect the workers from being uprooted from the commonwealth once the U.S. takes over local immigration.
Monday, 23 November 2009 00:00 By Gemma Q. Casas - Reporter
GOVERNOR Benigno R. Fitial hopes the federal judge handling the lawsuit he filed against the federalization law will rule in the CNMI’s favor.
Judge Paul Friedman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia is scheduled to hear oral arguments on Nov. 23, which is Tuesday local time.
But Rep. Tina Sablan described the lawsuit as “wasteful.”
“I am hopeful that Judge Friedman will soon dismiss the governor’s wasteful lawsuit against the federal government, and that the CNMI will finally begin to work cooperatively with the federal government to ensure a transition to federal immigration control that is as smooth as possible,” she said in an e-mail.
But the governor believes that federalization will be fatal for the local economy.
“I will never support federalization,” he said.
This month, his administration began issuing umbrella permits to thousands of guest workers.
The governor said this should protect the workers from being uprooted from the commonwealth once the U.S. takes over local immigration.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Bordallo Backs Off: No Longer 'Pushing' China Visa Waivers For Guam
Bordallo Backs Off: No Longer 'Pushing' China Visa Waivers For Guam
Imminent Takeover Of CNMI's Immigration Dampens Territorial Resolve
Written by Jeff Marchesseault, Guam News Factor Staff Writer
Wednesday, 18 November 2009 10:55
GUAM - Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo appears to be backing away from a recent announcement that she would push for 45-day Guam visa waivers for visitors from China and Russia.
If she hasn't given up entirely, then she may be recalibrating her benchmarks. Until now, local leaders have harbored hope that tying Guam's visa-waiver dreams to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands' might make a difference.
But inasmuch as the CNMI's labor and immigration is about to be federalized (on November 28th) and the Department of Homeland Security has already temporarily granted Russia/China visa waiver allowances for the Commonwealth without allowing the same waivers in the Territory, it's no longer a front-burner issue for Guam.
A media release sent to Guam from Bordallo's Washington, D.C. office this morning says that she met with Homeland Security officials in Washington on the semantics of a new visa waiver program for the Northern Marianas and Guam, but the release makes no mention of her previously stated commitment to keep pushing for China and Russia visa waivers for Guam.
Last month Guam News Factor reported that Bordallo was pressing Homeland for answers on why only the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands was granted visa waivers for Russia and China by way of an interim rule. This temporary rule will, in effect, allow for the continuation of a policy of letting Russians and Chinese into the Commonwealth, even after federalization of the CNMI's labor and immigration this November 28th. Meanwhile, Guam was was denied the same visa waivers and only granted an additoinal waiver for Hong Kong visitors.
In an October 23rd news release, Bordallo stated, "In my letter to Secretary Napolitano, I asked that she continue to adhere to the Congressional intent of Public Law 110-229 and that Russia and China ultimately be extended to the full Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program once the final
rule is published."
The day before that comment, Bordallo stated, "I will continue to work with my colleagues and the Department of Homeland Security to ensure an expanded tourist market for Guam over the coming years. We will review the new DHS policy and we will work to ensure that the final rule that DHS will issue at a later time takes into account the Congressional intent in establishing a regional visa waiver program for Guam and the CNMI."
Today, Bordallo only goes as far as this: "I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress and DHS to ensure that this law is fully implemented according to the intent of Congress."
Bordallo, who chairs the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife, expressed her concerns more fervently in a May 19th release:
"I am concerned that implementation of Public Law 110-229 by the Department of Homeland Security will not fulfill its intended purpose of expanding tourism and economic development in Guam and the CNMI," Congresswoman Bordallo said today. "The Subcommittee will continue to work with the Department of Homeland Security, other federal agencies, and local leaders from Guam and the CNMI to ensure that the concerns raised at today's oversight are addressed adequately and in a timely manner."
If Bordallo is still committed to the process of establishing Russia or China visa waiver status for Guam, she may now be more or less resigned to a slower time-table for the allowance of such waivers in the Territory.
Unlike Guam, the CNMI has relied on the relatively hassle-free entry of Russian and China tourists for years, reportedly has an effective immigration tracking and control system, and has established a justifiable economic need for their continued free-flowing admission.
According to a September 10, 2008 joint resolution of the two-house CNMI Legislature:
-The Commonwealth has, over the past ten years, developed a highly effective arrival and departure control system that has provided for the carefully monitored arrival and departure of a significant number of Russian and Chinese tourists to and from the Commonwealth, as well as effective bonding requirements in the case of Chinese tourists.
-During that period of time, approximately 400,000 Russian and Chinese tourists have entered the Commonwealth and there have been zero incidents of Russian tourists overstaying and approximately one dozen incidents of Chinese tourists overstaying during those ten years, all of which were successfully resolved in a timely manner.
-During 2007, Russian tourists acconted for 1% of total visitor arrivals in the Commonwealth and 5% of total visitor expenditures and Chinese tourists accounted for 10% of total visitor arrivals and 13% of total visitor expenditures, which in aggregate represent over one-tenth of total visitor arrivals and nearly one-fifth of visitor expenditures in the Commonwealth.
-Those tourists have not represented a threat to the welfare, safety, or security of the United States or its territories.
Guam, on the other hand, does not have such a track record of visa-free entry for Russian and Chinese tourists, so its economic justification for allowing visa waivers for Russians and Chinese may not be as strong as the CNMI's, in the eyes of DHS.
John Dela Rosa contributed to this analysis.
Here is an official update from Bordallo's Washington Office:
Congresswoman Bordallo Meets With DHS On P.L. 110-229
November 17, 2009 – Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo today was briefed by officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on the implementation of Public Law 110-229 on the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and Guam. The meeting took place in Congresswoman Bordallo's office in the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill. The Congresswoman requested the briefing after Secretary Janet Napolitano of DHS announced her use of parole authority to allow visitors of China and Russia to continue visiting the CNMI.
"During the meeting, we discussed the implementation of the new joint Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver program, and how the parole authority will be exercised by Secretary Napolitano for Chinese and Russian visitors to the CNMI," Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo said today. "The DHS officials stated that the parole authority process will mirror the process currently in place for visitors arriving from countries under the current national visa waiver program. I remain confident that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will be ready to fully implement the federalization of immigration in the CNMI on November 28, 2009. In addition, the new Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program, which will allow visitors to visit for 45 days, will have a positive long term effect in the visitor industry. I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress and DHS to ensure that this law is fully implemented according to the intent of Congress."
Imminent Takeover Of CNMI's Immigration Dampens Territorial Resolve
Written by Jeff Marchesseault, Guam News Factor Staff Writer
Wednesday, 18 November 2009 10:55
GUAM - Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo appears to be backing away from a recent announcement that she would push for 45-day Guam visa waivers for visitors from China and Russia.
If she hasn't given up entirely, then she may be recalibrating her benchmarks. Until now, local leaders have harbored hope that tying Guam's visa-waiver dreams to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands' might make a difference.
But inasmuch as the CNMI's labor and immigration is about to be federalized (on November 28th) and the Department of Homeland Security has already temporarily granted Russia/China visa waiver allowances for the Commonwealth without allowing the same waivers in the Territory, it's no longer a front-burner issue for Guam.
A media release sent to Guam from Bordallo's Washington, D.C. office this morning says that she met with Homeland Security officials in Washington on the semantics of a new visa waiver program for the Northern Marianas and Guam, but the release makes no mention of her previously stated commitment to keep pushing for China and Russia visa waivers for Guam.
Last month Guam News Factor reported that Bordallo was pressing Homeland for answers on why only the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands was granted visa waivers for Russia and China by way of an interim rule. This temporary rule will, in effect, allow for the continuation of a policy of letting Russians and Chinese into the Commonwealth, even after federalization of the CNMI's labor and immigration this November 28th. Meanwhile, Guam was was denied the same visa waivers and only granted an additoinal waiver for Hong Kong visitors.
In an October 23rd news release, Bordallo stated, "In my letter to Secretary Napolitano, I asked that she continue to adhere to the Congressional intent of Public Law 110-229 and that Russia and China ultimately be extended to the full Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program once the final
rule is published."
The day before that comment, Bordallo stated, "I will continue to work with my colleagues and the Department of Homeland Security to ensure an expanded tourist market for Guam over the coming years. We will review the new DHS policy and we will work to ensure that the final rule that DHS will issue at a later time takes into account the Congressional intent in establishing a regional visa waiver program for Guam and the CNMI."
Today, Bordallo only goes as far as this: "I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress and DHS to ensure that this law is fully implemented according to the intent of Congress."
Bordallo, who chairs the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife, expressed her concerns more fervently in a May 19th release:
"I am concerned that implementation of Public Law 110-229 by the Department of Homeland Security will not fulfill its intended purpose of expanding tourism and economic development in Guam and the CNMI," Congresswoman Bordallo said today. "The Subcommittee will continue to work with the Department of Homeland Security, other federal agencies, and local leaders from Guam and the CNMI to ensure that the concerns raised at today's oversight are addressed adequately and in a timely manner."
If Bordallo is still committed to the process of establishing Russia or China visa waiver status for Guam, she may now be more or less resigned to a slower time-table for the allowance of such waivers in the Territory.
Unlike Guam, the CNMI has relied on the relatively hassle-free entry of Russian and China tourists for years, reportedly has an effective immigration tracking and control system, and has established a justifiable economic need for their continued free-flowing admission.
According to a September 10, 2008 joint resolution of the two-house CNMI Legislature:
-The Commonwealth has, over the past ten years, developed a highly effective arrival and departure control system that has provided for the carefully monitored arrival and departure of a significant number of Russian and Chinese tourists to and from the Commonwealth, as well as effective bonding requirements in the case of Chinese tourists.
-During that period of time, approximately 400,000 Russian and Chinese tourists have entered the Commonwealth and there have been zero incidents of Russian tourists overstaying and approximately one dozen incidents of Chinese tourists overstaying during those ten years, all of which were successfully resolved in a timely manner.
-During 2007, Russian tourists acconted for 1% of total visitor arrivals in the Commonwealth and 5% of total visitor expenditures and Chinese tourists accounted for 10% of total visitor arrivals and 13% of total visitor expenditures, which in aggregate represent over one-tenth of total visitor arrivals and nearly one-fifth of visitor expenditures in the Commonwealth.
-Those tourists have not represented a threat to the welfare, safety, or security of the United States or its territories.
Guam, on the other hand, does not have such a track record of visa-free entry for Russian and Chinese tourists, so its economic justification for allowing visa waivers for Russians and Chinese may not be as strong as the CNMI's, in the eyes of DHS.
John Dela Rosa contributed to this analysis.
Here is an official update from Bordallo's Washington Office:
Congresswoman Bordallo Meets With DHS On P.L. 110-229
November 17, 2009 – Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo today was briefed by officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on the implementation of Public Law 110-229 on the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and Guam. The meeting took place in Congresswoman Bordallo's office in the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill. The Congresswoman requested the briefing after Secretary Janet Napolitano of DHS announced her use of parole authority to allow visitors of China and Russia to continue visiting the CNMI.
"During the meeting, we discussed the implementation of the new joint Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver program, and how the parole authority will be exercised by Secretary Napolitano for Chinese and Russian visitors to the CNMI," Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo said today. "The DHS officials stated that the parole authority process will mirror the process currently in place for visitors arriving from countries under the current national visa waiver program. I remain confident that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will be ready to fully implement the federalization of immigration in the CNMI on November 28, 2009. In addition, the new Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program, which will allow visitors to visit for 45 days, will have a positive long term effect in the visitor industry. I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress and DHS to ensure that this law is fully implemented according to the intent of Congress."
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Construction firm says requirement to hire locals discriminatory
Construction firm says requirement to hire locals discriminatory
Thursday, 19 November 2009 00:00 By Junhan B. Todeno - Reporter
CONVINCED that the 20 percent local hiring rule will no longer be applicable when the federal government takes over CNMI immigration, a construction firm said it will not comply with a recent Department of Labor order.
In its Sept. 29 order, Labor ordered Misamis Construction Saipan Ltd. to pay $2,000 because it failed to hire three new resident workers every month.
Misamis was also ordered to continue providing Labor a list of its local hiring until March 2010.
But Barrie J. Ladd, Misamis operations manager, said the imposition of the 20 percent requirement is no longer enforceable under U.S. law.
“With the advent of federalization of labor and immigration on the 28th of November we believe that this regulation will not be recognized by the federal authorities,” Ladd said in his letter to Labor.
He said the 20 percent requirement has never been the subject of any site or establishment inspections by Labor to ascertain compliance of any company.
He added that they are aware of a number of cases of employment designed to circumnavigate the requirement by using resident workers’ Social Security numbers although no work was actually performed by these workers.
Besides, he said, they couldn’t find qualified workers from the local workforce.
He told Labor they now have 185 nonresident and 12 resident workers and still find it very difficult to improve the ratio.
Labor’s 20 percent requirement, he said, discriminates against nonresident workers.
He said two applicants who can both legally work and have the same qualifications are both equal under the law, and the most suitable applicant can be selected regardless of race, religion, sex or age.
“Your department is far too difficult to deal with. I have personally lost many valuable hours waiting for a meeting sometimes hours after the scheduled time,” Ladd told Labor .
With the depressed state of the economy, in addition to the stiff competition in the construction industry, he said they do not have the time to put up with the “obstructive nature” of Labor.
Thursday, 19 November 2009 00:00 By Junhan B. Todeno - Reporter
CONVINCED that the 20 percent local hiring rule will no longer be applicable when the federal government takes over CNMI immigration, a construction firm said it will not comply with a recent Department of Labor order.
In its Sept. 29 order, Labor ordered Misamis Construction Saipan Ltd. to pay $2,000 because it failed to hire three new resident workers every month.
Misamis was also ordered to continue providing Labor a list of its local hiring until March 2010.
But Barrie J. Ladd, Misamis operations manager, said the imposition of the 20 percent requirement is no longer enforceable under U.S. law.
“With the advent of federalization of labor and immigration on the 28th of November we believe that this regulation will not be recognized by the federal authorities,” Ladd said in his letter to Labor.
He said the 20 percent requirement has never been the subject of any site or establishment inspections by Labor to ascertain compliance of any company.
He added that they are aware of a number of cases of employment designed to circumnavigate the requirement by using resident workers’ Social Security numbers although no work was actually performed by these workers.
Besides, he said, they couldn’t find qualified workers from the local workforce.
He told Labor they now have 185 nonresident and 12 resident workers and still find it very difficult to improve the ratio.
Labor’s 20 percent requirement, he said, discriminates against nonresident workers.
He said two applicants who can both legally work and have the same qualifications are both equal under the law, and the most suitable applicant can be selected regardless of race, religion, sex or age.
“Your department is far too difficult to deal with. I have personally lost many valuable hours waiting for a meeting sometimes hours after the scheduled time,” Ladd told Labor .
With the depressed state of the economy, in addition to the stiff competition in the construction industry, he said they do not have the time to put up with the “obstructive nature” of Labor.
Monday, November 09, 2009
Judge's ruling on federalization out before Nov. 28
Judge's ruling on federalization out before Nov. 28
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
By Ferdie de la Torre
The judge that is handling the CNMI government's lawsuit against federalization has disclosed that he will issue a ruling on the case before Nov. 28, 2009, according to Gov. Benigno R. Fitial's special legal counsel, Howard Willens.
In an e-mail yesterday, Willens said that U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Paul L. Friedman had announced during a telephone status conference late Friday afternoon that he will issue his opinion on the federalization lawsuit before the start date of federalization.
The Department of Homeland Security is set to implement federal immigration laws in the CNMI on Nov. 28, under the authority provided by the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008.
Willens said the counsel for the Commonwealth and the U.S. Department of Justice participated in the status conference, which took up the CNMI's motion to stop DHS from implementing its interim final rule.
The interim final rule was published on Oct. 27, 2009. It is scheduled to become effective on Nov. 28, 2009, providing for a CNMI Transitional Worker Program.
The CNMI contends that the DHS cannot justify its failure to follow the notice and comment provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act before issuing these regulations in final form.
Willens said that Friedman instructed DOJ to file its response by Nov. 13, 2009. The judge also gave the CNMI until Nov. 18 to file its reply brief. Friedman set the oral argument on the motion on Monday, Nov. 23, 2009.
Willens said that Friedman told both CNMI and Justice counsels that he was working on his opinion on the Commonwealth's earlier motion seeking a preliminary injunction of selected provisions of the Consolidated Natural Resources Act and the Justice's motion to dismiss the federalization lawsuit.
The CNMI, through counsel Jenner & Block law firm, filed on Nov. 2, 2009, a memorandum in support of the motion for a preliminary injunction that seeks to stop the implementation and enforcement of the DHS regulations that were promulgated on Oct. 27.
According to Jenner & Block, the Commonwealth has met all the requirements for the issuance of a preliminary injunction.
The law firm asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction barring DHS from enforcing or implementing the interim permit rule pending the court's resolution of the Commonwealth's claims on the merits.
The CNMI recently filed an amended complaint, asking the court to declare invalid the DHS interim final rule on the CNMI transitional worker program.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
By Ferdie de la Torre
The judge that is handling the CNMI government's lawsuit against federalization has disclosed that he will issue a ruling on the case before Nov. 28, 2009, according to Gov. Benigno R. Fitial's special legal counsel, Howard Willens.
In an e-mail yesterday, Willens said that U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Paul L. Friedman had announced during a telephone status conference late Friday afternoon that he will issue his opinion on the federalization lawsuit before the start date of federalization.
The Department of Homeland Security is set to implement federal immigration laws in the CNMI on Nov. 28, under the authority provided by the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008.
Willens said the counsel for the Commonwealth and the U.S. Department of Justice participated in the status conference, which took up the CNMI's motion to stop DHS from implementing its interim final rule.
The interim final rule was published on Oct. 27, 2009. It is scheduled to become effective on Nov. 28, 2009, providing for a CNMI Transitional Worker Program.
The CNMI contends that the DHS cannot justify its failure to follow the notice and comment provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act before issuing these regulations in final form.
Willens said that Friedman instructed DOJ to file its response by Nov. 13, 2009. The judge also gave the CNMI until Nov. 18 to file its reply brief. Friedman set the oral argument on the motion on Monday, Nov. 23, 2009.
Willens said that Friedman told both CNMI and Justice counsels that he was working on his opinion on the Commonwealth's earlier motion seeking a preliminary injunction of selected provisions of the Consolidated Natural Resources Act and the Justice's motion to dismiss the federalization lawsuit.
The CNMI, through counsel Jenner & Block law firm, filed on Nov. 2, 2009, a memorandum in support of the motion for a preliminary injunction that seeks to stop the implementation and enforcement of the DHS regulations that were promulgated on Oct. 27.
According to Jenner & Block, the Commonwealth has met all the requirements for the issuance of a preliminary injunction.
The law firm asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction barring DHS from enforcing or implementing the interim permit rule pending the court's resolution of the Commonwealth's claims on the merits.
The CNMI recently filed an amended complaint, asking the court to declare invalid the DHS interim final rule on the CNMI transitional worker program.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
CNMI asks court to declare DHS regulations invalid
CNMI asks court to declare DHS regulations invalid
Thursday, November 05, 2009
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
The CNMI has asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to declare as invalid the Department of Homeland Security's interim final rule on the CNMI transitional worker program.
The CNMI, through the Jenner & Block law firm, asked the court to rule that the manner with which DHS promulgated the interim permit rule violates the Administrative Act.
Jenner & Block stressed that the “societal, familiar, and personal damage” that will be caused by Public Law 110-229, the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (federalization law), “is as severe as its economic impact.” The law firm said the law will force thousands of U.S. citizen children to separate from their parents who are not U.S. citizens.
In the CNMI's amended complained filed on Nov. 2, Jenner & Block also questioned the legality of the interim final rule.
The complaint, which named the United States, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, DHS, U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, and U.S. Labor as defendants-also asked the court to prevent these defendants from acting in violation of the Covenant.
The CNMI wants the court to issue a permanent injunction prohibiting the defendants from enforcing federalization in the CNMI.
The law firm asserted that the defendants violated APA by promulgating the regulations required by Public Law 110-229 without notice to the CNMI and other affected stakeholders and giving them an opportunity to comment.
DHS issued the interim rule on Oct. 27. It is set to go into effect on Nov. 28, 2009, the effective date of the CNRA.
Jenner & Block said the CNRA will strike a devastating, and perhaps fatal, blow on the economy by prohibiting the Commonwealth from ensuring an adequate supply of labor for local residents and businesses.
The law firm said CNRA imposes an uncertain permitting system for an indefinite period of time on about two-thirds of the Commonwealth's private sector workforce and requires that the number of Commonwealth-only permits be reduced to zero by the end of 2014, the end date for the transition period.
“As the number of Commonwealth-only permits is reduced, foreign workers lawfully admitted under CNMI law will have to leave the Commonwealth if they are unable to obtain a visa under the narrow and specialized classifications of the federal immigration laws or if their employers cannot obtain the necessary permits from that steadily shrinking pool of permits,” the law firm said.
Jenner & Block said most of the foreign workers will not be able to qualify for federal visas because existing federal immigration laws do not allow visas for low-skill jobs that are “permanent” rather than “temporary.”
“In addition, because no 'Commonwealth-only' permits can be issued or can authorize employment after 2014, whatever relief is potentially available during the transition period is necessarily temporary,” the law firm said.
The law firm pointed out that the local workforce is not enough to compensate for the labor deficit the CNRA will create.
The overall U.S. citizen population of about 30,000 and the U.S. citizen workforce of about 11,000 have remained constant in size for most of the past decade.
“There is no reasonable basis for assuming that the U.S. citizen population can produce a workforce of sufficient size to meet the needs of the CNMI economy,” the law firm said.
The CNRA, Jenner & Block said, has placed the CNMI in a legal and economic limbo of indefinite duration.
“Such an environment is toxic to economic development,” the law firm said, citing business plans for new ventures that are already being revised or canceled, foreign investment being withdrawn, among other things.
“No other city, county, or state in America has a federal bureaucracy exercising plenary authority over two-thirds of its private sector labor force,” the law firm stressed.
In addition, the CNRA will also rend its social fabric, the law firm said.
The 24,000 alien workers and their families make up roughly 40 percent of the Commonwealth's total population. Jenner & Block said many of these people have lived in the CNMI for over a decade and include thousands of U.S. citizen children.
Under the provisions of CNRA, the complaint said, these children's parents are subject to expulsion from the Commonwealth over the next several years, even if they otherwise could have remained gainfully employed in the CNMI.
When required to leave, the law firm said, these parents will be forced to either separate from their children and find another home for them in the CNMI, or to take these U.S. citizen children away from their home country and the opportunities and benefits of growing up in the U.S.
Jenner & Block said the challenged provisions of CNRA abrogate the CNMI's right of local self-government by denying the Commonwealth the right to regulate its local workforce and economy.
Thursday, November 05, 2009
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
The CNMI has asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to declare as invalid the Department of Homeland Security's interim final rule on the CNMI transitional worker program.
The CNMI, through the Jenner & Block law firm, asked the court to rule that the manner with which DHS promulgated the interim permit rule violates the Administrative Act.
Jenner & Block stressed that the “societal, familiar, and personal damage” that will be caused by Public Law 110-229, the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (federalization law), “is as severe as its economic impact.” The law firm said the law will force thousands of U.S. citizen children to separate from their parents who are not U.S. citizens.
In the CNMI's amended complained filed on Nov. 2, Jenner & Block also questioned the legality of the interim final rule.
The complaint, which named the United States, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, DHS, U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, and U.S. Labor as defendants-also asked the court to prevent these defendants from acting in violation of the Covenant.
The CNMI wants the court to issue a permanent injunction prohibiting the defendants from enforcing federalization in the CNMI.
The law firm asserted that the defendants violated APA by promulgating the regulations required by Public Law 110-229 without notice to the CNMI and other affected stakeholders and giving them an opportunity to comment.
DHS issued the interim rule on Oct. 27. It is set to go into effect on Nov. 28, 2009, the effective date of the CNRA.
Jenner & Block said the CNRA will strike a devastating, and perhaps fatal, blow on the economy by prohibiting the Commonwealth from ensuring an adequate supply of labor for local residents and businesses.
The law firm said CNRA imposes an uncertain permitting system for an indefinite period of time on about two-thirds of the Commonwealth's private sector workforce and requires that the number of Commonwealth-only permits be reduced to zero by the end of 2014, the end date for the transition period.
“As the number of Commonwealth-only permits is reduced, foreign workers lawfully admitted under CNMI law will have to leave the Commonwealth if they are unable to obtain a visa under the narrow and specialized classifications of the federal immigration laws or if their employers cannot obtain the necessary permits from that steadily shrinking pool of permits,” the law firm said.
Jenner & Block said most of the foreign workers will not be able to qualify for federal visas because existing federal immigration laws do not allow visas for low-skill jobs that are “permanent” rather than “temporary.”
“In addition, because no 'Commonwealth-only' permits can be issued or can authorize employment after 2014, whatever relief is potentially available during the transition period is necessarily temporary,” the law firm said.
The law firm pointed out that the local workforce is not enough to compensate for the labor deficit the CNRA will create.
The overall U.S. citizen population of about 30,000 and the U.S. citizen workforce of about 11,000 have remained constant in size for most of the past decade.
“There is no reasonable basis for assuming that the U.S. citizen population can produce a workforce of sufficient size to meet the needs of the CNMI economy,” the law firm said.
The CNRA, Jenner & Block said, has placed the CNMI in a legal and economic limbo of indefinite duration.
“Such an environment is toxic to economic development,” the law firm said, citing business plans for new ventures that are already being revised or canceled, foreign investment being withdrawn, among other things.
“No other city, county, or state in America has a federal bureaucracy exercising plenary authority over two-thirds of its private sector labor force,” the law firm stressed.
In addition, the CNRA will also rend its social fabric, the law firm said.
The 24,000 alien workers and their families make up roughly 40 percent of the Commonwealth's total population. Jenner & Block said many of these people have lived in the CNMI for over a decade and include thousands of U.S. citizen children.
Under the provisions of CNRA, the complaint said, these children's parents are subject to expulsion from the Commonwealth over the next several years, even if they otherwise could have remained gainfully employed in the CNMI.
When required to leave, the law firm said, these parents will be forced to either separate from their children and find another home for them in the CNMI, or to take these U.S. citizen children away from their home country and the opportunities and benefits of growing up in the U.S.
Jenner & Block said the challenged provisions of CNRA abrogate the CNMI's right of local self-government by denying the Commonwealth the right to regulate its local workforce and economy.
Monday, November 02, 2009
Hundreds attend federalization forum
Hundreds attend federalization forum
Re-entry to NMI tops concerns of alien workers
Monday, November 02, 2009
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
Hundreds of alien workers of different nationalities showed up at a public forum on the Department of Homeland Security's interim final rule on the CNMI transitional worker program, held Friday night at the American Memorial Park.
Janna Evans, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services community outreach regional lead, kicked off the forum with a PowerPoint presentation on the interim final rule. David G. Gulik, district director of the USCIS for Hawaii, Guam and the CNMI, answered questions from the audience.
After the forum, Evans and Gulik responded to individual queries, as many workers milled around them on the stage, asking more questions and sharing their personal experiences and problems in obtaining U.S. visas, among other issues.
Majority of concerns raised is the difficulty of getting visas from U.S. embassies or consulates in their home countries and questions about re-entering the CNMI using a B1 or B2 visa (tourist visa). Evans noted that the issue was asked six times in six different ways.
“If you have a CNMI umbrella permit and B1/B2 visa and you leave and you go somewhere-anywhere, any country in the world-and you want to come back to the CNMI to resume your life and your work, you must have a valid visa,” Evans said.
A B1 or B2 visa, she said, does not allow the holder to work.
Evans said if the alien worker knows that he or she is going to leave the CNMI, he or she needs to work with the employer to get a CW1 status (CNMI-only transitional worker).
“If you know you're not going to leave for two years, no problem,” Evans said, adding that the CNMI-issued two-year “umbrella permits” will cover them.
She stressed that it is very important for alien workers who have a CW1 visa and want to leave the CNMI to get a CW1 visa from the U.S. embassy or U.S. consulate in their respective countries so that they can return and work in the CNMI.
“The B1/B2 [visa] will not put you in lawful status to work,” Evans said.
Gulik explained to workers that visas are issued only outside the U.S.
“A visa is not a status. A visa is a permit to allow you to come to the U.S.,” Gulik said.
Even if a CWI status is already given to a worker in the CNMI, it is not a guarantee that the U.S. embassy in the worker's country will issue a CW1 visa in order for him or her to come back to work, he added.
“We hope that the State Department will give a lot of faith to the fact that we gave you a CW1,” Gulik said.
If a worker uses a B1/B2 visa to come back to the CNMI to resume his or her work, the worker will be violating the law because he or she is entering as a tourist, he said.
“When you come back to the CNMI, you should show what are you are going to do here. We don't want you to be in trouble,” he said.
Rabby Syed, president of the United Workers Movement Inc., said the forum was very informative and educational as people had lots of questions.
Just like in other forums about the interim final rule, the main concern was about the workers going to their country of origin and the need to have a U.S. visa in coming back, Syed said.
“And that is very hard [to get],” Syed said.
He said DHS should come up with some sort of remedy.
“Maybe they can issue a visa from here based on that CW1 so that the workers can easily go to their country for a short vacation and come back,” he said.
Syed said their group would be holding a meeting to discuss the interim final rule.
Fil Taga president Mike Cruz said that, although the forum was informative, there are still a lot of areas that need further discussion, particularly on the question of Immediate Relative status and the B1/B2 visa.
Re-entry to NMI tops concerns of alien workers
Monday, November 02, 2009
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
Hundreds of alien workers of different nationalities showed up at a public forum on the Department of Homeland Security's interim final rule on the CNMI transitional worker program, held Friday night at the American Memorial Park.
Janna Evans, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services community outreach regional lead, kicked off the forum with a PowerPoint presentation on the interim final rule. David G. Gulik, district director of the USCIS for Hawaii, Guam and the CNMI, answered questions from the audience.
After the forum, Evans and Gulik responded to individual queries, as many workers milled around them on the stage, asking more questions and sharing their personal experiences and problems in obtaining U.S. visas, among other issues.
Majority of concerns raised is the difficulty of getting visas from U.S. embassies or consulates in their home countries and questions about re-entering the CNMI using a B1 or B2 visa (tourist visa). Evans noted that the issue was asked six times in six different ways.
“If you have a CNMI umbrella permit and B1/B2 visa and you leave and you go somewhere-anywhere, any country in the world-and you want to come back to the CNMI to resume your life and your work, you must have a valid visa,” Evans said.
A B1 or B2 visa, she said, does not allow the holder to work.
Evans said if the alien worker knows that he or she is going to leave the CNMI, he or she needs to work with the employer to get a CW1 status (CNMI-only transitional worker).
“If you know you're not going to leave for two years, no problem,” Evans said, adding that the CNMI-issued two-year “umbrella permits” will cover them.
She stressed that it is very important for alien workers who have a CW1 visa and want to leave the CNMI to get a CW1 visa from the U.S. embassy or U.S. consulate in their respective countries so that they can return and work in the CNMI.
“The B1/B2 [visa] will not put you in lawful status to work,” Evans said.
Gulik explained to workers that visas are issued only outside the U.S.
“A visa is not a status. A visa is a permit to allow you to come to the U.S.,” Gulik said.
Even if a CWI status is already given to a worker in the CNMI, it is not a guarantee that the U.S. embassy in the worker's country will issue a CW1 visa in order for him or her to come back to work, he added.
“We hope that the State Department will give a lot of faith to the fact that we gave you a CW1,” Gulik said.
If a worker uses a B1/B2 visa to come back to the CNMI to resume his or her work, the worker will be violating the law because he or she is entering as a tourist, he said.
“When you come back to the CNMI, you should show what are you are going to do here. We don't want you to be in trouble,” he said.
Rabby Syed, president of the United Workers Movement Inc., said the forum was very informative and educational as people had lots of questions.
Just like in other forums about the interim final rule, the main concern was about the workers going to their country of origin and the need to have a U.S. visa in coming back, Syed said.
“And that is very hard [to get],” Syed said.
He said DHS should come up with some sort of remedy.
“Maybe they can issue a visa from here based on that CW1 so that the workers can easily go to their country for a short vacation and come back,” he said.
Syed said their group would be holding a meeting to discuss the interim final rule.
Fil Taga president Mike Cruz said that, although the forum was informative, there are still a lot of areas that need further discussion, particularly on the question of Immediate Relative status and the B1/B2 visa.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Q&A
Q&A
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
On May 8, 2008, President Bush signed into law Public Law 110-229, the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008. Title VII of this law amended Pub. L. 94-241, the Act approving the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States. Title VII fully extends certain provisions of the immigration laws of the United States to the CNMI for the first time in history. A transition period formally begins Nov. 28, 2009.
Q. Who qualifies for the CNMI-only Transitional Worker status in CNMI?
A. USCIS has established a transitional worker program for foreign nationals to live and work in CNMI. Foreign nationals who are eligible for an INA-based nonimmigrant status would not be eligible. Short term visitors for business or pleasure are not eligible to obtain CW classification because such individuals are not part of the foreign work force that is the subject of this interim rule.
Q. What is the legal basis for the CNMI-only Transition Worker program?
A. Section 6(d) of Pub. L. 94-241, as amended by CNRA, directed the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a transition program to assist CNMI employers to obtain necessary workers who are not otherwise eligible under U.S. immigration laws during the transition period.
Q. What is the purpose of the CNMI-Only Transitional Worker Program?
A. The CNMI-only Transitional Worker Program will allow foreign nationals who are not eligible for another INA-based employment authorized nonimmigrant status to perform work in CNMI during the transition period. Thus, the purpose of the CNMI-Only Transitional Worker visa is to offer a lawful U.S. immigration status to those foreign nationals who are not currently eligible for any other kind of immigrant or nonimmigrant visa. During the transition period, it is expected that these transitional workers will find a suitable, long-term alternative to their CNMI-Only Transitional Worker status by obtaining status under an INA-based visa category, or departing CNMI.
Q. What happens to foreign workers in CNMI on Nov. 28, 2009?
A. When federal immigration law takes effect in CNMI on Nov. 28, 2009, foreign workers who have a valid CNMI employment authorization may remain, live and work in CNMI for up to two years, or for the duration of their CNMI-based status, whichever occurs first. Before the expiration of that limited time period, they must obtain either CNMI-Only Transitional Worker status, or some other lawful U.S. immigration status to lawfully work and reside in CNMI and to travel between CNMI and another U.S. or foreign destination. If they leave CNMI for any reason, they must have a valid U.S. immigration visa to re-enter. Foreign workers who do NOT have a CNMI work contract could risk becoming “unlawful” if another U.S. immigration status is not obtained.
Q. What is the admission code for this visa classification be?
A. This new nonimmigrant visa classification will use the admission code CW-1 for the principal transitional worker and CW-2 for dependents.
Q. What does this mean for foreign residents who have been living and working in CNMI?
A. For those foreign workers who are not eligible for another kind of U.S. immigration status, the transitional worker visa is a critically important alternative. It could potentially give thousands of foreign workers a temporary status while they determine an appropriate long-term immigration status for themselves and their families.
Q. What are the timeframes of the transition period?
A. Although U.S. immigration laws apply fully to CNMI, there will be a transition period during which temporary measures will be carried out to allow for an orderly transition from CNMI's permit system to Federal immigration law and give foreign non-resident workers time to identify an appropriate long-term INA-based visa classification. The transition period begins on Nov. 28, 2009 and will end on December 31, 2014. The Secretary of Labor, in consultation with appropriate federal agencies and the Governor of CNMI, may extend the CNMI-Only Transitional Worker program for additional periods of up to five years. No decision on any extension has been made at this time.
Q. What are the requirements for the new CNMI Transitional Worker visa or status?
A. Under the CNMI-Only Transitional Worker program, there are requirements for both employers and workers.
Requirements for Employers-Employers must be engaged in legitimate business and may not engage directly or indirectly in prostitution, trafficking in minors, or any other activity that is illegal under Federal or CNMI law. The employer also bears the responsibility of filing the necessary petition and paying the requisite fees to employ transitional workers.
Requirements for Workers - Under the interim final rule, foreign workers may be classified as CW-1 nonimmigrants if, during the transition period, they:
* will enter or stay in CNMI to work in an occupational category that needs alien workers to supplement the resident workforce;
* are petitioned for by an employer;
* live in CNMI;
* are lawfully present in CNMI; and
* are not otherwise inadmissible to the United States.
Q. What does a worker need to do to get this visa or status?
A. The foreign national worker must meet the criteria noted in the answer above and find an employer willing to sponsor him/her. The responsibility for applying rests with the employer. Employers may file a petition for a transitional worker with USCIS using Form I-129CW, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker in the CNMI. (This new form was modeled after the existing Form I-129.)
Q. What does the worker's spouse and/or child need to get CW-2 status?
A. To accompany or follow to join, the derivative CW-2 nonimmigrant may file an application for extension of nonimmigrant stay on Form I-539 in accordance with the form instructions. The CW-2 status extension may not be approved until approval of the CW-1 extension petition. The filing fee is $300.
Q. How does someone obtain CW status?
A. Once the I-129CW petition is approved, the beneficiary and eligible family members may apply for CW-1, or CW-2 status. Since foreign nationals present in CNMI will not have given biometric information to the federal government before, and thus not have had required security checks conducted, biometrics will be required. The fee to collect biometrics is $80. A fee waiver is available if applicants can show inability to pay for both the Form I-129CW and biometric fees.
Aliens who are abroad will need to apply for a CW-1 or CW-2 visa at a U.S. consulate. When applicants apply overseas, USCIS will not require biometrics, however biometrics may be required by the Department of State.
Q. Which groups can apply for the Transitional Worker Program?
A. The transitional worker program will be available to two groups of foreign workers: (1) those who are lawfully present in the CNMI and (2) those who are abroad.
Q. Can people with CW status travel outside the CNMI?
A. Once status is obtained, the CW-1 or CW-2 nonimmigrant may leave CNMI but they must have the appropriate visa to re-enter. If the CW-1 or CW-2 status is obtained in CNMI (not the Consular post abroad) the nonimmigrant will have the legal status, but this is not a visa valid for travel to and admission into CNMI. If the CW-1 or CW-2 nonimmigrant departs CNMI, he or she must obtain a visa from a U.S. embassy or consulate to return to CNMI, unless alternative arrangements have been specifically approved by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Q. How does one obtain the visa for re-entry?
A. Someone who has obtained CW-1 or CW-2 status in CNMI (not at a Consular post abroad) who needs to leave CNMI for whatever reason will need to get a visa from the State Department to re-enter CNMI. Usually this is done at the U.S. Embassy or a U.S. Consulate via a locally managed appointment system. If, for example, someone with CW-1 status plans to visit family in the Philippines, he/she would need to make an appointment with the U.S. Embassy in Manila to get the CW visa while they are in the Philippines. They would need to travel with documents to show the State Department officer during their interview and be prepared to wait at least a few days for the visa to be issued. Each U.S. Embassy and Consulate abroad has a different appointment system. To learn more about the U.S. Embassy or Consulate you may need to visit, travelers should go to: http://www.usembassy.gov/. Visa wait times for each Consular post abroad are posted at: http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/wait/tempvisitors_wait.php.
Q. Can people with CW status travel elsewhere within the United States?
A. No. The CW visa classification is valid only in CNMI and does not permit travel to any other part of the United States, including Guam. However, if someone with CW status qualifies for another kind of nonimmigrant or immigrant visa, or a visa waiver program, he or she may travel elsewhere in the United States and the CW status would not prevent that.
Q. How much does it cost to apply for this visa?
A. The fee for Form I-129CW will be $320, the same amount charged for the I-129. In addition, Public Law 110-229 mandates a “CNMI education funding fee” of $150 per beneficiary per year which is mandatory and cannot be waived. Lastly, there would be a fee of $80 to collect biometrics (fingerprints and photos) and run necessary background checks. This expense could be borne by the applicant or the employer.
Q. Are fee waivers available?
A. Normally there is no fee waiver in employment-based cases. However, due to unique circumstances in CNMI, the I-129CW fee may be waived in extraordinary situations where an employer can demonstrate an inability to pay the fee. However, given the inherent inconsistency between sponsoring an alien for work and being unable to pay the fee required for that sponsorship, the situations warranting a fee waiver are expected to be extremely limited. There is a fee waiver for the $80 biometrics fee if applicants can show an inability to pay.
Q. Can an employer petition for more than one worker on the same form?
A. Yes, with some restrictions, employers may file for multiple beneficiaries on the same I-129CW. If the employees are all working in the same occupational category, for the same time period and in the same location, the employer may name as many employees on the petition as he/she wants. Unnamed beneficiaries are not allowed under this program.
Q. When can employers begin filing for workers?
A. The interim final rule stipulates that employers may not file for a worker more than six months before the date the employer needs that employee's services (i.e. if an employer needs a worker's services on January 1, the employer may submit a petition for the worker no earlier than July 1). The rule states that petitions may be filed before Nov. 28, 2009, but USCIS will not grant CW-1 status before that date.
To be continued
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
On May 8, 2008, President Bush signed into law Public Law 110-229, the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008. Title VII of this law amended Pub. L. 94-241, the Act approving the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States. Title VII fully extends certain provisions of the immigration laws of the United States to the CNMI for the first time in history. A transition period formally begins Nov. 28, 2009.
Q. Who qualifies for the CNMI-only Transitional Worker status in CNMI?
A. USCIS has established a transitional worker program for foreign nationals to live and work in CNMI. Foreign nationals who are eligible for an INA-based nonimmigrant status would not be eligible. Short term visitors for business or pleasure are not eligible to obtain CW classification because such individuals are not part of the foreign work force that is the subject of this interim rule.
Q. What is the legal basis for the CNMI-only Transition Worker program?
A. Section 6(d) of Pub. L. 94-241, as amended by CNRA, directed the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a transition program to assist CNMI employers to obtain necessary workers who are not otherwise eligible under U.S. immigration laws during the transition period.
Q. What is the purpose of the CNMI-Only Transitional Worker Program?
A. The CNMI-only Transitional Worker Program will allow foreign nationals who are not eligible for another INA-based employment authorized nonimmigrant status to perform work in CNMI during the transition period. Thus, the purpose of the CNMI-Only Transitional Worker visa is to offer a lawful U.S. immigration status to those foreign nationals who are not currently eligible for any other kind of immigrant or nonimmigrant visa. During the transition period, it is expected that these transitional workers will find a suitable, long-term alternative to their CNMI-Only Transitional Worker status by obtaining status under an INA-based visa category, or departing CNMI.
Q. What happens to foreign workers in CNMI on Nov. 28, 2009?
A. When federal immigration law takes effect in CNMI on Nov. 28, 2009, foreign workers who have a valid CNMI employment authorization may remain, live and work in CNMI for up to two years, or for the duration of their CNMI-based status, whichever occurs first. Before the expiration of that limited time period, they must obtain either CNMI-Only Transitional Worker status, or some other lawful U.S. immigration status to lawfully work and reside in CNMI and to travel between CNMI and another U.S. or foreign destination. If they leave CNMI for any reason, they must have a valid U.S. immigration visa to re-enter. Foreign workers who do NOT have a CNMI work contract could risk becoming “unlawful” if another U.S. immigration status is not obtained.
Q. What is the admission code for this visa classification be?
A. This new nonimmigrant visa classification will use the admission code CW-1 for the principal transitional worker and CW-2 for dependents.
Q. What does this mean for foreign residents who have been living and working in CNMI?
A. For those foreign workers who are not eligible for another kind of U.S. immigration status, the transitional worker visa is a critically important alternative. It could potentially give thousands of foreign workers a temporary status while they determine an appropriate long-term immigration status for themselves and their families.
Q. What are the timeframes of the transition period?
A. Although U.S. immigration laws apply fully to CNMI, there will be a transition period during which temporary measures will be carried out to allow for an orderly transition from CNMI's permit system to Federal immigration law and give foreign non-resident workers time to identify an appropriate long-term INA-based visa classification. The transition period begins on Nov. 28, 2009 and will end on December 31, 2014. The Secretary of Labor, in consultation with appropriate federal agencies and the Governor of CNMI, may extend the CNMI-Only Transitional Worker program for additional periods of up to five years. No decision on any extension has been made at this time.
Q. What are the requirements for the new CNMI Transitional Worker visa or status?
A. Under the CNMI-Only Transitional Worker program, there are requirements for both employers and workers.
Requirements for Employers-Employers must be engaged in legitimate business and may not engage directly or indirectly in prostitution, trafficking in minors, or any other activity that is illegal under Federal or CNMI law. The employer also bears the responsibility of filing the necessary petition and paying the requisite fees to employ transitional workers.
Requirements for Workers - Under the interim final rule, foreign workers may be classified as CW-1 nonimmigrants if, during the transition period, they:
* will enter or stay in CNMI to work in an occupational category that needs alien workers to supplement the resident workforce;
* are petitioned for by an employer;
* live in CNMI;
* are lawfully present in CNMI; and
* are not otherwise inadmissible to the United States.
Q. What does a worker need to do to get this visa or status?
A. The foreign national worker must meet the criteria noted in the answer above and find an employer willing to sponsor him/her. The responsibility for applying rests with the employer. Employers may file a petition for a transitional worker with USCIS using Form I-129CW, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker in the CNMI. (This new form was modeled after the existing Form I-129.)
Q. What does the worker's spouse and/or child need to get CW-2 status?
A. To accompany or follow to join, the derivative CW-2 nonimmigrant may file an application for extension of nonimmigrant stay on Form I-539 in accordance with the form instructions. The CW-2 status extension may not be approved until approval of the CW-1 extension petition. The filing fee is $300.
Q. How does someone obtain CW status?
A. Once the I-129CW petition is approved, the beneficiary and eligible family members may apply for CW-1, or CW-2 status. Since foreign nationals present in CNMI will not have given biometric information to the federal government before, and thus not have had required security checks conducted, biometrics will be required. The fee to collect biometrics is $80. A fee waiver is available if applicants can show inability to pay for both the Form I-129CW and biometric fees.
Aliens who are abroad will need to apply for a CW-1 or CW-2 visa at a U.S. consulate. When applicants apply overseas, USCIS will not require biometrics, however biometrics may be required by the Department of State.
Q. Which groups can apply for the Transitional Worker Program?
A. The transitional worker program will be available to two groups of foreign workers: (1) those who are lawfully present in the CNMI and (2) those who are abroad.
Q. Can people with CW status travel outside the CNMI?
A. Once status is obtained, the CW-1 or CW-2 nonimmigrant may leave CNMI but they must have the appropriate visa to re-enter. If the CW-1 or CW-2 status is obtained in CNMI (not the Consular post abroad) the nonimmigrant will have the legal status, but this is not a visa valid for travel to and admission into CNMI. If the CW-1 or CW-2 nonimmigrant departs CNMI, he or she must obtain a visa from a U.S. embassy or consulate to return to CNMI, unless alternative arrangements have been specifically approved by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Q. How does one obtain the visa for re-entry?
A. Someone who has obtained CW-1 or CW-2 status in CNMI (not at a Consular post abroad) who needs to leave CNMI for whatever reason will need to get a visa from the State Department to re-enter CNMI. Usually this is done at the U.S. Embassy or a U.S. Consulate via a locally managed appointment system. If, for example, someone with CW-1 status plans to visit family in the Philippines, he/she would need to make an appointment with the U.S. Embassy in Manila to get the CW visa while they are in the Philippines. They would need to travel with documents to show the State Department officer during their interview and be prepared to wait at least a few days for the visa to be issued. Each U.S. Embassy and Consulate abroad has a different appointment system. To learn more about the U.S. Embassy or Consulate you may need to visit, travelers should go to: http://www.usembassy.gov/. Visa wait times for each Consular post abroad are posted at: http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/wait/tempvisitors_wait.php.
Q. Can people with CW status travel elsewhere within the United States?
A. No. The CW visa classification is valid only in CNMI and does not permit travel to any other part of the United States, including Guam. However, if someone with CW status qualifies for another kind of nonimmigrant or immigrant visa, or a visa waiver program, he or she may travel elsewhere in the United States and the CW status would not prevent that.
Q. How much does it cost to apply for this visa?
A. The fee for Form I-129CW will be $320, the same amount charged for the I-129. In addition, Public Law 110-229 mandates a “CNMI education funding fee” of $150 per beneficiary per year which is mandatory and cannot be waived. Lastly, there would be a fee of $80 to collect biometrics (fingerprints and photos) and run necessary background checks. This expense could be borne by the applicant or the employer.
Q. Are fee waivers available?
A. Normally there is no fee waiver in employment-based cases. However, due to unique circumstances in CNMI, the I-129CW fee may be waived in extraordinary situations where an employer can demonstrate an inability to pay the fee. However, given the inherent inconsistency between sponsoring an alien for work and being unable to pay the fee required for that sponsorship, the situations warranting a fee waiver are expected to be extremely limited. There is a fee waiver for the $80 biometrics fee if applicants can show an inability to pay.
Q. Can an employer petition for more than one worker on the same form?
A. Yes, with some restrictions, employers may file for multiple beneficiaries on the same I-129CW. If the employees are all working in the same occupational category, for the same time period and in the same location, the employer may name as many employees on the petition as he/she wants. Unnamed beneficiaries are not allowed under this program.
Q. When can employers begin filing for workers?
A. The interim final rule stipulates that employers may not file for a worker more than six months before the date the employer needs that employee's services (i.e. if an employer needs a worker's services on January 1, the employer may submit a petition for the worker no earlier than July 1). The rule states that petitions may be filed before Nov. 28, 2009, but USCIS will not grant CW-1 status before that date.
To be continued
Monday, October 19, 2009
US Customs executives on operational visit to Saipan
US Customs executives on operational visit to Saipan
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
By Haidee V. Eugenio
Reporter
Seven top officials of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection will be arriving on Saipan Wednesday night for an “operational visit,” barely five weeks before the Nov. 28 federal takeover of CNMI immigration.
DHS, along with its component agencies, is required to staff and equip six ports of entry in the CNMI by Nov. 28 as required by Public Law 110-229 or the federalization law.
The visiting federal officials are led by CBP Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Field Operations Thomas S. Winkowski, and CBP Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Information Technology Charles Armstrong.
Also visiting are David Morrell, executive director of the Office of Field Operations' Mission Support; Cheryl Peters, program manager of the Office of Field Operations; Richard Vigna, director of Field Operations in San Francisco; Bruce Murley, area port director in Honolulu, Hawaii; and Rocky Miner, port director in Guam.
Issues raised
While on Saipan, the federal team will be meeting with Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, members of the 16th Legislature, and representatives of CNMI agencies, including the Commonwealth Ports Authority, the Division of Immigration, and the CNMI Division of Customs Services.
“I welcome the visit of DHS officials and look forward to learning more about their plans to smoothly transition into federalization,” Gov. Benigno R. Fitial said in a statement.
In a telephone interview yesterday, Senate President Pete P. Reyes (R-Saipan) said among the concerns he will raise with the federal team are the CNMI's continued access to Russian and Chinese tourists without requiring them to secure a U.S. visa, as well as any plan by DHS not to separate families, including non-U.S. citizens who are married to U.S. citizens or Federated States of Micronesia citizens.
House Foreign and Federal Relations Committee chair Rep. Diego T. Benavente (R-Saipan) said he will raise the yet-to-be-issued CNMI-only transitional worker program regulations, and the visa waiver program that excludes Chinese and Russian tourists.
“There are lots of uncertainties and concerns about federalization and we hope these visiting officials will clarify those for us,” Benavente said.
More meetings
DHS is the lead agency to implement the federalization law in the CNMI. In an earlier response to a U.S. legislative inquiry, DHS said it will “fully” staff and fully equip the six ports of entry in the CNMI through Fiscal Year 2011, and not by Nov. 28, 2009.
Press secretary Charles Reyes said the visiting federal officials also plan to meet briefly with CPA and Customs officials, as well as tour the Saipan International Airport, the Port of Saipan, and immigration facilities.
“The DHS officials also plan to meet with federal agency representatives in the CNMI and assess island infrastructure facilities, including potential employee accommodations. Representatives of many of the concerned CNMI agencies will be present at the initial meeting between the visiting officials and Governor Fitial,” he added.
The press secretary also said that representatives from the Office of the Governor discussed this trip with DHS' Customs and Border Protection in Washington, D.C. a few weeks ago.
“Over the past week, the Fitial administration has been discussing the agenda for this 'operational visit' of these top CBP officials,” said Reyes.
Delay
Fitial, Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan and other CNMI officials support a delay in the implementation of the federalization law in the CNMI, primarily citing DHS' lack of preparations to control CNMI borders on Nov. 28.
DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano delayed the original implementation date of June 1, 2009 by 180 days, the maximum allowed by law.
In September, DHS provided answers to the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources chaired by Rep. Nick J. Rahall II (D-WV) on questions posed in May, including data on the department's expected spending of at least $112.4 million to implement the federalization law in the CNMI using a three-phased approach until FY 2011.
DHS had said that since the facilities and infrastructure currently used by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services are inadequate to support CBP operations, DHS will be taking a phased approach to implement the standard infrastructure, information technology, and permanent staffing requirements in the CNMI.
“These requirements include ensuring an adequate power supply at CBP facilities, IT circuitry, cabling and equipment, construction of new and improvement of the existing facilities, physical security (both interior and exterior) and access control, standard maintenance and cleaning, firing range access for uniformed CBP officers, standard CBP signage, and adequate supplies of potable water,” DHS said.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
By Haidee V. Eugenio
Reporter
Seven top officials of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection will be arriving on Saipan Wednesday night for an “operational visit,” barely five weeks before the Nov. 28 federal takeover of CNMI immigration.
DHS, along with its component agencies, is required to staff and equip six ports of entry in the CNMI by Nov. 28 as required by Public Law 110-229 or the federalization law.
The visiting federal officials are led by CBP Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Field Operations Thomas S. Winkowski, and CBP Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Information Technology Charles Armstrong.
Also visiting are David Morrell, executive director of the Office of Field Operations' Mission Support; Cheryl Peters, program manager of the Office of Field Operations; Richard Vigna, director of Field Operations in San Francisco; Bruce Murley, area port director in Honolulu, Hawaii; and Rocky Miner, port director in Guam.
Issues raised
While on Saipan, the federal team will be meeting with Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, members of the 16th Legislature, and representatives of CNMI agencies, including the Commonwealth Ports Authority, the Division of Immigration, and the CNMI Division of Customs Services.
“I welcome the visit of DHS officials and look forward to learning more about their plans to smoothly transition into federalization,” Gov. Benigno R. Fitial said in a statement.
In a telephone interview yesterday, Senate President Pete P. Reyes (R-Saipan) said among the concerns he will raise with the federal team are the CNMI's continued access to Russian and Chinese tourists without requiring them to secure a U.S. visa, as well as any plan by DHS not to separate families, including non-U.S. citizens who are married to U.S. citizens or Federated States of Micronesia citizens.
House Foreign and Federal Relations Committee chair Rep. Diego T. Benavente (R-Saipan) said he will raise the yet-to-be-issued CNMI-only transitional worker program regulations, and the visa waiver program that excludes Chinese and Russian tourists.
“There are lots of uncertainties and concerns about federalization and we hope these visiting officials will clarify those for us,” Benavente said.
More meetings
DHS is the lead agency to implement the federalization law in the CNMI. In an earlier response to a U.S. legislative inquiry, DHS said it will “fully” staff and fully equip the six ports of entry in the CNMI through Fiscal Year 2011, and not by Nov. 28, 2009.
Press secretary Charles Reyes said the visiting federal officials also plan to meet briefly with CPA and Customs officials, as well as tour the Saipan International Airport, the Port of Saipan, and immigration facilities.
“The DHS officials also plan to meet with federal agency representatives in the CNMI and assess island infrastructure facilities, including potential employee accommodations. Representatives of many of the concerned CNMI agencies will be present at the initial meeting between the visiting officials and Governor Fitial,” he added.
The press secretary also said that representatives from the Office of the Governor discussed this trip with DHS' Customs and Border Protection in Washington, D.C. a few weeks ago.
“Over the past week, the Fitial administration has been discussing the agenda for this 'operational visit' of these top CBP officials,” said Reyes.
Delay
Fitial, Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan and other CNMI officials support a delay in the implementation of the federalization law in the CNMI, primarily citing DHS' lack of preparations to control CNMI borders on Nov. 28.
DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano delayed the original implementation date of June 1, 2009 by 180 days, the maximum allowed by law.
In September, DHS provided answers to the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources chaired by Rep. Nick J. Rahall II (D-WV) on questions posed in May, including data on the department's expected spending of at least $112.4 million to implement the federalization law in the CNMI using a three-phased approach until FY 2011.
DHS had said that since the facilities and infrastructure currently used by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services are inadequate to support CBP operations, DHS will be taking a phased approach to implement the standard infrastructure, information technology, and permanent staffing requirements in the CNMI.
“These requirements include ensuring an adequate power supply at CBP facilities, IT circuitry, cabling and equipment, construction of new and improvement of the existing facilities, physical security (both interior and exterior) and access control, standard maintenance and cleaning, firing range access for uniformed CBP officers, standard CBP signage, and adequate supplies of potable water,” DHS said.
Monday, October 12, 2009
NMI to dismantle immigration system
NMI to dismantle immigration system
Monday, 12 October 2009 00:00 By Gemma Q. Casas - Variety News Staff
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THE local Division of Immigration will end its operations once U.S. immigration laws are extended to the islands on Nov. 28.
An undetermined number of local immigration and labor employees will be displaced in the process.
Those working for the local customs and quarantine, however, are spared because the federalization statute, under U.S. P.L. 110-229 or the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008, did not federalize customs or quarantine.
“The immigration laws with respect to entry and removal now enforced by the employees of the CNMI Immigration Division will be preempted by federal law on Nov. 28. Thereafter, the commonwealth will dismantle its Immigration Division,” states the 47-page Commonwealth’s Protocol for the Implementation of P.L. 110-229 prepared by the governor’s special legal counsel, Howard P. Willens, and the Office of the Attorney General.
The protocol will be observed for 90 days to ensure the smooth transition to federal immigration law.
Adjustments, however, will be made if the governor wins the lawsuit he filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, challenging the labor related provisions of U.S.P.L. 110-229.
Although there was a policy statement under such law that local immigration employees should be absorbed and considered for vacancies under the federally administered CNMI immigration system, many anticipate they will lose their jobs.
The Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection have not hired a single U.S. citizen from the local population in the CNMI in the 18 months since the enactment of the law, Willens stated in the protocol.
“It has not relaxed its age standard in order to accommodate experienced commonwealth immigration employees over the age of 37; and it has used standardized tests to measure the value that a prospective employee from the CNMI Immigration Division might bring to the performance of the functions performed by Customs and Border Protection at the ports of entry regardless of the practical on-the-job experience of that employee,” Willens added.
“These two requirements have effectively excluded Immigration Division employees from employment with CBP. This leaves the commonwealth with the entire burden of assisting these immigration employees in seeking new employment,” he said.
The CNMI Legislature has passed legislation giving preference for the would-be displaced local immigration employees to fill in current vacancies in the local government.
The Office of the Personnel Management was also directed to keep a list and e-mail addresses of those who may need employment assistance.
Willens said U.S. P.L. 110-229 states that technical assistance will be provided to the commonwealth, but there are no funds for this mandate and the U.S. Department of the Interior has very limited technical assistance funding available.
He said the CNMI Department of Labor is planning to submit an application from its U.S. counterpart to provide each local immigration employee who desires retraining with two years of financial support plus training costs.
Protection for local labor employees is also being sought.
“The commonwealth will make all possible efforts to ensure that current Labor Department employees will not be displaced. Current employees will be retrained to the extent necessary,” said Willens.
Monday, 12 October 2009 00:00 By Gemma Q. Casas - Variety News Staff
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THE local Division of Immigration will end its operations once U.S. immigration laws are extended to the islands on Nov. 28.
An undetermined number of local immigration and labor employees will be displaced in the process.
Those working for the local customs and quarantine, however, are spared because the federalization statute, under U.S. P.L. 110-229 or the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008, did not federalize customs or quarantine.
“The immigration laws with respect to entry and removal now enforced by the employees of the CNMI Immigration Division will be preempted by federal law on Nov. 28. Thereafter, the commonwealth will dismantle its Immigration Division,” states the 47-page Commonwealth’s Protocol for the Implementation of P.L. 110-229 prepared by the governor’s special legal counsel, Howard P. Willens, and the Office of the Attorney General.
The protocol will be observed for 90 days to ensure the smooth transition to federal immigration law.
Adjustments, however, will be made if the governor wins the lawsuit he filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, challenging the labor related provisions of U.S.P.L. 110-229.
Although there was a policy statement under such law that local immigration employees should be absorbed and considered for vacancies under the federally administered CNMI immigration system, many anticipate they will lose their jobs.
The Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection have not hired a single U.S. citizen from the local population in the CNMI in the 18 months since the enactment of the law, Willens stated in the protocol.
“It has not relaxed its age standard in order to accommodate experienced commonwealth immigration employees over the age of 37; and it has used standardized tests to measure the value that a prospective employee from the CNMI Immigration Division might bring to the performance of the functions performed by Customs and Border Protection at the ports of entry regardless of the practical on-the-job experience of that employee,” Willens added.
“These two requirements have effectively excluded Immigration Division employees from employment with CBP. This leaves the commonwealth with the entire burden of assisting these immigration employees in seeking new employment,” he said.
The CNMI Legislature has passed legislation giving preference for the would-be displaced local immigration employees to fill in current vacancies in the local government.
The Office of the Personnel Management was also directed to keep a list and e-mail addresses of those who may need employment assistance.
Willens said U.S. P.L. 110-229 states that technical assistance will be provided to the commonwealth, but there are no funds for this mandate and the U.S. Department of the Interior has very limited technical assistance funding available.
He said the CNMI Department of Labor is planning to submit an application from its U.S. counterpart to provide each local immigration employee who desires retraining with two years of financial support plus training costs.
Protection for local labor employees is also being sought.
“The commonwealth will make all possible efforts to ensure that current Labor Department employees will not be displaced. Current employees will be retrained to the extent necessary,” said Willens.
DFS wants to discuss feds’ space needs at airport
DFS wants to discuss feds’ space needs at airport
Monday, 12 October 2009 00:00 By Andrew O. De Guzman - Variety News Staff
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DPS Saipan management wants to discuss with the Commonwealth Ports Authority the “adverse impact” of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s space requirements when U.S. immigration law takes effect in the CNMI on Nov. 28.
CPA forwarded DFS’s request to the governor’s special legal counsel Howard Willens.
“Attorney Willens communicated that [U.S. Customs and Border Protection] is not insisting that the space leased by DFS be made available by Nov. 28, 2009,” then-CPA Executive Director Efrain Camacho told DFS president Marian Aldan Pierce in a letter.
“In any event, the governor has made it clear that the commonwealth will not support or direct termination of the lease,” Camacho said.
DFS is paying CPA about $19,000 a month for the lease.
Press Secretary Charles Reyes Jr., in an e-mail to the Variety, said: “The governor’s staff is in close contact with DHS and CBP. We are working to achieve the smoothest transition possible and we expect more CBP officials to arrive later this month to continue our coordinated efforts to achieve the best possible outcomes for investors, workers, and all community stakeholders, as we transition into new and unprecedented federal immigration rules for the CNMI.”
In her letter to the CPA after they were informed of the federal authorities’ space requirements at the Saipan airport, Pierce said among the spaces identified by CBP is the warehouse space covering over 15,000 square feet of the terminal building’s airport and currently leased to DFS.
“Currently, DFS uses the space for storage of merchandise for our airport concession, offices and employee lounge for airport shop employees, including employee restroom facilities,” Pierce informed CPA.
“DFS is not without remedies under the concession agreement,” Pierce added.
These include consulting DFS, “fully compensating” the company or providing “suitable and comparable” facilities to replace the lost warehouse space under the agreement, she said.
“DFS hereby requests that we immediately commence consultations to determine how best to minimize the adverse impact the demands on DHS will have on our business and operations,” Pierce said.
Before he resigned as CPA’s executive director, Camacho told CBP San Francisco Field Office Operations Director Richard Vigna that the space requirements at the CNMI airports and seaports have “spawned great concerns.”
Monday, 12 October 2009 00:00 By Andrew O. De Guzman - Variety News Staff
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DPS Saipan management wants to discuss with the Commonwealth Ports Authority the “adverse impact” of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s space requirements when U.S. immigration law takes effect in the CNMI on Nov. 28.
CPA forwarded DFS’s request to the governor’s special legal counsel Howard Willens.
“Attorney Willens communicated that [U.S. Customs and Border Protection] is not insisting that the space leased by DFS be made available by Nov. 28, 2009,” then-CPA Executive Director Efrain Camacho told DFS president Marian Aldan Pierce in a letter.
“In any event, the governor has made it clear that the commonwealth will not support or direct termination of the lease,” Camacho said.
DFS is paying CPA about $19,000 a month for the lease.
Press Secretary Charles Reyes Jr., in an e-mail to the Variety, said: “The governor’s staff is in close contact with DHS and CBP. We are working to achieve the smoothest transition possible and we expect more CBP officials to arrive later this month to continue our coordinated efforts to achieve the best possible outcomes for investors, workers, and all community stakeholders, as we transition into new and unprecedented federal immigration rules for the CNMI.”
In her letter to the CPA after they were informed of the federal authorities’ space requirements at the Saipan airport, Pierce said among the spaces identified by CBP is the warehouse space covering over 15,000 square feet of the terminal building’s airport and currently leased to DFS.
“Currently, DFS uses the space for storage of merchandise for our airport concession, offices and employee lounge for airport shop employees, including employee restroom facilities,” Pierce informed CPA.
“DFS is not without remedies under the concession agreement,” Pierce added.
These include consulting DFS, “fully compensating” the company or providing “suitable and comparable” facilities to replace the lost warehouse space under the agreement, she said.
“DFS hereby requests that we immediately commence consultations to determine how best to minimize the adverse impact the demands on DHS will have on our business and operations,” Pierce said.
Before he resigned as CPA’s executive director, Camacho told CBP San Francisco Field Office Operations Director Richard Vigna that the space requirements at the CNMI airports and seaports have “spawned great concerns.”
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Sablan Introduces Bill To Delay Start of Federal Immigration Control in CNMI Until December 1, 2010
Sablan Introduces Bill To Delay Start of Federal Immigration Control in CNMI Until December 1, 2010
Guam - U.S. Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan has introduced legislation that delays the start of federal immigration control in the Northern Mariana Islands until December 1, 2010.
“I have made the decision to seek this delay only after much deliberation,” said Sablan. “I firmly believe that federal control of the borders will reduce the scams and abuses that have been a hallmark of local immigration control.
“And I believe that just as political union with the United States was a wise decision and one that benefits the Northern Mariana Islands every single day, so too will it benefit us to be part of the U.S. immigration system.
“But the simple truth is that the Department of Homeland Security, which has had almost a year and a half to prepare, is not ready to implement U.S. Public Law 110-229 on November 28.
“I know that for many people in Washington and in the Commonwealth, who have been pushing for U.S. control of immigration, my bill will seem like backsliding. And I certainly would have preferred not to have to take this action. But I also have to acknowledge the reality of the situation.
“Homeland Security has not finalized arrangements for space at the ports of entry that it must control. No construction of facilities at the ports has begun. None of the sophisticated communications and data entry equipment and supporting infrastructure needed have been installed. Not a single Customs and Border Patrol employee is in place in the Marianas to manage the start-up, which is scheduled to occur in just 65 days.
“Even the Department of Homeland Security itself has now admitted in written reply to Congress that the Department will not be fully operational in the Marianas until 2011.
“That’s not good enough. The people of the Northern Mariana Islands – and the people of all the United States – deserve and expect all U.S. borders to be fully operational all the time.”
Sablan’s bill does not just delay the start of federal control for a year. The bill also responds to agency foot-dragging by requiring reports to Congress every 30 days on actions being taken to be fully prepared to man the borders on December 1, 2010.
“I want to make clear that my bill is not delay for the sake of delay. And I certainly don’t want to find us back in this same predicament a year from now with an impending start up date and an agency that isn’t prepared.
“My bill requires DHS to provide Congress with detailed budgets for the next two years to show how the transition will be paid for. The Department will be required to explain what equipment, software, and personnel needs it has and how it plans to get that infrastructure in place.”
The measure also addresses the issue of the visa waiver program that currently allows Russians and Chinese tourists to easily enter the Commonwealth.
“Although the CNMI visa waiver program would continue as is for another year under my bill, I also want Homeland Security to report to Congress on what will happen after the new start date of December 2010. If there are additional security measures needed to allow Russians and Chinese to enter, what are those measures? DHS has never told us. And, if Russian and Chinese are still excluded from a visa waiver program after December 2010, then I want DHS to explain how these countries can be included at a later date.
“I also want DHS to explain why the system we have now, which requires a bond from tourist agencies sending Russians and Chinese here and which has operated almost completely trouble free, can’t be the system that DHS uses to handle these tourists.”
Guam - U.S. Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan has introduced legislation that delays the start of federal immigration control in the Northern Mariana Islands until December 1, 2010.
“I have made the decision to seek this delay only after much deliberation,” said Sablan. “I firmly believe that federal control of the borders will reduce the scams and abuses that have been a hallmark of local immigration control.
“And I believe that just as political union with the United States was a wise decision and one that benefits the Northern Mariana Islands every single day, so too will it benefit us to be part of the U.S. immigration system.
“But the simple truth is that the Department of Homeland Security, which has had almost a year and a half to prepare, is not ready to implement U.S. Public Law 110-229 on November 28.
“I know that for many people in Washington and in the Commonwealth, who have been pushing for U.S. control of immigration, my bill will seem like backsliding. And I certainly would have preferred not to have to take this action. But I also have to acknowledge the reality of the situation.
“Homeland Security has not finalized arrangements for space at the ports of entry that it must control. No construction of facilities at the ports has begun. None of the sophisticated communications and data entry equipment and supporting infrastructure needed have been installed. Not a single Customs and Border Patrol employee is in place in the Marianas to manage the start-up, which is scheduled to occur in just 65 days.
“Even the Department of Homeland Security itself has now admitted in written reply to Congress that the Department will not be fully operational in the Marianas until 2011.
“That’s not good enough. The people of the Northern Mariana Islands – and the people of all the United States – deserve and expect all U.S. borders to be fully operational all the time.”
Sablan’s bill does not just delay the start of federal control for a year. The bill also responds to agency foot-dragging by requiring reports to Congress every 30 days on actions being taken to be fully prepared to man the borders on December 1, 2010.
“I want to make clear that my bill is not delay for the sake of delay. And I certainly don’t want to find us back in this same predicament a year from now with an impending start up date and an agency that isn’t prepared.
“My bill requires DHS to provide Congress with detailed budgets for the next two years to show how the transition will be paid for. The Department will be required to explain what equipment, software, and personnel needs it has and how it plans to get that infrastructure in place.”
The measure also addresses the issue of the visa waiver program that currently allows Russians and Chinese tourists to easily enter the Commonwealth.
“Although the CNMI visa waiver program would continue as is for another year under my bill, I also want Homeland Security to report to Congress on what will happen after the new start date of December 2010. If there are additional security measures needed to allow Russians and Chinese to enter, what are those measures? DHS has never told us. And, if Russian and Chinese are still excluded from a visa waiver program after December 2010, then I want DHS to explain how these countries can be included at a later date.
“I also want DHS to explain why the system we have now, which requires a bond from tourist agencies sending Russians and Chinese here and which has operated almost completely trouble free, can’t be the system that DHS uses to handle these tourists.”
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
CNMI federalization transition plan issued
CNMI federalization transition plan issued
Administration urges DHS to waive travel restrictions
By Haidee V. Eugenio
Thursday, September 24, 2009
The Fitial administration has issued a 46-page CNMI protocol addressing key concerns related to the transition to federal immigration on Nov. 28, including the loss of government jobs, foreign labor, and adjudication of labor cases.
Titled “The Commonwealth's Protocol for Implementation of Public Law 110-229,” the document prepares the CNMI for federalization which will immediately affect displaced government employees and foreigners who currently hold CNMI-granted status.
Press secretary Charles Reyes, when asked for comment yesterday, said the governor has “approved such a plan to address important transition issues.”
By Nov. 28, for example, CNMI immigration employees will be out of job given that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection has not hired a single U.S. citizen from the CNMI in the 18 months since the federalization law was signed.
Attorney General Ed Buckingham and Howard P. Willens, special counsel to the governor, with instructions from Fitial, undertook the preparation for the protocol.
“The current version of the protocol is intended to collect our policies for reference by all concerned in both the public and private sectors in the Commonwealth and by the responsible federal agencies,” said Willens in a Sept. 15 memorandum for Fitial.
The protocol aims to implement the transition smoothly with as little disruption and uncertainty as possible, keep families together and treat affected persons fairly, and minimize adverse consequences to the recovery of the CNMI economy.
It said the provisions of P.L. 110-229 are imprecise as to the way that the U.S. authorities are to interact with the CNMI authorities and DHS has not yet shared its views on most of the issues discussed in the protocol.
The protocol listed at least 28 CNMI laws about which pre-emption questions could be raised, and these include the organization of the Executive Branch, the Commonwealth Entry and Deportation Act, the Nonresident Worker's Act, the Commonwealth Employment Act of 2007, Excise tax and user fees, and the Commonwealth Minimum Wage and Hour Act.
Outsourcing of services
The Fitial administration has been preparing for discussion with CBP in Washington, D.C. on a proposal to outsource certain port of entry jobs to a private CNMI contractor.
The private contractor would employ current CNMI Division of Immigration employees and provide these employees to supplement CBP personnel assigned to the Commonwealth.
“The contractor personnel would work under the supervision of CBP onsite supervisors,” the protocol said.
Under P.L. 110-229, DHS will control and operate six ports of entry in the CNMI.
In the short term following the Nov. 28 transition, the CNMI intended to use the current Department of Labor workforce in dealing with the problems of employing U.S. citizens to the maximum extent possible.
Travel restrictions
The protocol also urges DHS to waive travel restrictions for foreign workers, foreign investors, and foreign students.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials have announced that nonresidents will be prevented from returning to the CNMI if they lave the islands for medical, family, businesses or other reasons.
“That is unnecessary, highly damaging to the Commonwealth and its citizens, and unacceptable from the Commonwealth's point of view. DHS has authority to waive these restrictions and should do so,” the protocol said.
It added that anyone who holds a CNMI-issued permit or a federally-issued CNMI-only permit is not a threat to U.S. national security and should be allowed to continue employment if they leave the CNMI and return during the term of the permit.
The proposed E-2 CNMI investor status rule, published last week, provides the same travel restrictions to foreign investors.
Under the proposed regulations, the foreign investor must apply for a visa at a consulate or embassy in his home country and obtain a U.S. visa issued by the Department of State to be able to re-enter the CNMI.
PL 110-229 provides specifically that lawful permits issued to persons who wish to remain in the CNMI after Nov. 28, 2009 will be respected for the duration of the permit but not to exceed two years.
Permits
Local government agencies will continue to issue permits and extension until Nov. 27, 2009 for CNMI immigration categories, from 240A to 240Y, and other categories made necessary by the transition to federal immigration law.
For example, the Department of Commerce and the Division of Immigration will continue to issue regular-term business entry permits and extensions in the normal course until Nov. 27, 2009.
CNMI Immigration will issue two-year permits as of Nov. 27, 2009 to every alien who is a government employee and for whom the Office of Personnel Management certified a need for a two-year permit.
The local Immigration will also continue to issue visitor entry permits and extension in the normal course until Nov. 27, 2009.
The government intends to issue public notices and awareness campaign to disseminate information contained in the protocol.
Lynn Knight, a former chair of the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands (HANMI), said the CNMI's protocol document is a “phenomenal undertaking on this incredibly complex issue.”
“Unfortunately, so many gray areas remain even at this late date. This is a pro-active effort to establish what should happen next on the working relationships and necessary details of the immigration takeover. I want to congratulate all those who contributed to the document and I certainly hope the federal officials who will have some role in this going forward will take the protocol very seriously,” said Knight, who used to be a communications liaison on immigration issues. She now lives in the Washington, D.C. area.
The Fitial administration first reported the creation of a public-private task force to ensure operational concerns are addressed related to the federalization transition, right after Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan changed his position by now supporting a delay in federalization.
Sablan said DHS is not ready to implement the law by Nov. 28, but DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said the department is prepared to control CNMI borders by the date set by law.
Administration urges DHS to waive travel restrictions
By Haidee V. Eugenio
Thursday, September 24, 2009
The Fitial administration has issued a 46-page CNMI protocol addressing key concerns related to the transition to federal immigration on Nov. 28, including the loss of government jobs, foreign labor, and adjudication of labor cases.
Titled “The Commonwealth's Protocol for Implementation of Public Law 110-229,” the document prepares the CNMI for federalization which will immediately affect displaced government employees and foreigners who currently hold CNMI-granted status.
Press secretary Charles Reyes, when asked for comment yesterday, said the governor has “approved such a plan to address important transition issues.”
By Nov. 28, for example, CNMI immigration employees will be out of job given that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection has not hired a single U.S. citizen from the CNMI in the 18 months since the federalization law was signed.
Attorney General Ed Buckingham and Howard P. Willens, special counsel to the governor, with instructions from Fitial, undertook the preparation for the protocol.
“The current version of the protocol is intended to collect our policies for reference by all concerned in both the public and private sectors in the Commonwealth and by the responsible federal agencies,” said Willens in a Sept. 15 memorandum for Fitial.
The protocol aims to implement the transition smoothly with as little disruption and uncertainty as possible, keep families together and treat affected persons fairly, and minimize adverse consequences to the recovery of the CNMI economy.
It said the provisions of P.L. 110-229 are imprecise as to the way that the U.S. authorities are to interact with the CNMI authorities and DHS has not yet shared its views on most of the issues discussed in the protocol.
The protocol listed at least 28 CNMI laws about which pre-emption questions could be raised, and these include the organization of the Executive Branch, the Commonwealth Entry and Deportation Act, the Nonresident Worker's Act, the Commonwealth Employment Act of 2007, Excise tax and user fees, and the Commonwealth Minimum Wage and Hour Act.
Outsourcing of services
The Fitial administration has been preparing for discussion with CBP in Washington, D.C. on a proposal to outsource certain port of entry jobs to a private CNMI contractor.
The private contractor would employ current CNMI Division of Immigration employees and provide these employees to supplement CBP personnel assigned to the Commonwealth.
“The contractor personnel would work under the supervision of CBP onsite supervisors,” the protocol said.
Under P.L. 110-229, DHS will control and operate six ports of entry in the CNMI.
In the short term following the Nov. 28 transition, the CNMI intended to use the current Department of Labor workforce in dealing with the problems of employing U.S. citizens to the maximum extent possible.
Travel restrictions
The protocol also urges DHS to waive travel restrictions for foreign workers, foreign investors, and foreign students.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials have announced that nonresidents will be prevented from returning to the CNMI if they lave the islands for medical, family, businesses or other reasons.
“That is unnecessary, highly damaging to the Commonwealth and its citizens, and unacceptable from the Commonwealth's point of view. DHS has authority to waive these restrictions and should do so,” the protocol said.
It added that anyone who holds a CNMI-issued permit or a federally-issued CNMI-only permit is not a threat to U.S. national security and should be allowed to continue employment if they leave the CNMI and return during the term of the permit.
The proposed E-2 CNMI investor status rule, published last week, provides the same travel restrictions to foreign investors.
Under the proposed regulations, the foreign investor must apply for a visa at a consulate or embassy in his home country and obtain a U.S. visa issued by the Department of State to be able to re-enter the CNMI.
PL 110-229 provides specifically that lawful permits issued to persons who wish to remain in the CNMI after Nov. 28, 2009 will be respected for the duration of the permit but not to exceed two years.
Permits
Local government agencies will continue to issue permits and extension until Nov. 27, 2009 for CNMI immigration categories, from 240A to 240Y, and other categories made necessary by the transition to federal immigration law.
For example, the Department of Commerce and the Division of Immigration will continue to issue regular-term business entry permits and extensions in the normal course until Nov. 27, 2009.
CNMI Immigration will issue two-year permits as of Nov. 27, 2009 to every alien who is a government employee and for whom the Office of Personnel Management certified a need for a two-year permit.
The local Immigration will also continue to issue visitor entry permits and extension in the normal course until Nov. 27, 2009.
The government intends to issue public notices and awareness campaign to disseminate information contained in the protocol.
Lynn Knight, a former chair of the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands (HANMI), said the CNMI's protocol document is a “phenomenal undertaking on this incredibly complex issue.”
“Unfortunately, so many gray areas remain even at this late date. This is a pro-active effort to establish what should happen next on the working relationships and necessary details of the immigration takeover. I want to congratulate all those who contributed to the document and I certainly hope the federal officials who will have some role in this going forward will take the protocol very seriously,” said Knight, who used to be a communications liaison on immigration issues. She now lives in the Washington, D.C. area.
The Fitial administration first reported the creation of a public-private task force to ensure operational concerns are addressed related to the federalization transition, right after Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan changed his position by now supporting a delay in federalization.
Sablan said DHS is not ready to implement the law by Nov. 28, but DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said the department is prepared to control CNMI borders by the date set by law.
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