Letters to the Editor
Monday, April 20, 2009
I must say that I was very impressed when I walked into Super Fresh Market. I saw nothing but local employees. This just shows that the mentality that locals are lazy is just plain wrong. Super Fresh Market is a business that is in touch with today's CNMI. Unfortunately, our labor laws are out of touch with today's CNMI. Currently, only a measly 20 percent resident hire is required for private businesses. Resident workers must cover their own medical expenses, while contract workers enjoy having their medical expenses paid for by their employers. Federalization has been delayed for six months. Labor reform is needed to protect our resident workforce. Increase the mandatory resident hire from 20 percent to 35 percent. The upcoming minimum wage increases will entice more residents to turn to the private sector, while the government continues to threaten employees with austerity measures such as austerity Fridays, layoffs, and unpaid holidays. Aren't the laws supposed to protect the resident workforce as well or are they only meant to protect the nonresidents? There is nothing wrong with having nonresident workers. The only problem is, they outnumber the resident workers big time. The more resident workers we employ, the more money gets invested in the CNMI. Less money would leave the CNMI for the Philippines, China, Korea, Bangladesh, Nepal, etc.
Kudos to Kagman Joeten, Kagman Mobil, Super Fresh Market and other businesses for supporting the local workforce. Kudos to Northern Marianas Trades Institute for training resident workers to replace the nonresident workers in the vocational field.
Support the local workforce. Support local products. Support local services. Support local education. Export more, import less. It is for the sake of our economy.
Jesse Torres
Kagman
Sunday, April 19, 2009
From 86 in 2006, Labor reduces staff to 46
Local
Monday, April 20, 2009
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
From 86 staff in 2006, the Department of Labor now only has 46 personnel beginning 2008.
Labor Deputy Secretary Cinta Kaipat said they have decreased staffing from 86 in 2006 to 72 in 2007 and 46 in 2008.
At the same time, Kaipat said, they have increased Labor's automation system and expanded its website so that service to the community will not suffer.
She said Labor is a revenue-generating agency so it is important that budget cuts not adversely affect revenue collections.
“If we are slowed down in our administrative process by lack of staff, we are also slowed down in our revenue generation for the Commonwealth Treasury,” she added.
Kaipat said they have reorganized and cut down positions through their own processes.
“Hopefully, we will not be bundled with agencies that have resisted change and were subjected to arbitrary cuts,” she said.
Labor, the deputy secretary said, is working hard to get into compliance with the 2009 budget recently enacted by the Legislature.
Monday, April 20, 2009
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
From 86 staff in 2006, the Department of Labor now only has 46 personnel beginning 2008.
Labor Deputy Secretary Cinta Kaipat said they have decreased staffing from 86 in 2006 to 72 in 2007 and 46 in 2008.
At the same time, Kaipat said, they have increased Labor's automation system and expanded its website so that service to the community will not suffer.
She said Labor is a revenue-generating agency so it is important that budget cuts not adversely affect revenue collections.
“If we are slowed down in our administrative process by lack of staff, we are also slowed down in our revenue generation for the Commonwealth Treasury,” she added.
Kaipat said they have reorganized and cut down positions through their own processes.
“Hopefully, we will not be bundled with agencies that have resisted change and were subjected to arbitrary cuts,” she said.
Labor, the deputy secretary said, is working hard to get into compliance with the 2009 budget recently enacted by the Legislature.
Kaipat Says Labor is Helping Alien Workers with US Citizen Children
Local
Monday, April 20, 2009
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
Department of Labor Deputy Secretary Cinta Kaipat said they are helping alien workers who have U.S. citizen children in getting transfer extensions.
In her progress report on the implementation of the Labor Reform Law, Kaipat said on occasion they give transfer extensions to alien workers who are in “hardship cases.”
“For example, the parents would be required to take their U.S. citizen children out of school near the end of the school term,” Kaipat said.
She said they also sometimes give transfer extensions to skilled workers whose prospective employers need time to get the transfer papers together and secure the necessary bonding.
The deputy secretary noted that their success in placing U.S. citizens in jobs and disqualifying unfit employers have resulted in extensions of transfers for some workers.
“If a worker is displaced because a U.S. citizen applied for the job and was hired, then the foreign worker gets another chance to transfer. If we did not do this, we would have less success in getting foreign workers to help train their U.S. citizen successors,” Kaipat said.
If a worker finds a transfer employer but Labor disqualifies this employer for reasons that are not the worker's fault, then the worker gets another chance to transfer, she said.
If Labor did not do this, she said, the department would have less success in keeping workers out of the underground economy.
Kaipat claims they manage the transfer process carefully.
“Every transfer has to be approved in the Administrative Hearing Office and every employer has to be approved by the Director of Labor,” she added
Monday, April 20, 2009
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
Department of Labor Deputy Secretary Cinta Kaipat said they are helping alien workers who have U.S. citizen children in getting transfer extensions.
In her progress report on the implementation of the Labor Reform Law, Kaipat said on occasion they give transfer extensions to alien workers who are in “hardship cases.”
“For example, the parents would be required to take their U.S. citizen children out of school near the end of the school term,” Kaipat said.
She said they also sometimes give transfer extensions to skilled workers whose prospective employers need time to get the transfer papers together and secure the necessary bonding.
The deputy secretary noted that their success in placing U.S. citizens in jobs and disqualifying unfit employers have resulted in extensions of transfers for some workers.
“If a worker is displaced because a U.S. citizen applied for the job and was hired, then the foreign worker gets another chance to transfer. If we did not do this, we would have less success in getting foreign workers to help train their U.S. citizen successors,” Kaipat said.
If a worker finds a transfer employer but Labor disqualifies this employer for reasons that are not the worker's fault, then the worker gets another chance to transfer, she said.
If Labor did not do this, she said, the department would have less success in keeping workers out of the underground economy.
Kaipat claims they manage the transfer process carefully.
“Every transfer has to be approved in the Administrative Hearing Office and every employer has to be approved by the Director of Labor,” she added
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Dead wrong
Letters to the Editor
Friday, April 17, 2009
My friend Zaldy Dandan's editorial segment in Thursday's Variety titled “A big problem” is dead wrong. Zaldy asserts that the Labor Department is denying “more” labor permits and that is a “problem.” The Labor Department processes applications from employers more quickly and efficiently than in prior years. Deficiencies and denials are cleared up or decided promptly. Workers are cleared to work much faster than in prior years.
So Zaldy, would you have us grant labor permits for employers who are running scams and collecting money from foreign workers when there is no job available at all?
Would you have us grant labor permits for employers who have no demonstrable resources with which to pay the workers and thus cause more labor cases about unpaid wages?
Would you have us grant labor permits for employers whose work premises present health and safety hazards?
Would you have us grant labor permits to employers who have had multiple labor cases in the past and have been barred from hiring more foreign workers?
The Labor Department has better automated processes now, and we can weed out unqualified employers efficiently. However, you fail to point out that when we disqualify an employer, we always give the foreign worker another chance to transfer if the worker was not at fault in the employer's failure to qualify.
Your criticism is unfounded and unfair. This Administration has no intent to shrink the foreign worker population in advance of a change in federal law. In fact, we have consistently argued that foreign workers are a valuable part of the community and should not be forcibly deported as the federalization law contemplates. The Labor Department tries hard to work with the foreign worker groups and their representatives to minimize adverse impacts on workers and on the community.
Jacinta M. Kaipat
Deputy Secretary of Labor
Friday, April 17, 2009
My friend Zaldy Dandan's editorial segment in Thursday's Variety titled “A big problem” is dead wrong. Zaldy asserts that the Labor Department is denying “more” labor permits and that is a “problem.” The Labor Department processes applications from employers more quickly and efficiently than in prior years. Deficiencies and denials are cleared up or decided promptly. Workers are cleared to work much faster than in prior years.
So Zaldy, would you have us grant labor permits for employers who are running scams and collecting money from foreign workers when there is no job available at all?
Would you have us grant labor permits for employers who have no demonstrable resources with which to pay the workers and thus cause more labor cases about unpaid wages?
Would you have us grant labor permits for employers whose work premises present health and safety hazards?
Would you have us grant labor permits to employers who have had multiple labor cases in the past and have been barred from hiring more foreign workers?
The Labor Department has better automated processes now, and we can weed out unqualified employers efficiently. However, you fail to point out that when we disqualify an employer, we always give the foreign worker another chance to transfer if the worker was not at fault in the employer's failure to qualify.
Your criticism is unfounded and unfair. This Administration has no intent to shrink the foreign worker population in advance of a change in federal law. In fact, we have consistently argued that foreign workers are a valuable part of the community and should not be forcibly deported as the federalization law contemplates. The Labor Department tries hard to work with the foreign worker groups and their representatives to minimize adverse impacts on workers and on the community.
Jacinta M. Kaipat
Deputy Secretary of Labor
'In layoffs, alien workers first before US citizens'
Local
Friday, April 17, 2009
The Labor Department is vigorously enforcing the U.S. citizen preference in any reductions-in-force, according to Employment Services director Alfred Pangelinan in a statement issued yesterday.
The department's regulations, issued under Section 4937 of Public Law 15-108, provide that every employer must lay off foreign workers first before laying off U.S. citizens in the same O-Net job classification. The regulations also provide that every employer must lay off foreign workers who arrived more recently before laying off foreign workers who have been in the Commonwealth for a longer time.
The only exceptions to this job preference in layoffs are provided in Section 4965 of P.L. 15-108 for consular operations and students on work/study assignments. All other employers are covered by the layoff provisions.
“We have some discretion under our regulations,” said Pangelinan. “We can agree with the employer under certain circumstances to vary the job preference in layoffs for important business reasons, but we must be notified and agree in advance. We cannot provide any flexibility after the fact.”
If an employer has not yet established O-Net classifications with the department when hiring workers, Pangelinan said the department will apply the broadest applicable O-Net classification for layoff job preference for U.S. citizens.
Pangelinan said the regulations recognize that economic necessity may require layoffs. “We recognize that these are difficult economic times,” he said, “and we will work with employers to find a good solution. But we must protect the rights given to U.S. citizen workers by CNMI law.”
Employers are required to give the department 60 days advance notice of any layoffs, so the department can ensure that U.S. citizen employment rights are protected and foreign worker transfers are arranged.
An employer who has laid off foreign workers is barred from hiring any on island foreign workers in the O-Net job classification from which workers were laid off, and is barred for six months from hiring any off-island foreign workers.
An employer who lays off U.S. citizens before laying off foreign workers in the same job classifications is subject to the revocation of foreign worker employment contracts. (PR)
Friday, April 17, 2009
The Labor Department is vigorously enforcing the U.S. citizen preference in any reductions-in-force, according to Employment Services director Alfred Pangelinan in a statement issued yesterday.
The department's regulations, issued under Section 4937 of Public Law 15-108, provide that every employer must lay off foreign workers first before laying off U.S. citizens in the same O-Net job classification. The regulations also provide that every employer must lay off foreign workers who arrived more recently before laying off foreign workers who have been in the Commonwealth for a longer time.
The only exceptions to this job preference in layoffs are provided in Section 4965 of P.L. 15-108 for consular operations and students on work/study assignments. All other employers are covered by the layoff provisions.
“We have some discretion under our regulations,” said Pangelinan. “We can agree with the employer under certain circumstances to vary the job preference in layoffs for important business reasons, but we must be notified and agree in advance. We cannot provide any flexibility after the fact.”
If an employer has not yet established O-Net classifications with the department when hiring workers, Pangelinan said the department will apply the broadest applicable O-Net classification for layoff job preference for U.S. citizens.
Pangelinan said the regulations recognize that economic necessity may require layoffs. “We recognize that these are difficult economic times,” he said, “and we will work with employers to find a good solution. But we must protect the rights given to U.S. citizen workers by CNMI law.”
Employers are required to give the department 60 days advance notice of any layoffs, so the department can ensure that U.S. citizen employment rights are protected and foreign worker transfers are arranged.
An employer who has laid off foreign workers is barred from hiring any on island foreign workers in the O-Net job classification from which workers were laid off, and is barred for six months from hiring any off-island foreign workers.
An employer who lays off U.S. citizens before laying off foreign workers in the same job classifications is subject to the revocation of foreign worker employment contracts. (PR)
Labor presses cutting backlog of labor cases pending in court
Local
Friday, April 17, 2009
By Anthony Pellegrino
Special to the Saipan Tribune
Department of Labor Deputy Secretary Cinta Kaipat said they are eyeing a reduction in the backlog of labor cases pending in the Superior Court.
In her interim report on the implementation of Public Law 15-108, Kaipat said they expect to be current within six to eight weeks on labor cases filed in the local court.
Kaipat said that Labor's new counsel, Eli Golob, appeared in court on several cases a few days after being sworn in as member of the CNMI Bar.
Golob practiced law in Arizona and New York and is reportedly an experienced trial attorney and in administrative hearings.
Kaipat said Golob will also be working on reducing the backlog of alien worker claims at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the U.S. Labor Relations Board, and the U.S. Department of Labor.
Kaipat emphasized that the backlogs in these federal agencies are not the result of any delay at CNMI Labor.
“We are going to urge the agencies to move along and terminate Temporary Work Authorizations as soon as possible in cases where the agencies continue their undue delays,” she added.
Friday, April 17, 2009
By Anthony Pellegrino
Special to the Saipan Tribune
Department of Labor Deputy Secretary Cinta Kaipat said they are eyeing a reduction in the backlog of labor cases pending in the Superior Court.
In her interim report on the implementation of Public Law 15-108, Kaipat said they expect to be current within six to eight weeks on labor cases filed in the local court.
Kaipat said that Labor's new counsel, Eli Golob, appeared in court on several cases a few days after being sworn in as member of the CNMI Bar.
Golob practiced law in Arizona and New York and is reportedly an experienced trial attorney and in administrative hearings.
Kaipat said Golob will also be working on reducing the backlog of alien worker claims at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the U.S. Labor Relations Board, and the U.S. Department of Labor.
Kaipat emphasized that the backlogs in these federal agencies are not the result of any delay at CNMI Labor.
“We are going to urge the agencies to move along and terminate Temporary Work Authorizations as soon as possible in cases where the agencies continue their undue delays,” she added.
Labor: Lay off guest workers first before US citizens
Friday, 17 April 2009 00:00 By Emmanuel T. Erediano - Variety News Staff
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THE Department of Labor yesterday said it will “vigorously” enforce the policy that gives U.S. citizens preference when companies have to reduce their workforce.
Citing Public Law 15-108, Employment Service and Training Division Director Alfred Pangelinan in a statement said every employer must lay off foreign workers before U.S. citizens in the same job classification.
The regulations also provide that every employer must lay off foreign workers who arrived more recently before laying off foreign workers who have been in the CNMI for a long time.
The only exceptions to this job preference in layoffs are those in consular operations and students on work/study assignments.
All other employers are covered by the layoff provisions.
“We have some discretion under our regulations,” Pangelinan said adding that Labor can agree with the employer under certain circumstances to vary the job preference in layoffs for important business reasons, “but we must be notified and agree in advance.”
“We cannot provide any flexibility after the fact,” he added.
Pangelinan said if an employer has not yet established classifications with Labor when hiring workers, the department will apply the broadest applicable classification for layoff job preference for U.S. citizens.
He added that the regulations recognize that economic necessity may require layoffs.
Employers, he said, must give Labor 60 days before laying off their workers so the department can ensure that U.S. citizen employment rights are protected and foreign worker transfers are arranged.
An employer who has laid off a foreign workers is barred for 90 days from hiring any on-island foreign worker in the same job classification.
Such employer is also barred for six months from hiring any off-island foreign workers.
On the other hand, an employer who lays off U.S. citizens before terminating foreign workers in the same job classification is subject to the revocation of foreign worker employment contracts.
E-mail Print PDF
THE Department of Labor yesterday said it will “vigorously” enforce the policy that gives U.S. citizens preference when companies have to reduce their workforce.
Citing Public Law 15-108, Employment Service and Training Division Director Alfred Pangelinan in a statement said every employer must lay off foreign workers before U.S. citizens in the same job classification.
The regulations also provide that every employer must lay off foreign workers who arrived more recently before laying off foreign workers who have been in the CNMI for a long time.
The only exceptions to this job preference in layoffs are those in consular operations and students on work/study assignments.
All other employers are covered by the layoff provisions.
“We have some discretion under our regulations,” Pangelinan said adding that Labor can agree with the employer under certain circumstances to vary the job preference in layoffs for important business reasons, “but we must be notified and agree in advance.”
“We cannot provide any flexibility after the fact,” he added.
Pangelinan said if an employer has not yet established classifications with Labor when hiring workers, the department will apply the broadest applicable classification for layoff job preference for U.S. citizens.
He added that the regulations recognize that economic necessity may require layoffs.
Employers, he said, must give Labor 60 days before laying off their workers so the department can ensure that U.S. citizen employment rights are protected and foreign worker transfers are arranged.
An employer who has laid off a foreign workers is barred for 90 days from hiring any on-island foreign worker in the same job classification.
Such employer is also barred for six months from hiring any off-island foreign workers.
On the other hand, an employer who lays off U.S. citizens before terminating foreign workers in the same job classification is subject to the revocation of foreign worker employment contracts.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Local
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Labor uncovers massive sponsorship scheme
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
The Department of Labor has uncovered a massive sponsorship scheme involving 24 alien workers who paid money to their “employer.”
Labor Administrative Hearing Officer Jerry Cody sanctioned Leon H. Lizama in the amount of $500 for each sponsorship submitted, for a total sanction of $12,000.
Cody permanently barred Lizama from employing foreign national workers in the CNMI.
Cody also referred Lizama's case to the Office of the Attorney General for possible criminal investigation.
The hearing officer ordered 19 alien workers to report to the Labor Enforcement Section to make arrangements for their repatriation.
Cody, however, allowed five other alien workers to seek new employers after they came to Labor, admitted the fraud, and assisted Labor with its investigation.
“Such assistance was instrumental in framing the department's case and establishing the truth with respect to this massive sponsorship scheme,” he noted.
Labor records showed that Lizama had represented to Labor that he owns and operates a commercial farm and a health supply service.
Labor began an investigation after it noticed that Lizama filed 23 transfer applications in 2007, while at the same time declining to renew six out of seven of his current employees.
Labor subsequently denied 24 of Lizama's applications. The 23 workers appealed the denial.
Lizama first denied engaging in any sponsorship, but then changed his story at the second hearing on July 7, 2008, admitting that all the applications were actually sponsorship agreements.
Under the arrangement, Lizama would file employment application offering non-existent jobs to workers in exchange for a payment from the worker.
The workers each paid $50 per month for three months. Each worker would be responsible for paying his or her labor processing fees, including bonding.
Cody said Lizama and the workers committed fraud against Labor by submitting permit applications that purported to evidence actual employment when, in fact these arrangements were nothing more than sponsorships.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Labor uncovers massive sponsorship scheme
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
The Department of Labor has uncovered a massive sponsorship scheme involving 24 alien workers who paid money to their “employer.”
Labor Administrative Hearing Officer Jerry Cody sanctioned Leon H. Lizama in the amount of $500 for each sponsorship submitted, for a total sanction of $12,000.
Cody permanently barred Lizama from employing foreign national workers in the CNMI.
Cody also referred Lizama's case to the Office of the Attorney General for possible criminal investigation.
The hearing officer ordered 19 alien workers to report to the Labor Enforcement Section to make arrangements for their repatriation.
Cody, however, allowed five other alien workers to seek new employers after they came to Labor, admitted the fraud, and assisted Labor with its investigation.
“Such assistance was instrumental in framing the department's case and establishing the truth with respect to this massive sponsorship scheme,” he noted.
Labor records showed that Lizama had represented to Labor that he owns and operates a commercial farm and a health supply service.
Labor began an investigation after it noticed that Lizama filed 23 transfer applications in 2007, while at the same time declining to renew six out of seven of his current employees.
Labor subsequently denied 24 of Lizama's applications. The 23 workers appealed the denial.
Lizama first denied engaging in any sponsorship, but then changed his story at the second hearing on July 7, 2008, admitting that all the applications were actually sponsorship agreements.
Under the arrangement, Lizama would file employment application offering non-existent jobs to workers in exchange for a payment from the worker.
The workers each paid $50 per month for three months. Each worker would be responsible for paying his or her labor processing fees, including bonding.
Cody said Lizama and the workers committed fraud against Labor by submitting permit applications that purported to evidence actual employment when, in fact these arrangements were nothing more than sponsorships.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Local
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Kaipat: Delay gives Labor more time for transition
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
With the 180-day delay in implementing the federalization law, there is lesser urgency for any transition related to labor matters, according to Department of Labor Deputy Secretary Cinta Kaipat
In her progress report on the implementation of Public Law 15-108 or the new reform labor law, Kaipat said Labor can now await the outcome of Gov. Benigno R. Fitial's federalization lawsuit without employers and workers having to adjust their affairs in the interim.
“However, we have been meeting regularly with the federal authorities since last fall to explain exactly what we are doing, how we are making decisions, and why our procedures are working effectively,” she said.
Kaipat said she believes Labor has good lines of communication and that the federal authorities have much better and more current information about Labor activities than has been the case in past years.
With respect to the federal stimulus issue, Kaipat said they believe that the Labor Employment Services and Enforcement sections may qualify for grants under the federal stimulus funding.
“We are working on three proposals, and we expect to have them submitted shortly,” Kaipat said.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Kaipat: Delay gives Labor more time for transition
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
With the 180-day delay in implementing the federalization law, there is lesser urgency for any transition related to labor matters, according to Department of Labor Deputy Secretary Cinta Kaipat
In her progress report on the implementation of Public Law 15-108 or the new reform labor law, Kaipat said Labor can now await the outcome of Gov. Benigno R. Fitial's federalization lawsuit without employers and workers having to adjust their affairs in the interim.
“However, we have been meeting regularly with the federal authorities since last fall to explain exactly what we are doing, how we are making decisions, and why our procedures are working effectively,” she said.
Kaipat said she believes Labor has good lines of communication and that the federal authorities have much better and more current information about Labor activities than has been the case in past years.
With respect to the federal stimulus issue, Kaipat said they believe that the Labor Employment Services and Enforcement sections may qualify for grants under the federal stimulus funding.
“We are working on three proposals, and we expect to have them submitted shortly,” Kaipat said.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Local
Friday, April 10, 2009
Labor issues new form for transfer alien workers
By Kristi Eaton
Reporter
Foreign workers seeking to transfer jobs will now be required to sign a form, showing they understand they are responsible for repatriation and medical expenses if the previous employer goes out of business during the transfer process.
The Department of Labor issued the new form this week.
The policy is not new, but the agreement is a reminder to workers their former employer may go out of business while they are looking to transfer jobs. If that is the case, the worker must cover any repatriation or medical expenses. Repatriation expenses are only incurred if the worker decides to return to their native country.
“We allow some extra time to transfer in cases where the worker has good prospects for employment in the Commonwealth but has not yet quite completed the employment arrangements,” said DOL Deputy Secretary Jacinta M. Kaipat in a statement. “If a worker asks us for extra time, and there is good reason to give a little extra time, then we want the worker to understand the risk that the former employer might become insolvent. That risk means that the worker may have to meet repatriation and medical expenses for themselves. There might be no former employer there to meet these expenses.”
Labor has had a few instances where an employer, who was responsible for repatriating a worker, went out of business while the worker was attempting to transfer, the statement said. Later, when the worker could not find a job and decided to leave the Commonwealth, there was no employer to pay for repatriation.
“We are not making any different rules,” Kaipat said. “The last employer of record is always responsible for repatriation expenses. We are just explaining the practicalities of our current economic circumstances. When a worker decides to remain in the Commonwealth and transfer to a new employer, then there could be a risk attached to that decision. We do not think the risk is very great, but in the interests of fairness, we just explained our policy about who should bear this risk.”
The policy protects the Commonwealth's taxpayers from any costs associated with repatriated foreign employees, the statement said.
Kaipat said foreign worker groups were consulted about how to allocate the risk.
“The Department has always emphasized that we cannot ask the taxpayers of the Commonwealth to pay for employment risks. The Department does not regard these situations as presenting a significant risk; however, in hard economic times, any risk is important. The documentation that will be required by the Department is similar to documentation as to financial resources required by Immigration,” she said.
Gov. Benigno Fitial said he commends the Department for “implementing a policy to educate workers and reduce financial liabilities to the CNMI government.”
Moreover, Fitial said he appreciates the work Labor has made over the past three years, citing the agency's establishment of a website and automated processing, as well as the department's clearance of a backlog of old labor cases.
“I am especially pleased with our Labor Department's amazing handling of the massive repatriation of garment factory workers after the industry collapsed,” the governor said in the statement. “Labor effectively handled many thousands of labor cases, transfers, and repatriations, which could have easily been a disaster for a less capable Labor Department.”
Friday, April 10, 2009
Labor issues new form for transfer alien workers
By Kristi Eaton
Reporter
Foreign workers seeking to transfer jobs will now be required to sign a form, showing they understand they are responsible for repatriation and medical expenses if the previous employer goes out of business during the transfer process.
The Department of Labor issued the new form this week.
The policy is not new, but the agreement is a reminder to workers their former employer may go out of business while they are looking to transfer jobs. If that is the case, the worker must cover any repatriation or medical expenses. Repatriation expenses are only incurred if the worker decides to return to their native country.
“We allow some extra time to transfer in cases where the worker has good prospects for employment in the Commonwealth but has not yet quite completed the employment arrangements,” said DOL Deputy Secretary Jacinta M. Kaipat in a statement. “If a worker asks us for extra time, and there is good reason to give a little extra time, then we want the worker to understand the risk that the former employer might become insolvent. That risk means that the worker may have to meet repatriation and medical expenses for themselves. There might be no former employer there to meet these expenses.”
Labor has had a few instances where an employer, who was responsible for repatriating a worker, went out of business while the worker was attempting to transfer, the statement said. Later, when the worker could not find a job and decided to leave the Commonwealth, there was no employer to pay for repatriation.
“We are not making any different rules,” Kaipat said. “The last employer of record is always responsible for repatriation expenses. We are just explaining the practicalities of our current economic circumstances. When a worker decides to remain in the Commonwealth and transfer to a new employer, then there could be a risk attached to that decision. We do not think the risk is very great, but in the interests of fairness, we just explained our policy about who should bear this risk.”
The policy protects the Commonwealth's taxpayers from any costs associated with repatriated foreign employees, the statement said.
Kaipat said foreign worker groups were consulted about how to allocate the risk.
“The Department has always emphasized that we cannot ask the taxpayers of the Commonwealth to pay for employment risks. The Department does not regard these situations as presenting a significant risk; however, in hard economic times, any risk is important. The documentation that will be required by the Department is similar to documentation as to financial resources required by Immigration,” she said.
Gov. Benigno Fitial said he commends the Department for “implementing a policy to educate workers and reduce financial liabilities to the CNMI government.”
Moreover, Fitial said he appreciates the work Labor has made over the past three years, citing the agency's establishment of a website and automated processing, as well as the department's clearance of a backlog of old labor cases.
“I am especially pleased with our Labor Department's amazing handling of the massive repatriation of garment factory workers after the industry collapsed,” the governor said in the statement. “Labor effectively handled many thousands of labor cases, transfers, and repatriations, which could have easily been a disaster for a less capable Labor Department.”
Monday, April 6, 2009
Denied labor applications rising
Tuesday, 07 April 2009 00:00 By Gemma Q. Casas - Variety News Staff
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MORE employers who want to hire foreign workers are being turned down by the Department of Labor.
“There has been a large increase in the number of applications denied. Appeals of these denials have been filed in 627 cases from June 2008 through March 2009…. The director’s disqualification has been upheld in many cases, and the employer has been denied permission to employ foreign workers,” said Deputy Labor Secretary Cinta M. Kaipat in her latest report to the Legislature.
She said the stringent scrutiny of foreign labor applications aims “to weed out employers who are insolvent, who lack the necessary resources to pay their foreign workers, who may not be providing a real job, or who are otherwise unqualified.”
The labor official said the measure benefits the cash-strapped CNMI government and foreign workers who may have been otherwise exploited.
“This has three beneficial effects: first, the number of unfit employers has been reduced very substantially, resulting in fewer labor complaints from foreign workers about not being paid; second, the number of employment scams set up solely for the purpose of allowing foreign workers to remain in the commonwealth while unemployed has been reduced, resulting in fewer law enforcement problems,” she said.
“And third, the number of U.S. citizens hired has increased because a business can hire a U.S. citizen without any scrutiny of its finances by the Labor Department,” she added.
The government continues to encourage private sector employers to hire U.S. citizens or local residents instead of foreign workers.
Kaipat, however, said this policy still allows displaced foreign workers to apply for jobs.
“Since Oct. 2008, we have processed transfer requests for 615 foreign workers who have been displaced in their jobs by U.S. citizen hires. That is only one informal measure of our success because not every foreign worker who is displaced elects to request permission to transfer; some elect to be repatriated,” she said.
Labor Department data showed more than 16,000 foreign workers left the islands for their home countries from 2006 to 2008.
Majority of these workers have opted to be repatriated after the conclusion of their labor cases.
“During the last three years — 2006, 2007, and 2008 — the Department has processed and completed the repatriation of over 16,000 foreign workers. This has been an enormous administrative task of completing labor cases, securing repatriation tickets, and making voluntary arrangements for departures,” Kaipat said in her report.
“The department has done this work quietly and efficiently, working cooperatively with foreign workers and their representatives to accommodate hardship concerns and to honor requests for the timing of repatriation,” she added.
Tuesday, 07 April 2009 00:00 By Gemma Q. Casas - Variety News Staff
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MORE employers who want to hire foreign workers are being turned down by the Department of Labor.
“There has been a large increase in the number of applications denied. Appeals of these denials have been filed in 627 cases from June 2008 through March 2009…. The director’s disqualification has been upheld in many cases, and the employer has been denied permission to employ foreign workers,” said Deputy Labor Secretary Cinta M. Kaipat in her latest report to the Legislature.
She said the stringent scrutiny of foreign labor applications aims “to weed out employers who are insolvent, who lack the necessary resources to pay their foreign workers, who may not be providing a real job, or who are otherwise unqualified.”
The labor official said the measure benefits the cash-strapped CNMI government and foreign workers who may have been otherwise exploited.
“This has three beneficial effects: first, the number of unfit employers has been reduced very substantially, resulting in fewer labor complaints from foreign workers about not being paid; second, the number of employment scams set up solely for the purpose of allowing foreign workers to remain in the commonwealth while unemployed has been reduced, resulting in fewer law enforcement problems,” she said.
“And third, the number of U.S. citizens hired has increased because a business can hire a U.S. citizen without any scrutiny of its finances by the Labor Department,” she added.
The government continues to encourage private sector employers to hire U.S. citizens or local residents instead of foreign workers.
Kaipat, however, said this policy still allows displaced foreign workers to apply for jobs.
“Since Oct. 2008, we have processed transfer requests for 615 foreign workers who have been displaced in their jobs by U.S. citizen hires. That is only one informal measure of our success because not every foreign worker who is displaced elects to request permission to transfer; some elect to be repatriated,” she said.
Labor Department data showed more than 16,000 foreign workers left the islands for their home countries from 2006 to 2008.
Majority of these workers have opted to be repatriated after the conclusion of their labor cases.
“During the last three years — 2006, 2007, and 2008 — the Department has processed and completed the repatriation of over 16,000 foreign workers. This has been an enormous administrative task of completing labor cases, securing repatriation tickets, and making voluntary arrangements for departures,” Kaipat said in her report.
“The department has done this work quietly and efficiently, working cooperatively with foreign workers and their representatives to accommodate hardship concerns and to honor requests for the timing of repatriation,” she added.
Local
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Kaipat notes large increase in denial of applications to hire alien workers
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
Labor deputy secretary Cinta Kaipat has noted a large increase in the number of applications filed by employers to hire alien workers that were eventually denied by Labor.
Kaipat said appeals of these denials have been filed in 627 cases from June 2008 through March 2009.
“All of these appeals have been processed efficiently by the [Labor] Hearing Office, in addition to its normal caseload of labor complaints,” said Kaipat in her interim progress report submitted Wednesday last week to the Legislature on the implementation of the Public Law 15-108. She was the author of the controversial labor reform law when she was a representative.
The deputy secretary, however, did not cite figures in her report to support her claim of a “large” increase in Labor denials.
Kaipat said Labor director Barry Hirshbein has subjected applications to employ alien workers to tighter scrutiny, using Labor's new automated process.
She said the careful scrutiny has been done to weed out employers who are insolvent, who lack the necessary resources to pay their foreign workers, who may not be providing a real job, or who are otherwise unqualified.
The deputy secretary claimed that Hirshbein's disqualification has been upheld in many cases, and the employers have been denied permission to employ foreign workers.
Kaipat listed three “beneficial effects” of such scrutiny.
First, she said, the number of unfit employers has been reduced very substantially, resulting in fewer labor complaints from foreign workers about not being paid.
Second, Kaipat said, the number of employment scams set up solely for the purpose of allowing foreign workers to remain in the CNMI while unemployed has been reduced, resulting in fewer law enforcement problems.
Finally, she pointed out, the number of U.S citizens hired has increased because a business can hire a U.S. citizen without any scrutiny of its finances by Labor.
In the same report, Kaipat disclosed that in the last three years, Labor processed and completed the repatriation of over 16,000 alien workers.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Kaipat notes large increase in denial of applications to hire alien workers
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
Labor deputy secretary Cinta Kaipat has noted a large increase in the number of applications filed by employers to hire alien workers that were eventually denied by Labor.
Kaipat said appeals of these denials have been filed in 627 cases from June 2008 through March 2009.
“All of these appeals have been processed efficiently by the [Labor] Hearing Office, in addition to its normal caseload of labor complaints,” said Kaipat in her interim progress report submitted Wednesday last week to the Legislature on the implementation of the Public Law 15-108. She was the author of the controversial labor reform law when she was a representative.
The deputy secretary, however, did not cite figures in her report to support her claim of a “large” increase in Labor denials.
Kaipat said Labor director Barry Hirshbein has subjected applications to employ alien workers to tighter scrutiny, using Labor's new automated process.
She said the careful scrutiny has been done to weed out employers who are insolvent, who lack the necessary resources to pay their foreign workers, who may not be providing a real job, or who are otherwise unqualified.
The deputy secretary claimed that Hirshbein's disqualification has been upheld in many cases, and the employers have been denied permission to employ foreign workers.
Kaipat listed three “beneficial effects” of such scrutiny.
First, she said, the number of unfit employers has been reduced very substantially, resulting in fewer labor complaints from foreign workers about not being paid.
Second, Kaipat said, the number of employment scams set up solely for the purpose of allowing foreign workers to remain in the CNMI while unemployed has been reduced, resulting in fewer law enforcement problems.
Finally, she pointed out, the number of U.S citizens hired has increased because a business can hire a U.S. citizen without any scrutiny of its finances by Labor.
In the same report, Kaipat disclosed that in the last three years, Labor processed and completed the repatriation of over 16,000 alien workers.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Local
Monday, April 06, 2009
16,000-plus alien workers sent home in past 3 years
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
In the last three years, the CNMI Department of Labor processed and completed the repatriation of over 16,000 alien workers, according to Labor deputy secretary Cinta Kaipat.
Labor is also making good progress in placing U.S. citizens in jobs, she added in her interim progress report submitted Wednesday last week to the Legislature on the implementation of the Public Law 15-108. Kaipat was the author of the controversial labor reform law when she was a congresswoman.
She said the repatriation of 16,000-plus foreign workers in 2006, 2007, and 2008 was an enormous administrative task that involved completing labor cases, securing repatriation tickets, and making voluntary arrangements for departures.
“The department has done this work quietly and efficiently, working cooperatively with foreign workers and their representatives to accommodate hardship concerns and to honor requests for the timing of repatriation,” Kaipat said.
Labor is not involved in any non-voluntary departures as the Immigration Division handles deportations.
The deputy secretary said Labor has assisted Immigration by using its new automation system to generate quarterly overstayers lists.
The lists, when published, she said, assist in obtaining voluntary departures or correction of the records for those whose status entitles them to remain in the CNMI.
On hiring local residents or U.S. citizens, Kaipat said they initially reported only those U.S. citizens who came to Labor in person for assistance in finding a job.
However, she said, they have improved their website so that they can report on all U.S. citizens who find jobs with the assistance of Labor either through the website or through in-person assistance.
“Our new capabilities will allow us to review resumes posted online by persons who have not come to the office,” Kaipat said.
Labor also added the capability for employers to more easily create lists of potential U.S. citizen candidates who have the qualifications for the job to be filled.
Kapat said that since October 2008, they have processed transfer requests for 615 foreign workers who have been displaced from their jobs by U.S. citizen hires.
“That is only one informal measure of our success because not every foreign worker who is displaced elects to request permission to transfer; some elect to be repatriated,” she added.
Monday, April 06, 2009
16,000-plus alien workers sent home in past 3 years
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
In the last three years, the CNMI Department of Labor processed and completed the repatriation of over 16,000 alien workers, according to Labor deputy secretary Cinta Kaipat.
Labor is also making good progress in placing U.S. citizens in jobs, she added in her interim progress report submitted Wednesday last week to the Legislature on the implementation of the Public Law 15-108. Kaipat was the author of the controversial labor reform law when she was a congresswoman.
She said the repatriation of 16,000-plus foreign workers in 2006, 2007, and 2008 was an enormous administrative task that involved completing labor cases, securing repatriation tickets, and making voluntary arrangements for departures.
“The department has done this work quietly and efficiently, working cooperatively with foreign workers and their representatives to accommodate hardship concerns and to honor requests for the timing of repatriation,” Kaipat said.
Labor is not involved in any non-voluntary departures as the Immigration Division handles deportations.
The deputy secretary said Labor has assisted Immigration by using its new automation system to generate quarterly overstayers lists.
The lists, when published, she said, assist in obtaining voluntary departures or correction of the records for those whose status entitles them to remain in the CNMI.
On hiring local residents or U.S. citizens, Kaipat said they initially reported only those U.S. citizens who came to Labor in person for assistance in finding a job.
However, she said, they have improved their website so that they can report on all U.S. citizens who find jobs with the assistance of Labor either through the website or through in-person assistance.
“Our new capabilities will allow us to review resumes posted online by persons who have not come to the office,” Kaipat said.
Labor also added the capability for employers to more easily create lists of potential U.S. citizen candidates who have the qualifications for the job to be filled.
Kapat said that since October 2008, they have processed transfer requests for 615 foreign workers who have been displaced from their jobs by U.S. citizen hires.
“That is only one informal measure of our success because not every foreign worker who is displaced elects to request permission to transfer; some elect to be repatriated,” she added.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Feds OK 180-Day Delay
Feds OK 180-day delay
Thursday, 02 April 2009 00:00 By Gemma Q. Casas - Variety News Staff
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U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano ordered to delay until Nov. 28 the mandated June 1st U.S. takeover on the islands’ border security and immigration system giving relief to local officials, employers and some foreign workers who are worried about uncertainties on the transition phase.
Congressman Gregorio C. Sablan, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Richard Barth, and Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo at her office on Capitol Hill. It was Barth who delivered the notification from Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano that she had granted a 180-day delay in the commencement of federal immigration control in the Northern Marianas. Contributed photo
Congressman Gregorio C. Sablan, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Richard Barth, and Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo at her office on Capitol Hill. It was Barth who delivered the notification from Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano that she had granted a 180-day delay in the commencement of federal immigration control in the Northern Marianas. Contributed photo
Marie Thérèse Sebrechts, regional media manager of the department, said Napolitano reached the decision upon consultation with the secretaries of the departments of Labor, Interior and State, the U.S. attorney general and Gov. Benigno R. Fitial.
“As a result of the secretary’s decision the existing CNMI immigration laws will continue to apply until November 28, 2009. Additionally, the implementation of Customs and Border Protection’s interim final rule establishing a joint Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program, that was scheduled to begin on June 1, 2009, also will be delayed until Nov. 28, 2009 and the existing Guam VWP will continue to operate until that date,” she said in a statement.
The delay also means the estimated more than 16,000 foreign workers here can still exit and enter the islands using their valid Northern Marianas labor permits within the next six months.
Under the federalization law, once the U.S. administers the islands immigration system international airlines will not board anymore foreign workers bound here unless they have a U.S. visa.
They will also not be allowed to work here unless they have the appropriate U.S. employment visa.
Relieved and thankful
The governor and CNMI Delegate to the U.S. Congress Gregorio Sablan separately asked Napolitano for the delay citing grave economic concerns over the possible negative impact of a hastily administered federal immigration system.
The tourism-based economy of the CNMI is driven by foreign workers whose employment contracts are based on locally-issued labor permits.
Once the DHS takes over the administration of the immigration system here, all foreign workers will be treated as transitional guest workers and must eventually be employed under the soon to be introduced federal guest worker program.
Fitial thanked Napolitano and others who strongly lobbied Washington for the delay.
“Today, I join many people in our community in expressing thanks and gratitude to Janet Napolitano, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, for agreeing to delay the implementation of federal immigration rules for the CNMI,” said the governor in a special press conference held yesterday.
He added that he’s grateful for the federal government and other individuals who strongly lobbied for the delay taking into account the negative impact of the move on the islands’ fragile tourism-based economy.
He also expressed hope the six-month delay will give the CNMI more time to bargain for more rights under the federalization law.
He expressed hope the delay would enable local and federal authorities to ensure the smooth transition phase of handing down the control of the islands’ immigration system to the DHS.
He also stressed the time at hand would enable the CNMI to host more tourists from Russia and China.
“My hope is that this six-month delay will give Homeland Security additional time to put in place the necessary equipment, personnel and systems in the CNMI so that we can continue to welcome Chinese and Russian tourists without a single day of lapse. We have been hosting these tourists for more than a decade without any problems and they are a vital part of our tourism industry,” the governor said.
Sablan, for his part, said he’s glad Napolitano granted their delay request.
“I am glad to finally have the secretary’s decision,” said Sablan in a statement. “We now know with certainty that the transition to federal immigration will begin on Nov. 28, 2009. As I have said before, this is not delay for the sake of delay. The reason to push back the date is so that the Department of Homeland Security has enough reason to do it right.”
Assistant Secretary for Policy Richard Barth delivered Napolitano’s decision to Sablan and Guam Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo.
Time for more talks
Speaker Arnold I. Palacios, R-Saipan, said they expect the six-month period to be marked by continued dialogues between the CNMI and federal officials.
He said local businesses want assurance they will continue to have the labor force they need.
“There are other concerns that were not clear. It appeared that they [federal authorities time] have a final rule already. We have a little concern with that because nobody in the commonwealth made comments on that and so the only way to do this is to delay and make sure that unified requests will be taken into consideration,” the speaker told the Variety.
Rep. Ray N. Yumul, R-Saipan and the chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, said the delay should give local and federal authorities time to further study possible loopholes on the yet to be drafted regulations to ensure the smooth transition phase.
House Floor Leader Joseph N. Camacho, R-Saipan, added, the delay would let stakeholders in the federalization law “iron-out unintended consequences in a mutually agreeable positions.”
He said many people would be affected in the proposed changes like foreign workers, their employers, foreign investors, immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, foreign students and the islands economic future.
Phillip Mendiola-Long, president and chairman of the Tinian Chamber of Commerce, said the DHS made the right decision.
“The chamber frankly did not see it possible to implement P.L. 110-229 in the time frame available because DHS had not completed regulations for the CNMI Transitional Worker Program, they had not completed regulations for existing CNMI foreign investor transitions or created the new foreign investor policy, they had not established regulations for Immediate Relatives and they had not established regulations regarding prevailing wage rates,” he said in an email to the Variety.
“With all of these pending and uncompleted regulatory issues, it would not have been prudent for the federal agency to create policy and regulations in haste just to meet a time deadline,” he added.
Tinian is being developed as a major casino hub in the Pacific. The industry is expected to generate both local and international employment.
Taotao Tano leader Greg Cruz, on the other hand, said the delay will not change things at all as the islands’ immigration system would still be handed down to DHS before the year is over.
“In our view it makes no difference come November, everyone will be right back on the same situation,” he said.
He added: “We continue to address that the entire federal immigration takeover is of national defense but everyone seems to ignore this issue. We are interested in seeing what will happen after the six months. In our view it’s just aggravating the situation.”
Comments
Search
SaipanFox - Who is he? |2009-04-01 19:41:30
What does Kalili know about the federal government. If John Oliver was elected, 110-229 would
already have been repealed. Kalili, on the other hand, is trying to take credit for the hard work
of our Great and Benevolent Leader in Governor Ben Fitial.
Our Great Governor will bring in daily
Asiana flights from Japan, Russia, China and Korea once he is reelected to another term. He will
bring in economic development like we saw when the garment industry was here. The casino industry
in Tinian will prosper and bring in more money than the stimulus.
In Our Great Leader Governor
Ben Fitial we TRUST.
Thursday, 02 April 2009 00:00 By Gemma Q. Casas - Variety News Staff
E-mail Print PDF
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano ordered to delay until Nov. 28 the mandated June 1st U.S. takeover on the islands’ border security and immigration system giving relief to local officials, employers and some foreign workers who are worried about uncertainties on the transition phase.
Congressman Gregorio C. Sablan, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Richard Barth, and Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo at her office on Capitol Hill. It was Barth who delivered the notification from Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano that she had granted a 180-day delay in the commencement of federal immigration control in the Northern Marianas. Contributed photo
Congressman Gregorio C. Sablan, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Richard Barth, and Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo at her office on Capitol Hill. It was Barth who delivered the notification from Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano that she had granted a 180-day delay in the commencement of federal immigration control in the Northern Marianas. Contributed photo
Marie Thérèse Sebrechts, regional media manager of the department, said Napolitano reached the decision upon consultation with the secretaries of the departments of Labor, Interior and State, the U.S. attorney general and Gov. Benigno R. Fitial.
“As a result of the secretary’s decision the existing CNMI immigration laws will continue to apply until November 28, 2009. Additionally, the implementation of Customs and Border Protection’s interim final rule establishing a joint Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program, that was scheduled to begin on June 1, 2009, also will be delayed until Nov. 28, 2009 and the existing Guam VWP will continue to operate until that date,” she said in a statement.
The delay also means the estimated more than 16,000 foreign workers here can still exit and enter the islands using their valid Northern Marianas labor permits within the next six months.
Under the federalization law, once the U.S. administers the islands immigration system international airlines will not board anymore foreign workers bound here unless they have a U.S. visa.
They will also not be allowed to work here unless they have the appropriate U.S. employment visa.
Relieved and thankful
The governor and CNMI Delegate to the U.S. Congress Gregorio Sablan separately asked Napolitano for the delay citing grave economic concerns over the possible negative impact of a hastily administered federal immigration system.
The tourism-based economy of the CNMI is driven by foreign workers whose employment contracts are based on locally-issued labor permits.
Once the DHS takes over the administration of the immigration system here, all foreign workers will be treated as transitional guest workers and must eventually be employed under the soon to be introduced federal guest worker program.
Fitial thanked Napolitano and others who strongly lobbied Washington for the delay.
“Today, I join many people in our community in expressing thanks and gratitude to Janet Napolitano, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, for agreeing to delay the implementation of federal immigration rules for the CNMI,” said the governor in a special press conference held yesterday.
He added that he’s grateful for the federal government and other individuals who strongly lobbied for the delay taking into account the negative impact of the move on the islands’ fragile tourism-based economy.
He also expressed hope the six-month delay will give the CNMI more time to bargain for more rights under the federalization law.
He expressed hope the delay would enable local and federal authorities to ensure the smooth transition phase of handing down the control of the islands’ immigration system to the DHS.
He also stressed the time at hand would enable the CNMI to host more tourists from Russia and China.
“My hope is that this six-month delay will give Homeland Security additional time to put in place the necessary equipment, personnel and systems in the CNMI so that we can continue to welcome Chinese and Russian tourists without a single day of lapse. We have been hosting these tourists for more than a decade without any problems and they are a vital part of our tourism industry,” the governor said.
Sablan, for his part, said he’s glad Napolitano granted their delay request.
“I am glad to finally have the secretary’s decision,” said Sablan in a statement. “We now know with certainty that the transition to federal immigration will begin on Nov. 28, 2009. As I have said before, this is not delay for the sake of delay. The reason to push back the date is so that the Department of Homeland Security has enough reason to do it right.”
Assistant Secretary for Policy Richard Barth delivered Napolitano’s decision to Sablan and Guam Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo.
Time for more talks
Speaker Arnold I. Palacios, R-Saipan, said they expect the six-month period to be marked by continued dialogues between the CNMI and federal officials.
He said local businesses want assurance they will continue to have the labor force they need.
“There are other concerns that were not clear. It appeared that they [federal authorities time] have a final rule already. We have a little concern with that because nobody in the commonwealth made comments on that and so the only way to do this is to delay and make sure that unified requests will be taken into consideration,” the speaker told the Variety.
Rep. Ray N. Yumul, R-Saipan and the chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, said the delay should give local and federal authorities time to further study possible loopholes on the yet to be drafted regulations to ensure the smooth transition phase.
House Floor Leader Joseph N. Camacho, R-Saipan, added, the delay would let stakeholders in the federalization law “iron-out unintended consequences in a mutually agreeable positions.”
He said many people would be affected in the proposed changes like foreign workers, their employers, foreign investors, immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, foreign students and the islands economic future.
Phillip Mendiola-Long, president and chairman of the Tinian Chamber of Commerce, said the DHS made the right decision.
“The chamber frankly did not see it possible to implement P.L. 110-229 in the time frame available because DHS had not completed regulations for the CNMI Transitional Worker Program, they had not completed regulations for existing CNMI foreign investor transitions or created the new foreign investor policy, they had not established regulations for Immediate Relatives and they had not established regulations regarding prevailing wage rates,” he said in an email to the Variety.
“With all of these pending and uncompleted regulatory issues, it would not have been prudent for the federal agency to create policy and regulations in haste just to meet a time deadline,” he added.
Tinian is being developed as a major casino hub in the Pacific. The industry is expected to generate both local and international employment.
Taotao Tano leader Greg Cruz, on the other hand, said the delay will not change things at all as the islands’ immigration system would still be handed down to DHS before the year is over.
“In our view it makes no difference come November, everyone will be right back on the same situation,” he said.
He added: “We continue to address that the entire federal immigration takeover is of national defense but everyone seems to ignore this issue. We are interested in seeing what will happen after the six months. In our view it’s just aggravating the situation.”
Comments
Search
SaipanFox - Who is he? |2009-04-01 19:41:30
What does Kalili know about the federal government. If John Oliver was elected, 110-229 would
already have been repealed. Kalili, on the other hand, is trying to take credit for the hard work
of our Great and Benevolent Leader in Governor Ben Fitial.
Our Great Governor will bring in daily
Asiana flights from Japan, Russia, China and Korea once he is reelected to another term. He will
bring in economic development like we saw when the garment industry was here. The casino industry
in Tinian will prosper and bring in more money than the stimulus.
In Our Great Leader Governor
Ben Fitial we TRUST.
Local
Thursday, April 02, 2009
'Permanent residency via employment applicable to NMI'
By Moneth Deposa
Reporter
Once federalization kicks in, adjustments to lawful permanent resident status will be applicable to the CNMI in the same manner it is being enforced anywhere else in the United States.
This was the assurance of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in an e-mail to Saipan Tribune yesterday, saying that everyone who is eligible may apply for these changes to obtain permanent resident status on island.
“Anyone in the CNMI who is eligible under the Immigration and Nationality Act to apply for adjustment to lawful permanent resident status-either based on family or employment-will have the ability to do so in the same manner as people anywhere in the U.S.,” said Marie Therese Sebrechts, USCIS regional media manager.
According to the USCIS Web site, if a person wants to become an immigrant based on the fact that he or she has a permanent job, or if an employer wants to sponsor someone for lawful permanent residency based on permanent employment in the United States, they need to go through some important steps. These include making sure that the individual to be petitioned by the employer is eligible for lawful permanent residency and the employer completes a labor certification request for the applicant-employee.
The USCIS must approve an immigrant visa petition for the person wishing to immigrate, which the employer will file himself since the employer will act as the sponsor or petitioner for the applicant who wants to live and work on a permanent basis in the United States. An immigrant visa number is issued after completing the process that the applicant must go through to adjust to permanent resident status.
There are four categories for granting permanent residence to foreign nationals based upon employment:
- EB-1 is for priority workers who are foreign nationals of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics; professors and researchers; managers and executives subject to international transfer to the U.S.
- EB-2 is for professionals with advanced degrees or persons with exceptional ability including foreign nationals of exceptional ability in science, arts and business; and advanced degree professionals.
- EB-3 is applicable for skilled or professional workers with bachelor's degrees, skilled workers with minimum two years training and experience, and unskilled workers.
- EB-4 is for religious workers.
Yesterday, the Department of Homeland Security announced the delayed transition of federalization in the CNMI after consultations with various entities and concerned parties.
As a result of the decision, the existing CNMI immigration laws will continue to apply until Nov. 28, 2009. Additionally, the implementation of Customs and Border Protection's interim final rule establishing a joint Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program, that was scheduled to begin on June 1, 2009, will also be delayed until Nov. 28, 2009, and the existing Guam visa waiver program will continue to operate until that date. To effectuate this change, CBP plans to issue a technical amendment to the Guam-CNMI interim final rule published on Jan. 16, 2009.
This decision also delays the implementation of the exemption from the current statutory caps on the number of nonimmigrant H-1B and H-2B petitions granted yearly for employers filing H worker petitions in Guam.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
'Permanent residency via employment applicable to NMI'
By Moneth Deposa
Reporter
Once federalization kicks in, adjustments to lawful permanent resident status will be applicable to the CNMI in the same manner it is being enforced anywhere else in the United States.
This was the assurance of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in an e-mail to Saipan Tribune yesterday, saying that everyone who is eligible may apply for these changes to obtain permanent resident status on island.
“Anyone in the CNMI who is eligible under the Immigration and Nationality Act to apply for adjustment to lawful permanent resident status-either based on family or employment-will have the ability to do so in the same manner as people anywhere in the U.S.,” said Marie Therese Sebrechts, USCIS regional media manager.
According to the USCIS Web site, if a person wants to become an immigrant based on the fact that he or she has a permanent job, or if an employer wants to sponsor someone for lawful permanent residency based on permanent employment in the United States, they need to go through some important steps. These include making sure that the individual to be petitioned by the employer is eligible for lawful permanent residency and the employer completes a labor certification request for the applicant-employee.
The USCIS must approve an immigrant visa petition for the person wishing to immigrate, which the employer will file himself since the employer will act as the sponsor or petitioner for the applicant who wants to live and work on a permanent basis in the United States. An immigrant visa number is issued after completing the process that the applicant must go through to adjust to permanent resident status.
There are four categories for granting permanent residence to foreign nationals based upon employment:
- EB-1 is for priority workers who are foreign nationals of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics; professors and researchers; managers and executives subject to international transfer to the U.S.
- EB-2 is for professionals with advanced degrees or persons with exceptional ability including foreign nationals of exceptional ability in science, arts and business; and advanced degree professionals.
- EB-3 is applicable for skilled or professional workers with bachelor's degrees, skilled workers with minimum two years training and experience, and unskilled workers.
- EB-4 is for religious workers.
Yesterday, the Department of Homeland Security announced the delayed transition of federalization in the CNMI after consultations with various entities and concerned parties.
As a result of the decision, the existing CNMI immigration laws will continue to apply until Nov. 28, 2009. Additionally, the implementation of Customs and Border Protection's interim final rule establishing a joint Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program, that was scheduled to begin on June 1, 2009, will also be delayed until Nov. 28, 2009, and the existing Guam visa waiver program will continue to operate until that date. To effectuate this change, CBP plans to issue a technical amendment to the Guam-CNMI interim final rule published on Jan. 16, 2009.
This decision also delays the implementation of the exemption from the current statutory caps on the number of nonimmigrant H-1B and H-2B petitions granted yearly for employers filing H worker petitions in Guam.
Local
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Schorr: Investor, worker rules out in 1 to 2 months
By Haidee V. Eugenio
Reporter
Major business and workers groups are relieved that the start of transition to federal immigration is delayed by 180 days, but they want the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to soon publish the CNMI-only transitional worker and investor regulations.
Jeff Schorr, field representative of the Interior's Office of Insular Affairs, yesterday told Saipan Chamber of Commerce members and guests that these two sets of regulations will be out in “another month or two.”
Homeland Security's decision to delay federalization by 180 days-from June 1, 2009 to Nov. 28, 2009-was welcome news for members of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, the Tinian Chamber of Commerce, the Rota Casino Gaming Commission and the United Workers Movement NMI.
Doug Brennan, vice president of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, said the delay gives businesses a breathing room to develop a business plan once these regulations are published.
“Our position paper stated that we are in favor of a delay simply because we want all the rules and regulations in front of us before this takes place. It's very difficult to develop a business plan for any of our member businesses when we don't know what the rules are going to be. What we were told was it will be U.S. immigration but there was talk about various exemptions and waivers. We'd like to see these,” Brennan told Saipan Tribune after the Chamber's general membership meeting at the Pacific Islands Club in San Antonio.
The Saipan Chamber of Commerce is the largest business organization in the CNMI with approximately 150 members.
To date, DHS has released only the Guam-CNMI visa waiver program regulations.
Phillip Mendiola-Long, president of the Tinian Chamber of Commerce, said the 180-day delay was the correct decision considering the lack of time available to make “extremely difficult policy decisions.”
“I frankly did not see it possible to implement Public Law 110-229 in the time frame available because DHS had not completed regulations for the CNMI Transitional Worker Program. They had not completed regulations for existing CNMI foreign investor transitions, or created the new foreign investor policy. They had not established regulations for immediate relatives, and they had not established regulations regarding prevailing wage rates,” Mendiola-Long said.
He said it would not have been prudent for DHS to create regulations in haste just to meet a deadline.
Mendiola-Long said the Tinian Chamber of Commerce appreciates the extension and intends to work closely, as equal stakeholders, with DHS/U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the next 180 days “to ensure that policy and regulations promulgated will not bring extreme hardship on the people of the CNMI.”
“One of the main objectives of the Tinian Chamber of Commerce is to ensure that future policy and regulations drafted will address issues affecting all the islands, not just Saipan,” he added.
Mendiola-Long is also executive vice president of Bridge Investment Group-CNMI, which is building a $40 million to $50 million casino and condominiums project on Tinian. The company halted construction at the site because of federalization.
Impact study on Rota
Diego M. Songao, chairman of the Rota Casino Gaming Commission, said the delay will provide an opportunity for the federal government to conduct an impact study, at least on the island of Rota as it tries to develop its casino industry.
Just like Tinian, Rota's casino industry targets mostly Chinese tourists who, along with Russians, will not be exempt from the U.S. visa requirement.
“It will also give them time to put security measures in place to see if the CNMI-Guam visa waiver.may continue to include Chinese and Russians,” Songao told Saipan Tribune.
Rabby Syed, president of the United Workers Movement NMI, is thankful for the federalization delay, and to Delegate Gregorio “Kilili” Sablan for raising with DHS the issue of immediate relatives of Freely Associated States.
“We also like Mr. Sablan to raise other issues like those parents of U.S. citizen children with disabilities, long-term guest workers with U.S.-born children, and to give immigration status to guest workers with unpaid wages so they can stay here until they get their wages,” he said.
Businessman Juan T. Guerrero, a former president of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, said businesses are thankful for the delay which he said will give them more time to make more appropriate planning.
“The delay will allow us more appropriate time to review them and come up with a solid decision to operate businesses,” he said, adding that the regulations will restrict hiring of non-professional foreign workers.
But Guerrero, president of Herman's Modern Bakery, said professional categories do not include bakers, unless employers pay them the federal wage rates.
“They can qualify but it means you have to be paying U.S. standard rates and you're looking at maybe $30,000 a year. How many employees earning $30,000 can we hire at Herman's Bakery?” he added.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Schorr: Investor, worker rules out in 1 to 2 months
By Haidee V. Eugenio
Reporter
Major business and workers groups are relieved that the start of transition to federal immigration is delayed by 180 days, but they want the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to soon publish the CNMI-only transitional worker and investor regulations.
Jeff Schorr, field representative of the Interior's Office of Insular Affairs, yesterday told Saipan Chamber of Commerce members and guests that these two sets of regulations will be out in “another month or two.”
Homeland Security's decision to delay federalization by 180 days-from June 1, 2009 to Nov. 28, 2009-was welcome news for members of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, the Tinian Chamber of Commerce, the Rota Casino Gaming Commission and the United Workers Movement NMI.
Doug Brennan, vice president of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, said the delay gives businesses a breathing room to develop a business plan once these regulations are published.
“Our position paper stated that we are in favor of a delay simply because we want all the rules and regulations in front of us before this takes place. It's very difficult to develop a business plan for any of our member businesses when we don't know what the rules are going to be. What we were told was it will be U.S. immigration but there was talk about various exemptions and waivers. We'd like to see these,” Brennan told Saipan Tribune after the Chamber's general membership meeting at the Pacific Islands Club in San Antonio.
The Saipan Chamber of Commerce is the largest business organization in the CNMI with approximately 150 members.
To date, DHS has released only the Guam-CNMI visa waiver program regulations.
Phillip Mendiola-Long, president of the Tinian Chamber of Commerce, said the 180-day delay was the correct decision considering the lack of time available to make “extremely difficult policy decisions.”
“I frankly did not see it possible to implement Public Law 110-229 in the time frame available because DHS had not completed regulations for the CNMI Transitional Worker Program. They had not completed regulations for existing CNMI foreign investor transitions, or created the new foreign investor policy. They had not established regulations for immediate relatives, and they had not established regulations regarding prevailing wage rates,” Mendiola-Long said.
He said it would not have been prudent for DHS to create regulations in haste just to meet a deadline.
Mendiola-Long said the Tinian Chamber of Commerce appreciates the extension and intends to work closely, as equal stakeholders, with DHS/U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the next 180 days “to ensure that policy and regulations promulgated will not bring extreme hardship on the people of the CNMI.”
“One of the main objectives of the Tinian Chamber of Commerce is to ensure that future policy and regulations drafted will address issues affecting all the islands, not just Saipan,” he added.
Mendiola-Long is also executive vice president of Bridge Investment Group-CNMI, which is building a $40 million to $50 million casino and condominiums project on Tinian. The company halted construction at the site because of federalization.
Impact study on Rota
Diego M. Songao, chairman of the Rota Casino Gaming Commission, said the delay will provide an opportunity for the federal government to conduct an impact study, at least on the island of Rota as it tries to develop its casino industry.
Just like Tinian, Rota's casino industry targets mostly Chinese tourists who, along with Russians, will not be exempt from the U.S. visa requirement.
“It will also give them time to put security measures in place to see if the CNMI-Guam visa waiver.may continue to include Chinese and Russians,” Songao told Saipan Tribune.
Rabby Syed, president of the United Workers Movement NMI, is thankful for the federalization delay, and to Delegate Gregorio “Kilili” Sablan for raising with DHS the issue of immediate relatives of Freely Associated States.
“We also like Mr. Sablan to raise other issues like those parents of U.S. citizen children with disabilities, long-term guest workers with U.S.-born children, and to give immigration status to guest workers with unpaid wages so they can stay here until they get their wages,” he said.
Businessman Juan T. Guerrero, a former president of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, said businesses are thankful for the delay which he said will give them more time to make more appropriate planning.
“The delay will allow us more appropriate time to review them and come up with a solid decision to operate businesses,” he said, adding that the regulations will restrict hiring of non-professional foreign workers.
But Guerrero, president of Herman's Modern Bakery, said professional categories do not include bakers, unless employers pay them the federal wage rates.
“They can qualify but it means you have to be paying U.S. standard rates and you're looking at maybe $30,000 a year. How many employees earning $30,000 can we hire at Herman's Bakery?” he added.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
DHS grants 180-day delay
By Kristi Eaton
Reporter
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano They asked for it and they got it.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano yesterday announced the June 1 start date to the federalization law will be delayed by 180 days-the maximum amount allowed by law-until Nov. 28, 2009.
The extension means the CNMI will continue to administer its own immigration system until Nov. 28. The proposed joint Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program, which excludes the emerging Chinese and Russian markets, will also not go into effect until Nov. 28. Guam's own visa program will operate until Nov. 28.
The move comes after Gov. Benigno Fitial, CNMI Rep. Gregorio “Kilili” Sablan, CNMI government officials and agencies, lawmakers, and businesses asked for a delay. Guam Gov. Felix Camacho, Guam Rep. Madeleine Bordallo, and the Guam Legislature also voiced their desire to push back six months the implementation of the Consolidated Natural Resources Act, which extends the U.S. immigration system to the CNMI. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus supported a delay as well.
According to a DHS statement issued yesterday, “Under the CNRA, the Secretary of DHS has the sole authority to delay the June 1, 2009, transition date to U.S. immigration law up to 180 days, after consultation with the secretaries of Labor, Interior and State, the attorney general, and the governor of the CNMI. The Secretary has determined based upon those consultations that it is advisable to exercise that authority fully.”
At a news briefing yesterday, Fitial thanked Napolitano for delaying the enactment of Public Law 110-229.
“I am very grateful to the federal government for acknowledging the serious economic concerns we have raised regarding the implementation of this sweeping new federal immigration law,” the governor said.
DHS Assistant Secretary Richard Barth delivered Napolitano's decision to Bordallo and Sablan yesterday on Capitol Hill.
“As I have said before, this is not delay for the sake of delay,” Sablan said in a statement. “The reason to push back the date is so that the Department of Homeland Security has enough time to do it right.”
Regulations
As the June 1 date neared, many questions over the implementation remained unanswered.
The delay will allow DHS to draft and release the remaining regulations relating to the law, and allow for enough time for the public to comment. The proposed Visa Waiver Program is the only regulation that has been released for public comment, and it has received opposition from many in the CNMI community. The final rule has not been released.
Regulations relating to foreign workers, investors, students and retirees have not yet been released for comment, something that Rep. Diego Benavente, the chairman of the House's Committee on U.S. and Foreign Relations, said has led to a climate of uncertainty in the Commonwealth.
“While everyone realized it will happen at some point, I think people need a little bit more time to understand and prepare for that,” the representative said.
Rep. Sablan said he hopes the delay will allow Homeland Security more time to consider specific populations in the CNMI that will be greatly impacted if the regulations are not carefully written. As it is right now, some legal residents of the Commonwealth who do not have a valid U.S. visa will not be able to re-enter the CNMI if they must leave for a medical emergency or other reason. He asked DHS to create regulations allowing any legal resident to leave and re-enter without the need for a new U.S. visa. Moreover, Sablan is asking DHS to make the visa process more affordable for families with both U.S. citizen and non-U.S. citizen members.
“Visas applications are expensive and they require that families earn at least 125 percent of the federal poverty level,” he noted in the statement, adding that he hopes Napolitano will use her authority to make the process more affordable.
“I am hopeful that now that the new Obama Administration is settling in, we will be able to get down to the nitty-gritty of writing these regulations,” the congressman said. “It's been almost a year since the law was enacted. It's time that we start clearing away all the uncertainty that exists without clear regulations.”
Another reason Sablan asked for a delay is because there has been no money appropriated for border controls. One of the reasons that China and Russia were recently left out of the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver program, Sablan noted, is that DHS believed border security was not adequate at this time.
“But this costs money. And no money has been appropriated by Congress to set up the NMI borders,” he said in February. “So it makes sense for me to work in Congress to get the needed funds for fiscal year 2010 and have DHS complete the buildup of the entry points after Oct. 1, when the fiscal year begins and new money could be available.”
Lawsuit still on
When asked if the extension would have any effect on the lawsuit the CNMI has filed against DHS and U.S. Department of Labor, Fitial said: “I don't think so. I think that this lawsuit has its own place and this extension will provide all the necessary work that needs to be done to improve the implementation and enforcement of the new immigration law.”
The CNMI sued the federal agencies in September to halt the implementation of PL 110-229. A preliminary injunction seeking to stop DHS and DOL from taking over the local labor system was also filed in November. The case currently pending in U.S. District Court
Benavente said he hopes the lawsuit will be cleared so the CNMI can work with the federal agencies over the next several months.
Fitial has not been in communication with DHS about regulations, but Howard Willens, special legal counsel to the governor who is representing the CNMI in the lawsuit, said Commonwealth representatives have taken part in discussions at all levels with Homeland Security.
“There has been open and full discussions between representatives of the Commonwealth and representatives of DHS, in respect to all outstanding issues,” Willens said.
One such representative is Lynn Knight, chairperson for the Commonwealth Economic Development Commission. Knight is currently stationed in Washington D.C. to work on the federalization law and other economic development issues.
“We have had numerous meetings with the Department of Homeland Security over the past two months and they are listening to the CNMI's concerns. They're also reading all of the comments that individuals have taken the time to submit on the DHS website, so it's definitely worth the time and effort to comment,” Knight said in a statement.
Willens said the CNMI anticipated an extension might be granted but it was made clear in the lawsuit's briefs that that does not effect the Commonwealth's entitlement to a preliminary injunction. Each party-the CNMI and the federal government-will probably submit a short statement about the extension, Willens said.
CNMI Labor deputy secretary Cinta Kaipat said the 180-day extension would not impact the department. The department is pleased about the delay, but she said she is optimistic the judge will find in favor of the CNMI's preliminary injunction.
Judge Paul L. Friedman has taken the lawsuit and preliminary injunction under advisement.
Fitial said the CNMI will begin to prepare for the implementation of the federalization law once a decision on the lawsuit and preliminary injunction is announced.
“We will do what we need to do after the result of the lawsuit comes out, because we don't want to be doing something that we may not have to do after all,” he said, adding that the judge is aware of the deadline and should make a decision soon.
No benefit
Some people said they believe the delay is simply postponing the inevitable, with no noticeable benefit to be gained.
“In our view it makes no difference come November, everyone will be right back on the same situation,” said Taotao Tano president Gregorio Cruz Jr. “We continue to address that the entire federal immigration takeover is of national defense but everyone seems to ignore this issue. We are interested in seeing what will happen after the six months. In our view it's just aggravating the situation.”
A delay wasn't expected, Wendy Doromal said in an e-mail, but unfortunately, the federal government was not ready.
Doromal, a human rights advocate who has been outspoken about her support for the law, said she was hoping the extension would not be granted.
“My concern is that a delay will allow more time for the anti-federalization administration to scheme and manipulate at the expense of the foreign contract workers who will continue to be under the dysfunctional local labor system,” she said. “Perhaps a delay will give us more time to convince Congress to grant the foreign contract workers and foreign parents of U.S. citizen children a pathway to citizenship. That's what I will continue to work on.”
Money and jobs
The extension means more money coming in and more money going out for the CNMI government, which will affect both the Fiscal Year 2009 and Fiscal Year 2010 budgets.
Six more months of the Russia and China markets could mean more than $100 million coming into the CNMI, according to the Marianas Visitors Authority. Nonresident worker fees will also becoming in for six more months, an additional $2.5 to $3 million in revenue to the CNMI.
But both fiscal year budgets did not include appropriations for the local immigration division. The FY 2009 budget stops appropriating money to the agency on May 31, the day before the law was to go into effect and federal employees were to take over. The FY 2010 budget proposal, which the administration was preparing to turn into the Legislature yesterday, did not include funding for the local immigration division or include the revenue that could be seen from six more months of visa-free travel.
Fitial said the administration is making provisions to the budget.
CNMI Immigration director Melvin Grey yesterday said it is business as usual in the division. Sixty-one employees will be able to keep their jobs for another six months, but “we'll have to face it again in six months.”
DHS grants 180-day delay
By Kristi Eaton
Reporter
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano They asked for it and they got it.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano yesterday announced the June 1 start date to the federalization law will be delayed by 180 days-the maximum amount allowed by law-until Nov. 28, 2009.
The extension means the CNMI will continue to administer its own immigration system until Nov. 28. The proposed joint Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program, which excludes the emerging Chinese and Russian markets, will also not go into effect until Nov. 28. Guam's own visa program will operate until Nov. 28.
The move comes after Gov. Benigno Fitial, CNMI Rep. Gregorio “Kilili” Sablan, CNMI government officials and agencies, lawmakers, and businesses asked for a delay. Guam Gov. Felix Camacho, Guam Rep. Madeleine Bordallo, and the Guam Legislature also voiced their desire to push back six months the implementation of the Consolidated Natural Resources Act, which extends the U.S. immigration system to the CNMI. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus supported a delay as well.
According to a DHS statement issued yesterday, “Under the CNRA, the Secretary of DHS has the sole authority to delay the June 1, 2009, transition date to U.S. immigration law up to 180 days, after consultation with the secretaries of Labor, Interior and State, the attorney general, and the governor of the CNMI. The Secretary has determined based upon those consultations that it is advisable to exercise that authority fully.”
At a news briefing yesterday, Fitial thanked Napolitano for delaying the enactment of Public Law 110-229.
“I am very grateful to the federal government for acknowledging the serious economic concerns we have raised regarding the implementation of this sweeping new federal immigration law,” the governor said.
DHS Assistant Secretary Richard Barth delivered Napolitano's decision to Bordallo and Sablan yesterday on Capitol Hill.
“As I have said before, this is not delay for the sake of delay,” Sablan said in a statement. “The reason to push back the date is so that the Department of Homeland Security has enough time to do it right.”
Regulations
As the June 1 date neared, many questions over the implementation remained unanswered.
The delay will allow DHS to draft and release the remaining regulations relating to the law, and allow for enough time for the public to comment. The proposed Visa Waiver Program is the only regulation that has been released for public comment, and it has received opposition from many in the CNMI community. The final rule has not been released.
Regulations relating to foreign workers, investors, students and retirees have not yet been released for comment, something that Rep. Diego Benavente, the chairman of the House's Committee on U.S. and Foreign Relations, said has led to a climate of uncertainty in the Commonwealth.
“While everyone realized it will happen at some point, I think people need a little bit more time to understand and prepare for that,” the representative said.
Rep. Sablan said he hopes the delay will allow Homeland Security more time to consider specific populations in the CNMI that will be greatly impacted if the regulations are not carefully written. As it is right now, some legal residents of the Commonwealth who do not have a valid U.S. visa will not be able to re-enter the CNMI if they must leave for a medical emergency or other reason. He asked DHS to create regulations allowing any legal resident to leave and re-enter without the need for a new U.S. visa. Moreover, Sablan is asking DHS to make the visa process more affordable for families with both U.S. citizen and non-U.S. citizen members.
“Visas applications are expensive and they require that families earn at least 125 percent of the federal poverty level,” he noted in the statement, adding that he hopes Napolitano will use her authority to make the process more affordable.
“I am hopeful that now that the new Obama Administration is settling in, we will be able to get down to the nitty-gritty of writing these regulations,” the congressman said. “It's been almost a year since the law was enacted. It's time that we start clearing away all the uncertainty that exists without clear regulations.”
Another reason Sablan asked for a delay is because there has been no money appropriated for border controls. One of the reasons that China and Russia were recently left out of the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver program, Sablan noted, is that DHS believed border security was not adequate at this time.
“But this costs money. And no money has been appropriated by Congress to set up the NMI borders,” he said in February. “So it makes sense for me to work in Congress to get the needed funds for fiscal year 2010 and have DHS complete the buildup of the entry points after Oct. 1, when the fiscal year begins and new money could be available.”
Lawsuit still on
When asked if the extension would have any effect on the lawsuit the CNMI has filed against DHS and U.S. Department of Labor, Fitial said: “I don't think so. I think that this lawsuit has its own place and this extension will provide all the necessary work that needs to be done to improve the implementation and enforcement of the new immigration law.”
The CNMI sued the federal agencies in September to halt the implementation of PL 110-229. A preliminary injunction seeking to stop DHS and DOL from taking over the local labor system was also filed in November. The case currently pending in U.S. District Court
Benavente said he hopes the lawsuit will be cleared so the CNMI can work with the federal agencies over the next several months.
Fitial has not been in communication with DHS about regulations, but Howard Willens, special legal counsel to the governor who is representing the CNMI in the lawsuit, said Commonwealth representatives have taken part in discussions at all levels with Homeland Security.
“There has been open and full discussions between representatives of the Commonwealth and representatives of DHS, in respect to all outstanding issues,” Willens said.
One such representative is Lynn Knight, chairperson for the Commonwealth Economic Development Commission. Knight is currently stationed in Washington D.C. to work on the federalization law and other economic development issues.
“We have had numerous meetings with the Department of Homeland Security over the past two months and they are listening to the CNMI's concerns. They're also reading all of the comments that individuals have taken the time to submit on the DHS website, so it's definitely worth the time and effort to comment,” Knight said in a statement.
Willens said the CNMI anticipated an extension might be granted but it was made clear in the lawsuit's briefs that that does not effect the Commonwealth's entitlement to a preliminary injunction. Each party-the CNMI and the federal government-will probably submit a short statement about the extension, Willens said.
CNMI Labor deputy secretary Cinta Kaipat said the 180-day extension would not impact the department. The department is pleased about the delay, but she said she is optimistic the judge will find in favor of the CNMI's preliminary injunction.
Judge Paul L. Friedman has taken the lawsuit and preliminary injunction under advisement.
Fitial said the CNMI will begin to prepare for the implementation of the federalization law once a decision on the lawsuit and preliminary injunction is announced.
“We will do what we need to do after the result of the lawsuit comes out, because we don't want to be doing something that we may not have to do after all,” he said, adding that the judge is aware of the deadline and should make a decision soon.
No benefit
Some people said they believe the delay is simply postponing the inevitable, with no noticeable benefit to be gained.
“In our view it makes no difference come November, everyone will be right back on the same situation,” said Taotao Tano president Gregorio Cruz Jr. “We continue to address that the entire federal immigration takeover is of national defense but everyone seems to ignore this issue. We are interested in seeing what will happen after the six months. In our view it's just aggravating the situation.”
A delay wasn't expected, Wendy Doromal said in an e-mail, but unfortunately, the federal government was not ready.
Doromal, a human rights advocate who has been outspoken about her support for the law, said she was hoping the extension would not be granted.
“My concern is that a delay will allow more time for the anti-federalization administration to scheme and manipulate at the expense of the foreign contract workers who will continue to be under the dysfunctional local labor system,” she said. “Perhaps a delay will give us more time to convince Congress to grant the foreign contract workers and foreign parents of U.S. citizen children a pathway to citizenship. That's what I will continue to work on.”
Money and jobs
The extension means more money coming in and more money going out for the CNMI government, which will affect both the Fiscal Year 2009 and Fiscal Year 2010 budgets.
Six more months of the Russia and China markets could mean more than $100 million coming into the CNMI, according to the Marianas Visitors Authority. Nonresident worker fees will also becoming in for six more months, an additional $2.5 to $3 million in revenue to the CNMI.
But both fiscal year budgets did not include appropriations for the local immigration division. The FY 2009 budget stops appropriating money to the agency on May 31, the day before the law was to go into effect and federal employees were to take over. The FY 2010 budget proposal, which the administration was preparing to turn into the Legislature yesterday, did not include funding for the local immigration division or include the revenue that could be seen from six more months of visa-free travel.
Fitial said the administration is making provisions to the budget.
CNMI Immigration director Melvin Grey yesterday said it is business as usual in the division. Sixty-one employees will be able to keep their jobs for another six months, but “we'll have to face it again in six months.”
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