Carolinians Gather to Oppose Interior Report on Nonresident Workers

Local
Monday, July 26, 2010


By Haidee V. Eugenio
Reporter

A little over a hundred members of the Carolinian community, along with guests, gathered at the Civic Center in Susupe on Saturday afternoon to voice out their opposition to the U.S. Department of the Interior's report recommending improved immigration status to some 20,000 foreign workers in the CNMI.

The gathering also served as a campaign event for two delegate candidates with Carolinian blood-former Gov. Juan N. Babauta and former House Floor Leader Joseph N. Camacho.

Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, who is a Carolinian, encouraged those at the assembly to participate in a referendum asking their opinion on the Interior report, should such question be posed in the November 2010 elections.

A referendum, also known as a plebiscite or a ballot question, is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal.

Fitial said the specific question to be asked is now being worked on, and is expected to be included in the Nov. 2 ballot.

Fitial addressed the crowd in Carolinian language for 17 minutes which started at 1:57pm.

In his speech, he reiterated the Interior's failure to consult with him or the CNMI government before releasing the report to the U.S. Congress. He said Public Law 110-229 or the federalization law requires such consultation.

The governor also described the Interior report as “seriously defective,” adding that the conclusions regarding the CNMI economy and future need for foreign workers are rebutted by publicly available data and professional economic analysis.

Fitial's reasons for opposing the report also include failure to consider the potential impact of the recommendations on unemployed U.S. citizens in the CNMI and the ability of the CNMI to provide essential public services to its residents. He said any change in status should be considered only in the context of overall immigration reform in the U.S.

Camacho echoed Fitial's opposition to the Interior report, saying it violated the federalization law. Because of the lack of consultation, the Interior report bore a “one-sided recommendation.”

He said he would like to see all able-bodied U.S. citizens in the CNMI to be working either in government or the private sector, and only then should foreign workers be allowed to fill in other positions.

Camacho said he is now working with Rep. Frederick P. Deleon Guerrero (Ind-Saipan) in establishing a master list of available jobs in government and private sector.

Deleon Guerrero drafted a resolution asking U.S. House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife chair Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-Guam) to “reject” the Interior report and conduct hearings in the CNMI on the said report.

Babauta, for his part, said there is already a law that allows foreign workers to apply for U.S. citizenship or other immigration status, and that foreign workers in the CNMI should comply with the same requirements as others applying for such status.

“If anybody wants to become a U.S. citizen, they should stand in line.for fairness,” he told the crowd.

He said the focus of the debate should not be about the granting of U.S. citizenship, but on the CNMI economy, specifically the number of foreign workers needed to sustain and grow the local economy.

“If our delegate is doing his job, we won't be having this discussion today,” said Babauta, who is also a former resident representative of the CNMI to Washington, D.C.

The Interior report, submitted to the U.S. Congress in April, recommends five options that include granting long-term alien workers permanent residency status, U.S. citizenship or a status similar to those granted to citizens of the Freely Associated States.

Dolores Rasiang, a Dandan resident, said she attended the Carolinian gathering to learn more about the referendum and the Interior report.

“I don't support the Interior report 100,000 percent because I want to protect my land,” she said.

Saturday's gathering was reminiscent of the May 29 peaceful assembly held by indigenous Chamorros and Carolinians also to show their opposition to the Interior report. Nonresidents also held a peaceful assembly showing support to the Interior report and recommendations.

Fitial, in an interview later, said he wrote another letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, asking him to respond to his previous letter.

The governor asked Salazar to withdraw the Interior report recommending long-term immigration status for alien workers who have been in the CNMI for at least five years.

Besides Fitial, Camacho, and Babauta, the others who spoke at the Carolinian assembly included Indigenous Affairs Office resident executive director Ignacio Demapan, Carolinian Affairs executive assistant Angie Iginoef-Mangarero, Vice Speaker Felicidad Ogumoro (Cov-Saipan), former Speaker Oscar Rasa, Deputy Labor Secretary Cinta M. Kaipat, Community and Cultural Affairs Secretary Melvin Faisao, and Leon I. Taisacan.

Other lawmakers present at the gathering were Rep. Rafael Demapan (Cov-Saipan) and Rep. Stanley Torres (Ind-Saipan), who earlier said that the Interior report will destroy the CNMI.