Local
Thursday, December 23, 2010
DHS to issue one other NMI federalization rule in March
By Haidee V. Eugenio
Reporter
Besides a March 2011 self-imposed deadline to release the long-awaited CNMI-only transitional worker rule, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security also intends to issue during that period the final rule on the application of federal immigration regulations to the CNMI.
This pertains to the DHS and U.S. Department of Justice's implementation of conforming amendments to their own regulations to comply with Public Law 110-229, which federalized CNMI immigration on Nov. 28, 2009.
The final rule amends the regulations governing asylum and references to the geographical “United States” and its territories and possessions, among other things.
It also amends the rules governing alien classifications authorized for employment, documentation acceptable for employment eligibility verification, employment of unauthorized aliens, and adjustment of status of immediate relatives admitted under the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program.
DHS' previous self-imposed deadlines on the release of the final E-2 CNMI-investor rule in July 2010 and the CNMI-only transitional worker rule in September 2010 were not met.
DHS just issued the final investor rule this month, and the final worker rule is set to be released six months after the first deadline.
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial said he would like to ask Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano early next year to allow the CNMI to continue implementing its labor and immigration laws absent the implementation of federal statutes or rules.
'Premium processing suspension'
At the same time, DHS' U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services suspended the “premium” or expedited processing for petitioners filing a Form I-129 on behalf of a CNMI nonimmigrant worker “requesting a change of status or initial grant of status.”
The Form I-129 is for employers who petition for an alien to come to the U.S. temporarily to perform services or labor, or to receive training, as an H-1B, H-1C, H-2A, H-2B, H-3, L-1, O-1, O-2, P-1, P-1S, P-2, P-2S, P-3, P-3S, Q-1 or R-1 nonimmigrant worker, USCIS said in its website.
Employers may also use this form to request an extension of stay or change of status for an alien as an E-1, E-2, or TN nonimmigrant.
“USCIS is suspending premium processing for change of status or initial grant of status in the [CNMI] until we can reasonably ensure that we can complete processing within 15 calendar days,” USCIS said in a statement.
Premium processing service provides faster processing for certain employment-based petitions and applications.
Specifically, USCIS guarantees15 calendar day processing to those petitioners or applicants who choose to use this service, or USCIS will refund the premium processing service fee.
USCIS said the suspension of premium processing only affects petitions requesting change of status or initial grant of status.
“USCIS will continue to provide premium processing services for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, petitions for workers in the CNMI who request a consulate or embassy be notified of an approved petition; an extension of status; or an amendment to his or her status,” the federal agency said.
Information about premium processing service, including who may request this service, is available on the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov or by calling the USCIS National Customer Service Center toll free at (800) 375-5283.
The public is encouraged to continue checking the CNMI web page at www.uscis.gov/cnmi for announcements and updated information.
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Showing posts with label DHS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DHS. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Kaipat says feds don’t know how many tourists didn’t exit NMI
Wednesday, March 24 2010 00:00 By Gemma Q. Casas - Reporter
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A LOCAL official says the U.S. Department of Homeland Security does not know how many foreigners who visited the CNMI have actually exited the islands because it does not have the capability to collect exit information data.
Jacinta M. Kaipat, deputy secretary of the CNMI Department of Labor, said her office is “working cooperatively” with the DHS units, the Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, to address this problem.
In February, the U.S. Congress’ investigating agency, the General Accountability Office, reported that DHS still cannot access the CNMI’s Labor Information Data System and Border Management System despite the implementation of the law that federalized the islands’ immigration system on Nov. 28, 2009.
The GAO told the U.S. Senate Committee on Natural Resources, which has jurisdiction over the CNMI: “The LIDS and BMS databases have remained in the CNMI’s control during the CNMI’s transition to U.S. immigration law, and as of January 2010, the U.S. government’s direct access to information in these databases had not yet been established.”
Federal law enforcement agencies can only access those databases on a case-by-case basis despite their suggestion that those be linked to their existing systems: the Computer Linked Application Information Management System, ot CLAIMS 3 and 4, and the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology, or US-VISIT.
But Kaipat said their office is working with the federal government.
“I can tell you that we are working cooperatively with CBP and ICE. For example, CBP does not have the capability to collect exit information on people leaving the commonwealth so they don’t know if tourists who arrived here in October and Nov. 2009, just before the deadline for federal control, have actually gone home or whether they have gone underground here in the commonwealth,” she said in her written testimony submitted to the CNMI Legislature.
“We have had the capability for years to collect exit information. For that reason, we are using our Border Management System to continue to collect exit information so we can help ICE identify overstayers. We cooperate with ICE by providing them with the data and information they need on a same-day basis when they investigate possible overstayers,” she added.
DOL has so far revoked about 200 umbrella permits and referred the names of an estimated 300 persons for possible removal or deportation from the CNMI.
Wednesday, March 24 2010 00:00 By Gemma Q. Casas - Reporter
E-mail Print
A LOCAL official says the U.S. Department of Homeland Security does not know how many foreigners who visited the CNMI have actually exited the islands because it does not have the capability to collect exit information data.
Jacinta M. Kaipat, deputy secretary of the CNMI Department of Labor, said her office is “working cooperatively” with the DHS units, the Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, to address this problem.
In February, the U.S. Congress’ investigating agency, the General Accountability Office, reported that DHS still cannot access the CNMI’s Labor Information Data System and Border Management System despite the implementation of the law that federalized the islands’ immigration system on Nov. 28, 2009.
The GAO told the U.S. Senate Committee on Natural Resources, which has jurisdiction over the CNMI: “The LIDS and BMS databases have remained in the CNMI’s control during the CNMI’s transition to U.S. immigration law, and as of January 2010, the U.S. government’s direct access to information in these databases had not yet been established.”
Federal law enforcement agencies can only access those databases on a case-by-case basis despite their suggestion that those be linked to their existing systems: the Computer Linked Application Information Management System, ot CLAIMS 3 and 4, and the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology, or US-VISIT.
But Kaipat said their office is working with the federal government.
“I can tell you that we are working cooperatively with CBP and ICE. For example, CBP does not have the capability to collect exit information on people leaving the commonwealth so they don’t know if tourists who arrived here in October and Nov. 2009, just before the deadline for federal control, have actually gone home or whether they have gone underground here in the commonwealth,” she said in her written testimony submitted to the CNMI Legislature.
“We have had the capability for years to collect exit information. For that reason, we are using our Border Management System to continue to collect exit information so we can help ICE identify overstayers. We cooperate with ICE by providing them with the data and information they need on a same-day basis when they investigate possible overstayers,” she added.
DOL has so far revoked about 200 umbrella permits and referred the names of an estimated 300 persons for possible removal or deportation from the CNMI.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Local
Monday, December 14, 2009
No changes in transitional worker rule reopened for comments
By Haidee V. Eugenio
Reporter
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has not made any changes to its interim final rule on the CNMI Transitional Worker Classification but merely reopened it for public comment on Dec. 10.
The interim final rule seeks to create a new CNMI-only transitional worker, or “CW,” classification intended to be effective during the transition period from Nov. 28, 2009 to Dec. 31, 2014. It was initially published on Oct. 27 and intended to become effective on Nov. 27.
But a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction two days prior to federalization, preventing DHS from implementing the regulations on Nov. 28, to give the public enough time to comment as required by the Administrative Procedures Act.
Two weeks later, DHS reopened and extended for another 30 days the public comment period for the interim final rule as published in the Dec. 10 Federal Register.
The comment period will remain open until Jan. 8, 2010, and not Jan. 7, 2010, as earlier announced.
Marie Thérèse Sebrechts, DHS-U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services regional media manager, said Friday that USCIS “will consider all comments received during the public comment period of Oct. 27, 2009 to Jan. 8, 2010 in the development of its final transitional worker rule.
“Pursuant to a recent order of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, DHS will not implement the transitional worker visa classification provisions until DHS considers comments received on the interim rule, makes any necessary revisions resulting from those comments, and issues a final rule,” Sebrechts said.
The interim final rule will continue to be available for public comment at www.regulations.gov. To find this rule on regulations.gov, search under the docket number USCIS-2008-0038.
Teresa Kim, interim press secretary, said re-opening the comment period on regulations that are the subject of a court order is a customary practice for an agency that now must decide how to respond to the court order.
“Prior comments were provided without the benefit of either the court’s opinion with respect to the Commonwealth’s challenge to the statute or the court’s second opinion with respect to the Commonwealth’s challenge to the failure by DHS to abide by the requirements of the federal Administrative Procedure Act,” she told Saipan Tribune when asked for comment.
Some 100 entities submitted comments to the interim final rule in its initial public comment period.
“The additional comment period will give others a chance to provide DHS with information for use in the rule-making process. The administration urges all affected persons and businesses to take advantage of this opportunity to assist DHS in promulgating a practical and workable rule that will not further damage the Commonwealth’s economy,” Kim added.
Saipan Chamber of Commerce president Jim Arenovski, lawyer Steve Woodruff and United Workers Movement-NMI board chair Ronnie Doca earlier said they welcome the additional public comment period.
Since the reopening of the public comment period, one comment has so far been posted online from an individual whose name was withheld.
“To all legislators, it's simple and straightforward. If you were in our shoes, having a family here on the island of Saipan, will you want your kids to be left out whenever us as parents cannot step back to U.S. soil because we were denied by the embassy after having a vacation? Who will take care of our kids? Who will raise them? Isn’t it in the school system they are teaching that U.S. is the land of the free? But now, who is saying that is the enemy,” the commenter said.
DHS is establishing a Transitional Worker Visa category, a new nonimmigrant visa classification under the Immigration and Nationality Act using the admission code CW-1 for the principal transitional worker and CW-2 for dependents. “CW” stands for “Commonwealth transitional worker.”
A “transitional worker” is defined as an alien worker who is currently ineligible for another classification under the INA and who performs services or labor for an employer in the CNMI.
Under the CNMI-Only Transitional Worker program, employers may file a petition for a transitional worker with USCIS using Form I-129CW, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker in the CNMI.
The Form I-29CW is a modified form of the Form I-29, but it is specifically used for the Commonwealth-only Transitional Worker program.
The fee for Form I-129CW would be $320, the same amount charged for the I-129, and an $80 biometrics fee.
In addition, the Consolidated Natural Resources Act mandates a “CNMI education funding fee” of $150 per beneficiary per year, which cannot be waived.
Under the interim final rule, the CNMI-Only Transitional Worker program includes all occupational categories being used in the CNMI now.
Also, for the first year, the numerical limits for CW-1 status are based on the CNMI government’s own estimate of the nonresident worker population, which is 22,417. After the first year, the numerical limit will decrease, as determined by the DHS secretary.
Monday, December 14, 2009
No changes in transitional worker rule reopened for comments
By Haidee V. Eugenio
Reporter
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has not made any changes to its interim final rule on the CNMI Transitional Worker Classification but merely reopened it for public comment on Dec. 10.
The interim final rule seeks to create a new CNMI-only transitional worker, or “CW,” classification intended to be effective during the transition period from Nov. 28, 2009 to Dec. 31, 2014. It was initially published on Oct. 27 and intended to become effective on Nov. 27.
But a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction two days prior to federalization, preventing DHS from implementing the regulations on Nov. 28, to give the public enough time to comment as required by the Administrative Procedures Act.
Two weeks later, DHS reopened and extended for another 30 days the public comment period for the interim final rule as published in the Dec. 10 Federal Register.
The comment period will remain open until Jan. 8, 2010, and not Jan. 7, 2010, as earlier announced.
Marie Thérèse Sebrechts, DHS-U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services regional media manager, said Friday that USCIS “will consider all comments received during the public comment period of Oct. 27, 2009 to Jan. 8, 2010 in the development of its final transitional worker rule.
“Pursuant to a recent order of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, DHS will not implement the transitional worker visa classification provisions until DHS considers comments received on the interim rule, makes any necessary revisions resulting from those comments, and issues a final rule,” Sebrechts said.
The interim final rule will continue to be available for public comment at www.regulations.gov. To find this rule on regulations.gov, search under the docket number USCIS-2008-0038.
Teresa Kim, interim press secretary, said re-opening the comment period on regulations that are the subject of a court order is a customary practice for an agency that now must decide how to respond to the court order.
“Prior comments were provided without the benefit of either the court’s opinion with respect to the Commonwealth’s challenge to the statute or the court’s second opinion with respect to the Commonwealth’s challenge to the failure by DHS to abide by the requirements of the federal Administrative Procedure Act,” she told Saipan Tribune when asked for comment.
Some 100 entities submitted comments to the interim final rule in its initial public comment period.
“The additional comment period will give others a chance to provide DHS with information for use in the rule-making process. The administration urges all affected persons and businesses to take advantage of this opportunity to assist DHS in promulgating a practical and workable rule that will not further damage the Commonwealth’s economy,” Kim added.
Saipan Chamber of Commerce president Jim Arenovski, lawyer Steve Woodruff and United Workers Movement-NMI board chair Ronnie Doca earlier said they welcome the additional public comment period.
Since the reopening of the public comment period, one comment has so far been posted online from an individual whose name was withheld.
“To all legislators, it's simple and straightforward. If you were in our shoes, having a family here on the island of Saipan, will you want your kids to be left out whenever us as parents cannot step back to U.S. soil because we were denied by the embassy after having a vacation? Who will take care of our kids? Who will raise them? Isn’t it in the school system they are teaching that U.S. is the land of the free? But now, who is saying that is the enemy,” the commenter said.
DHS is establishing a Transitional Worker Visa category, a new nonimmigrant visa classification under the Immigration and Nationality Act using the admission code CW-1 for the principal transitional worker and CW-2 for dependents. “CW” stands for “Commonwealth transitional worker.”
A “transitional worker” is defined as an alien worker who is currently ineligible for another classification under the INA and who performs services or labor for an employer in the CNMI.
Under the CNMI-Only Transitional Worker program, employers may file a petition for a transitional worker with USCIS using Form I-129CW, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker in the CNMI.
The Form I-29CW is a modified form of the Form I-29, but it is specifically used for the Commonwealth-only Transitional Worker program.
The fee for Form I-129CW would be $320, the same amount charged for the I-129, and an $80 biometrics fee.
In addition, the Consolidated Natural Resources Act mandates a “CNMI education funding fee” of $150 per beneficiary per year, which cannot be waived.
Under the interim final rule, the CNMI-Only Transitional Worker program includes all occupational categories being used in the CNMI now.
Also, for the first year, the numerical limits for CW-1 status are based on the CNMI government’s own estimate of the nonresident worker population, which is 22,417. After the first year, the numerical limit will decrease, as determined by the DHS secretary.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Local
Monday, November 30, 2009
Limited re-entry options for alien workers in CNMI
CBP now conducts immigration checks at Saipan, Rota airports
By Haidee V. Eugenio
Reporter
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has yet to decide whether to come up with emergency regulations to allow foreign workers to travel in and out of the CNMI as a federal judge suggested last week, or to issue a new set of rules for the transitional worker program, even as DHS officially took over CNMI immigration at 12:01am on Saturday.
In the interim, alien workers who need to exit and re-enter the CNMI will be dealt with by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on a case-by-case basis, including those traveling for emergency reason, or an “advanced parole” for others.
Securing a CW-1 visa is not yet an option for re-entry, due to a court ruling preventing DHS from implementing its CNMI transitional worker program rule.
Takeover
At least 14 U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers took over the immigration booths at the Saipan International Airport to process the first flight to arrive in the CNMI under federal immigration law.
Among them was CBP officer James Collett, from Buffalo, New York.
“I've been with CBP since 2007 and this is my first time here on Saipan,” he said, while preparing his immigration booth to process passengers.
Jeff Guerrero, a CBP officer from Guam, was also among those who manned the first shift at the Saipan airport under federal immigration control.
He's been with CBP for four years, and expects the processing on Saipan to be “a little bit different” from that in Guam where there are more passengers arriving at any given day.
Each immigration booth at the Saipan airport is equipped with a passport reader, a camera, and a fingerprint scanner, said Edward Low, public affairs liaison at the CBP-San Francisco office.
Low said there were 37 CBP officers and CBP managers on Saipan for the takeover, along with four others assigned to Rota on a temporary basis. CBP will be recruiting officers to be permanently assigned to the CNMI.
Jerry Aevermann, interim port director of CBP for the CNMI, and CBP port director for Hawaii Bruce Murley were also at the airport to oversee the federal operations.
First flight in
At 1:11am on Saturday, passengers of a Northwest Airlines flight from Japan began lining up in front of fully equipped immigration counters manned by CBP officers from all parts of the United States.
Tourists from Japan, which is included in the visa waiver program, are not required to have a U.S. visa to enter the CNMI.
At least one passenger from the Philippines with no U.S. travel or work visa had to be directed to a secondary immigration check. DHS or CBP officials declined to comment on the status of the passenger, including whether she will be allowed in or sent back to the Philippines.
DHS invited CNMI officials including U.S. Rep. Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (D-MP), Senate President Pete P. Reyes and other lawmakers, along with members of the media, inside the airport to witness the first passengers to be processed by CBP officers.
Also at the airport were Rep. Ralph Torres (R-Saipan), Rep. Tina Sablan (Ind-Saipan), Rep. Ray Tebuteb (R-Saipan), Rep. Diego Benavente (R-Saipan), Marianas Visitors Authority managing director Perry Tenorio, and MVA board member Marian Aldan-Pierce.
“This is very interesting. The operation looks fairly clean and smooth,” said Tebuteb when asked for comment on his observation of CBP's takeover of immigration processing at the airport.
'Advanced parole'
Alexander Y. Hartman, immigration policy advisor at DHS' Office of Policy Development, said CBP officers have a number of options they can look at whether they can parole someone in on a case-by-case basis, including an advanced parole to travel, or a U.S. B1 or B2 visa.
Hartman said DHS has not made a decision yet whether to issue emergency regulations to allow foreign workers to exit and re-enter the CNMI as suggested by Judge Paul Friedman last week or come up with a new set of rules.
“Actually the judge gave a bit more latitude in his decision. He said the current rule can't go into effect and that DHS needs to find a way to go through the notice and comment process and issue a rule, and so one option is to do an emergency rule.We're still considering whether we want to go that route,” Hartman told reporters in an interview at the Saipan airport while CBP officers were processing passengers of a Northwest Airline flight.
He said another option is to issue a new proposed rule and start the process from scratch.
“We haven't decided either way which option we'll do. In the intervening time, we will be looking at people's need to travel on a case-by-case basis,” he said.
Nonresident workers who are in the CNMI now and who would have been eligible for a transitional worker visa are allowed under the Consolidated Natural Resources Act to stay on the island for the time their permit is valid or up to two years, whichever is shorter. As long as they're on island, they still have work authorization if their permit is valid under CNMI law.
Hartman said legitimate foreign workers who need DHS authorization to exit and re-enter the CNMI for emergency reason will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
For non-emergency travel, nonresident workers may apply for a so-called “advanced parole” with USCIS.
Advanced parole is different from the parole authority for Chinese and Russian tourists visiting the CNMI.
“Advanced parole is like advancing permission to travel. So you file an application with USCIS and they issue you a document that says you are authorized to leave and return, subject to inspection at the airport when you come back. Parole is when somebody arrives at the airport and that Customs and Border Protection officer makes a determination whether to allow them to come in even if they don't have a visa,” Hartman said.
Those wanting to apply for advanced parole would need to schedule an appointment or go online to obtain and file an application with USCIS.
DHS, in a statement issued on Saturday, said immigration laws of the CNMI will be replaced by the Immigration and Nationality Act and other U.S. immigration laws effective Nov. 28 pursuant to a law signed by President Bush on May 8, 2008.
The definition of “United States” in the INA will simultaneously be amended to include the CNMI-providing new privileges and easing restrictions to CNMI residents wishing to live and work in the United States.
Transition period
Although U.S. immigration law applies to the CNMI beginning Nov. 28, the CNMI will undergo a transition period with temporary measures ending Dec. 31, 2014, to allow for an orderly transition and give individuals time to identify an appropriate visa classification under the INA.
Marie Thérèse Sebrechts, USCIS regional media manager, said the takeover on Saturday marked a major step in a series of DHS initiatives undertaken since the Consolidated Natural Resources Act's signing to address the legal and operational needs for a smooth transition.
Five important rules to facilitate the transition were published in the Federal Register in 2009 to address key changes under the CNRA, including a CNMI-Guam Visa Waiver Program interim rule on Jan. 16; an E-2 Nonimmigrant Status for Aliens in the CNMI with Long-Term Investor Status proposed rule on Sept. 14; a CNMI Transitional Worker Classification interim rule on Oct. 27; and an Application of Immigration Regulations to the CNMI “conforming amendments” interim rule, also on Oct. 27.
On March 10, USCIS also opened its Application Support Center at TSL Plaza on Saipan to provide biometric services-including fingerprint capture, photos and signatures-along with additional services, including naturalization and adjustment of status interviews, as well as opportunities for the public to obtain answers to immigration questions.
'Parole authority'
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, in recognizing that some unique situations would result as the CNMI transitions to U.S. immigration laws, announced the granting of parole to applicants for admission on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.
Parole authority will be used in two specific situations in the CNMI.
One is for eligible Chinese and Russian nationals visiting for business or pleasure will be eligible for CBP-administered parole into the CNMI on a case-by-case basis.
The second one is for certain impacted aliens-notably CNMI permanent residents and various categories of immediate relatives-will be eligible for USCIS-administered parole on a case-by-case basis.
Impact on Guam
The CNRA also contains two provisions that specifically impact Guam, including the elimination of the current Guam Visa Waiver Program and the creation of a new Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program, under which eligible nationals of program countries and geographic areas may be authorized to visit Guam and/or the CNMI for up to 45 days.
The second one is for the elimination of the statutory cap on the number of H nonimmigrant worker petitions that can be filed by employers in Guam and the CNMI.
The federal takeover on Saturday marked another chapter in the CNMI's 34-year relationship with the United States. The so-called federalization of local immigration took decades of political, social and economic wrangling between Washington, D.C. and the CNMI.
Local
Monday, November 30, 2009
Limited re-entry options for alien workers in CNMI
CBP now conducts immigration checks at Saipan, Rota airports
By Haidee V. Eugenio
Reporter
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has yet to decide whether to come up with emergency regulations to allow foreign workers to travel in and out of the CNMI as a federal judge suggested last week, or to issue a new set of rules for the transitional worker program, even as DHS officially took over CNMI immigration at 12:01am on Saturday.
In the interim, alien workers who need to exit and re-enter the CNMI will be dealt with by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on a case-by-case basis, including those traveling for emergency reason, or an “advanced parole” for others.
Securing a CW-1 visa is not yet an option for re-entry, due to a court ruling preventing DHS from implementing its CNMI transitional worker program rule.
Takeover
At least 14 U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers took over the immigration booths at the Saipan International Airport to process the first flight to arrive in the CNMI under federal immigration law.
Among them was CBP officer James Collett, from Buffalo, New York.
“I've been with CBP since 2007 and this is my first time here on Saipan,” he said, while preparing his immigration booth to process passengers.
Jeff Guerrero, a CBP officer from Guam, was also among those who manned the first shift at the Saipan airport under federal immigration control.
He's been with CBP for four years, and expects the processing on Saipan to be “a little bit different” from that in Guam where there are more passengers arriving at any given day.
Each immigration booth at the Saipan airport is equipped with a passport reader, a camera, and a fingerprint scanner, said Edward Low, public affairs liaison at the CBP-San Francisco office.
Low said there were 37 CBP officers and CBP managers on Saipan for the takeover, along with four others assigned to Rota on a temporary basis. CBP will be recruiting officers to be permanently assigned to the CNMI.
Jerry Aevermann, interim port director of CBP for the CNMI, and CBP port director for Hawaii Bruce Murley were also at the airport to oversee the federal operations.
First flight in
At 1:11am on Saturday, passengers of a Northwest Airlines flight from Japan began lining up in front of fully equipped immigration counters manned by CBP officers from all parts of the United States.
Tourists from Japan, which is included in the visa waiver program, are not required to have a U.S. visa to enter the CNMI.
At least one passenger from the Philippines with no U.S. travel or work visa had to be directed to a secondary immigration check. DHS or CBP officials declined to comment on the status of the passenger, including whether she will be allowed in or sent back to the Philippines.
DHS invited CNMI officials including U.S. Rep. Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (D-MP), Senate President Pete P. Reyes and other lawmakers, along with members of the media, inside the airport to witness the first passengers to be processed by CBP officers.
Also at the airport were Rep. Ralph Torres (R-Saipan), Rep. Tina Sablan (Ind-Saipan), Rep. Ray Tebuteb (R-Saipan), Rep. Diego Benavente (R-Saipan), Marianas Visitors Authority managing director Perry Tenorio, and MVA board member Marian Aldan-Pierce.
“This is very interesting. The operation looks fairly clean and smooth,” said Tebuteb when asked for comment on his observation of CBP's takeover of immigration processing at the airport.
'Advanced parole'
Alexander Y. Hartman, immigration policy advisor at DHS' Office of Policy Development, said CBP officers have a number of options they can look at whether they can parole someone in on a case-by-case basis, including an advanced parole to travel, or a U.S. B1 or B2 visa.
Hartman said DHS has not made a decision yet whether to issue emergency regulations to allow foreign workers to exit and re-enter the CNMI as suggested by Judge Paul Friedman last week or come up with a new set of rules.
“Actually the judge gave a bit more latitude in his decision. He said the current rule can't go into effect and that DHS needs to find a way to go through the notice and comment process and issue a rule, and so one option is to do an emergency rule.We're still considering whether we want to go that route,” Hartman told reporters in an interview at the Saipan airport while CBP officers were processing passengers of a Northwest Airline flight.
He said another option is to issue a new proposed rule and start the process from scratch.
“We haven't decided either way which option we'll do. In the intervening time, we will be looking at people's need to travel on a case-by-case basis,” he said.
Nonresident workers who are in the CNMI now and who would have been eligible for a transitional worker visa are allowed under the Consolidated Natural Resources Act to stay on the island for the time their permit is valid or up to two years, whichever is shorter. As long as they're on island, they still have work authorization if their permit is valid under CNMI law.
Hartman said legitimate foreign workers who need DHS authorization to exit and re-enter the CNMI for emergency reason will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
For non-emergency travel, nonresident workers may apply for a so-called “advanced parole” with USCIS.
Advanced parole is different from the parole authority for Chinese and Russian tourists visiting the CNMI.
“Advanced parole is like advancing permission to travel. So you file an application with USCIS and they issue you a document that says you are authorized to leave and return, subject to inspection at the airport when you come back. Parole is when somebody arrives at the airport and that Customs and Border Protection officer makes a determination whether to allow them to come in even if they don't have a visa,” Hartman said.
Those wanting to apply for advanced parole would need to schedule an appointment or go online to obtain and file an application with USCIS.
DHS, in a statement issued on Saturday, said immigration laws of the CNMI will be replaced by the Immigration and Nationality Act and other U.S. immigration laws effective Nov. 28 pursuant to a law signed by President Bush on May 8, 2008.
The definition of “United States” in the INA will simultaneously be amended to include the CNMI-providing new privileges and easing restrictions to CNMI residents wishing to live and work in the United States.
Transition period
Although U.S. immigration law applies to the CNMI beginning Nov. 28, the CNMI will undergo a transition period with temporary measures ending Dec. 31, 2014, to allow for an orderly transition and give individuals time to identify an appropriate visa classification under the INA.
Marie Thérèse Sebrechts, USCIS regional media manager, said the takeover on Saturday marked a major step in a series of DHS initiatives undertaken since the Consolidated Natural Resources Act's signing to address the legal and operational needs for a smooth transition.
Five important rules to facilitate the transition were published in the Federal Register in 2009 to address key changes under the CNRA, including a CNMI-Guam Visa Waiver Program interim rule on Jan. 16; an E-2 Nonimmigrant Status for Aliens in the CNMI with Long-Term Investor Status proposed rule on Sept. 14; a CNMI Transitional Worker Classification interim rule on Oct. 27; and an Application of Immigration Regulations to the CNMI “conforming amendments” interim rule, also on Oct. 27.
On March 10, USCIS also opened its Application Support Center at TSL Plaza on Saipan to provide biometric services-including fingerprint capture, photos and signatures-along with additional services, including naturalization and adjustment of status interviews, as well as opportunities for the public to obtain answers to immigration questions.
'Parole authority'
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, in recognizing that some unique situations would result as the CNMI transitions to U.S. immigration laws, announced the granting of parole to applicants for admission on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.
Parole authority will be used in two specific situations in the CNMI.
One is for eligible Chinese and Russian nationals visiting for business or pleasure will be eligible for CBP-administered parole into the CNMI on a case-by-case basis.
The second one is for certain impacted aliens-notably CNMI permanent residents and various categories of immediate relatives-will be eligible for USCIS-administered parole on a case-by-case basis.
Impact on Guam
The CNRA also contains two provisions that specifically impact Guam, including the elimination of the current Guam Visa Waiver Program and the creation of a new Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program, under which eligible nationals of program countries and geographic areas may be authorized to visit Guam and/or the CNMI for up to 45 days.
The second one is for the elimination of the statutory cap on the number of H nonimmigrant worker petitions that can be filed by employers in Guam and the CNMI.
The federal takeover on Saturday marked another chapter in the CNMI's 34-year relationship with the United States. The so-called federalization of local immigration took decades of political, social and economic wrangling between Washington, D.C. and the CNMI.
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
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.
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.
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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