‘Amnesty for overstayers with unpaid labor awards’

A group of foreign workers is asking the federal and local government to consider giving amnesty to overstayers who have not been paid their wages and other claims despite the awards granted them by the CNMI Department of Labor.

“We ask Delegate Gregorio ‘Kilili’ Sablan to raise this with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security: What will happen to those with unpaid labor awards when federalization comes into effect?” Rabby Syed, president of the United Workers Movement NMI, yesterday said.

The group will ask the delegate to help “freeze deportation” of overstayers until they get all their back wages and all the items in their labor awards are fulfilled, including granting of employment transfers.

Syed and Ronnie Doca, board chairman of the United Workers Movement NMI, said they will also ask DHS to create a special fund to help pay for the unpaid wages and other claims by workers in the CNMI.

“If the CNMI government cannot require CNMI employers to pay their workers, then maybe the federal government can,” said Syed.

He said the CNMI Department of Labor has only been issuing pieces of paper granting labor awards to workers but not enforcing those awards, including requiring bonding companies to pay the workers.

Syed cited the CNMI Superior Court’s ruling on Thursday, saying that the Department of Labor has exclusive jurisdiction over alien workers attempting to collect on labor bonds and that the courts do not have the authority to enforce these bonds.

Associate Judge Perry B. Inos said the jurisdiction to enforce bonds issued pursuant to the CNMI Nonresident Workers Act is vested solely with Labor.

Doca said many of these overstayers with unpaid wages also have U.S. citizen children. “If they are sent home, who will take care of their children?” he asked.

Syed hopes the CNMI or federal government will grant an immigration status to these overstayers with unpaid labor awards.

“We ask this for humanitarian consideration, and not for political or immigration reason,” said Syed.

The United Workers Movement NMI is one of three groups, along with Coalition of United Workers NMI, and the Human Dignity Movement, that held a letter writing session on Sunday. The project aims to collect personal letters from foreign workers, immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and other members of the community who will be affected by federalization by June 1.

Over 1,500 letters have so far been received, which will be hand-delivered by Florida-based activist Wendy Doromal to members of the U.S. Congress and officials of DHS and other federal agencies helping to work on federalization regulations.