Fitial: 180-day delay will occur

Gov. Benigno Fitial says he is confident the Department of Homeland Security will grant his request for a 180-day extension to the enactment of the federalization law because there has been no strong opposition.

“Come June 1, we’ll already have an extension. I’m saying this with confidence,” Fitial said in a recent news briefing.

The Consolidated Natural Resources Act, signed into law by President Bush in 2008, will extend federal immigration laws to the CNMI. The start date is June 1, although the law allows for a 180-day delay. A decision on any extension must be made 30 days before June 1.

The CNMI has sued the DHS and the U.S. Department of Labor to halt the implementation of the law.

Fitial earlier wrote DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano requesting the delay. He said he has not had any other communication with her, but believes the lack of local opposition is a good indication an extension will be granted.

“Nobody is against it. That’s a very strong indication; no one is against it. Everyone is supporting it,” he said.

Charles Reyes, press secretary for the Governor’s Office, said if one looks within the CNMI community, all of the major entities support a delay—the Legislature, the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands, and CNMI Rep. Gregorio “Kilili” Sablan.

Sablan wrote his own letter to Napolitano seeking a delay. The Legislature passed a join resolution showing their support for Sablan’s request.

Reyes noted that Guam Gov. Felix Camacho and the Guam Legislature have also asked for a delay.

“There’s no guarantee,” he added, “but because there’s no significant opposition, we think that should be encouraging.”

Logistically, it’s going to be difficult for DHS to implement the law starting June 1, Reyes said, adding that Homeland Security officials who earlier visited Saipan seemed to think the same thing.

“They could probably pull it together, but it’s not going to be pretty. They admitted it when they were here,” the press secretary said.

Howard Willens, special legal counsel to the governor who is representing the CNMI in the lawsuit against DHS and DOL, said that Homeland Security submitted a letter in January saying they needed $96 million to build the six ports of entries required under the law. Only $5 million is currently available

“The size of request, in all fairness, they cannot implement this law with any degree of accuracy, fairness or thoroughness on June 1, 2009,” Willens said. “And after the extension is granted, which as the governor says we fully expect, then there will be time for the department to deal with its requests for Congress, and we will hear further about what their plans are and be able to make some judgment to the extent they will be able to implement the law.”