CBP’s cultural sensitivity training wrapped up this week

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed yesterday that the “cultural sensitivity training” for CBP officers stationed on Saipan wrapped up this week amid complaints by lawmakers about some federal officers’ “rude” treatment of visitors to the CNMI.

Lawmakers, meanwhile, said yesterday that while this cultural sensitivity training should have started even before the federal government took control of CNMI borders on Nov. 28, 2009, they are glad that CBP or the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has addressed the CNMI’s concerns.

Edward Low, public affairs liaison at the CBP-San Francisco Field Office, said a trainer from Honolulu, Hawaii “just completed four training sessions this week, reaching almost all CBP employees in the CNMI, save those on leave.”

CBP, however, could not say how many CBP officers actually underwent the training.

Low, who was on Saipan for the November 2009 federal takeover, said the material covered in the training “will be incorporated into CBP’s regular duty musters.”

“The training focused on the fact that different countries have different cultures, and that what may be an innocent gesture or comment in one culture may be interpreted as hostile or offensive in another,” Low told Saipan Tribune.

He also said the training primarily focused on Korean and Japanese cultures.

The CNMI’s main tourism markets are Japan and Korea.

Betsy Markey, DHS assistant secretary for the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, told Rep. Froilan Tenorio (Cov-Saipan) in a December response letter that CBP takes seriously allegations of employee misconduct and has instituted policies pertaining to abuses of authority.

CBP’s Low reiterated yesterday that “due to U.S. Privacy Act restrictions, I cannot reveal what actions may have been directed at CBP employees as a result of a CBP investigation of allegations of misconduct.”

Tenorio said yesterday he appreciates CBP’s move, which he said was more than what he expected.

“I didn’t really expect that they would do that-conduct a cultural sensitivity training. I was expecting that they would only issue a memo notifying everyone to be nice to tourists but they did a lot more than that. I thank them and appreciate them for that,” the former governor and speaker said last night.

Senate Vice President Jude U. Hofschneider (R-Tinian), who was among those who complained to DHS about long lines, delays, and “callous demeanor” of CBP officers at the Saipan airport in April/May 2011, said yesterday that “hopefully, after the training is done,” there will no longer be complaints from tourists, foreign investors, and residents against passenger treatment of CBP officers at the airport.

“The CNMI’s main industry is tourism, and how we treat visitors at the airport could really affect our tourism. I believe the officers at the airport could really treat every customer, every tourist in a professional manner without compromising their responsibility of protecting our border from bad elements,” Hofschneider said.

The senator said he will continue to emphasize the need to “work together”-CNMI and federal agencies-in balancing security with tourism concerns.

“Overall, I am happy they’ve undergone this training which they brought up earlier,” he said.

Rep. Edmund Villagomez (Cov-Saipan), chairman of the House Committee on Commerce and Tourism, separately said a cultural sensitivity training “should have been done a long time ago” but is thankful something has been done to address complaints from passengers.

“I believe that these officers can protect our borders without being rude or harsh. I hope they take the training to heart,” the freshman lawmaker added.

Since the pullout of the garment industry, the CNMI has relied mostly on its fragile tourism to fuel its economy.

November 2011 arrivals, for example, were up only by a slight 8 percent compared to the previous year or from 27,179 to 29,275.

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama announced new initiatives to significantly increase travel and tourism in the United States as part of a comprehensive effort to spur job creation.

The U.S. tourism and travel industry is a substantial component of U.S. gross domestic product and employment, representing 2.7 percent of GDP and 7.5 million jobs in 2010-with international travel to the United States supporting 1.2 million jobs alone. The travel and tourism industry projects that more than 1 million American jobs could be created over the next decade if the U.S. increased its share of the international travel market.

Obama’s executive order charges the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior in co-leading an interagency task force to develop recommendations for a National Travel and Tourism Strategy to promote domestic and international travel opportunities throughout the United States, thereby expanding job creation.

Villagomez said the CNMI should learn more about this so it can also be included in the program.

A particular focus of the Task Force will be on strategies for increasing tourism and recreation jobs by promoting visits to our national treasures. The Department of the Interior manages iconic destinations in national parks, wildlife refuges, cultural and historic sites, monuments and other public lands that attract travelers from around the country and the globe.

Under the executive order, the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security will be charged with increasing non-immigrant visa processing capacity in China and Brazil by 40 percent in 2012, among other things.

China has become an important tourism market for the CNMI as well.