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Public forum on asylum on Nov. 19
Pacific Ombudsman for Humanitarian Law announces to the general public that a public forum will be held on Nov. 19, 2014, at 6:30pm in Suite 101, first floor, NW front of the Marianas Business Plaza in Susupe, to discuss protection and political asylum in the CNMI.
Attorney Pamela Brown Blackburn, former Federal Ombudsman, CNMI Attorney General and president of POHL, will highlight Public Law 110-229 and Section 208 (asylum) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 2008, specifically on how aliens may apply for political asylum status in the CNMI.
Under current law, aliens present in the CNMI may begin to apply for asylum on Jan. 1, 2015. Under current law, and consistent with U.S. treaty obligations, aliens subject to removal from the CNMI could continue to seek withholding or deferral of removal because of threat of persecution or torture in their home countries. Without the passage of an amendment to Public Law 110-229 by the U.S. Congress, political asylum protections offered to alien within the states and Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, aliens with similar well-founded fear of returning to their home countries will enjoy those same protections as of Jan. 1, 2015.
The Pacific Ombudsman for Humanitarian Law is a non-profit organization that continues to serve displaced workers and non-citizens or citizens and resident locals with services including legal services for victims of abuse, translation services, social services referral, immigration assistance, training and public outreach campaign management. (POHL)
