Push in DC for 15K–35K foreign workers

A casino investor, among other business interests, are lobbying in Washington, D.C. for as much as 15,000 to 35,000 foreign nationals to be allowed employment as contract workers in the CNMI, according to Delegate Gregoro Kilili C. Sablan yesterday. That 35,000-worker demand, he said, would amount to about 65 percent of the CNMI’s population and result in irrevocable changes to the Commonwealth that should be questioned.

“How much is enough for us?” and “Who will it benefit?” are questions that should be asked, Sablan told reporters yesterday.

The federal government in October set the annual limit for contract worker permits for next fiscal year at 12,999, a one-thousand drop from last year, as federal immigration officials looks to phase out the contract worker program that federal law mandates an end in 2019.

In an interview with reporters yesterday at his office in Susupe, Sablan compared the $13 billion reported investment on the table to the “The Wharf” in Washington, D.C., a mega-project that he said would amount to several buildings, restaurants, apartments and condos, office streets, boat slips, 27 acres of land, 50 acres of water—all coming with six years of permitting.

“It’s going to cost $1.5 billion. And here in the Northern Marianas, we are talking about $13 billion,” he said.

Sablan said there have been conversations in the Capitol about increasing the number of CW workers. Some have suggested 15,000 workers, he said, while others have gone up to as many as 35,000.

“Those are numbers being tossed at me…by different business interests primarily,” Sablan said when asked.

When pressed for more details, he said, “I am aware that a casino has retained lobbyists in D.C. Yes. To work on both the CW workers and the Chinese visa-waiver [program].”

He was responding to a question from Saipan Tribune on whether Imperial Pacific CNMI (LLC)—the owner of the Saipan casino that has reported project demands requiring more than 10,000 workers—were lobbying in the Capitol.

However, as this develops, Sablan said he has taken a backseat to the contract worker issue for now out of respect for Gov. Eloy S. Inos’ request for 902 negotiations with the White House to hammer out a worker program package—believed to be a new visa class for the CNMI—for eventual introduction in the U.S. Congress.

“While the governor is going through the 902 effort, these people are going through another effort. …Out of respect for the governor and his request for 902 consultation, I have taken a pause in my approach to this 2019 problem, but of course, if there is a free-for-all, then I am going to start doing my part.”

On the visa-waiver program—which allows thousands of Chinese to travel as tourists into the CNMI without a visa—Sablan noted this is “discretionary” and dependent on the Secretary of Homeland Security.

“I have not heard anything recently that would alarm me to its being discontinued,” he said.

Right-sizing development

Sablan’s comments yesterday echo recent concerns of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, which has expressed unease about the roughly six large developments in the CNMI that are nascent or ongoing despite a clear lack of a sufficient local, foreign, or national workforce.

“The Chamber has been asking for a deep look at this,” Chamber president Alex Sablan said last month, after the recent cut in contract worker limit. “What we’ve been asking for is planned development. I think we need to right-size some of these projects like the Best Sunshine project. We believe it’s way too big…because of the lack of resources—human resources, infrastructure, many different facets of our islands.”

Some Inos administration officials have also expressed concern about rampant development, Saipan Tribune learned, noting that approving every project that wishes to invest in the CNMI would be irresponsible. However, they urge that solutions—and not necessarily anti-casino or anti-development solutions—must be developed, as there will remain a shortage of workers even without future development after 2019, Saipan Tribune gathered recently.