CW-1 slots reduced by 3,000

File photo from March 27, 2017, shows a worker operating a backhoe during a road construction project along Isa Drive on Capital Hill. (Jon Perez)

After several weeks’ delay, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services finally set the CW-1 cap for fiscal year 2018 last night, establishing the number of slots at 9,998—a reduction of 3,000 slots.

USCIS was scheduled to set the limit last night by having it published in the Federal Register. The move, described by the Torres administration last night as “ a tremendous blow to our economy,” is in preparation for the expiration of the CNMI Transitional Worker Program in 2019.

In a statement from the Office of the Governor in expectation of the USCIS announcement last night, it said that Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, after learning that USCIS intended to reduce the slots by up to half the total slots for fiscal year 2018, flew to Washington, D.C. to lobby for the “continuity of our economic growth” and have since then been following up with USCIS daily.

“[The Department of Homeland Security] told me it is their legal responsibility to make larger cuts to the CW number under the current law in order for the CNMI to reach zero by 2019,” said Torres in the statement.

He said that, under Public Law 110-229, or the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008, “the effect could have been far more severe.”

“It was incredibly difficult to argue against the facts of the current law,” Torres said.

He recounted that in his many conversations with federal officials about the reduction, he urged them to allow the CNMI economy to survive for at least another year.

“And that is where they have decided on a 3,000-permit reduction,” Torres said. “It is not what any of us would have hoped for, but this underlines a more important point.”

Under the current law, the CW-1 number will be zero by 2019, and the CNMI can expect even more dramatic cuts next year, “unless Congress can amend and extend the transition period beyond 2019.”

Torres acknowledged that the cut would result in businesses having to make difficult choices, and families having to make incredible sacrifices.

“For that I am sorry, but we cannot and will not stop our efforts,” he said.

He pointed out that the CNMI community has made it through the most difficult times. “We have made it through incredible storms both natural and economic together, and I know we can do it again. As we continue to do what we can on this federal issue, I will keep you, our community, informed.”

Torres also sought the cooperation of Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP), who previously recommended a reduction of only one for the fiscal year 2018 CW-1 numerical cap.

“I am publicly asking Congressman Sablan to work with me and the community to make the extension of the CW program the top priority on his agenda before it is too late. There is too much at stake to hold off any farther. If we want the jobs we have created to remain, the economy to continue to grow, and more opportunities to arise, Congressman Sablan needs to put in all of his effort in moving this through Congress as quickly as possible. I am willing, as I have always been, to work with him on this effort,” said Torres, adding that politics be set aside to focus on “the needs of our entire community–everyone who calls these islands home.”

Saipan Tribune tried to obtain comments from Sablan yesterday but his office stated that he would be issuing a comment once the USCIS announcement is published in the Federal Register.

The Federal Register was published last night at 10:45pm (ChST).

Extremely troubling

Rep. Angel Demapan (R-Saipan), who will be running against Sablan in the 2018 election, expressed concern last night, saying the reduction would have a “very negative impact” on the “upward economic growth” the CNMI is currently experiencing.

“It will choke our business community, inevitably forcing many businesses in the Commonwealth to reduce services or ultimately, completely shut down, resulting in the loss of so many new jobs in our community,” he said in a statement.

Demapan said the enactment of P.L. 110-229 in 2008 “made dramatic changes” to the economy, imposed the transitional worker program deadline of 2019, and “arbitrarily removed the U.S. Secretary of Labor’s discretionary authority to grant any further extension or delay.”

“Unfortunately, the members of the U.S. Congress, including our delegate, did not make any attempt to preserve the Secretary of Labor’s discretionary authority, which would have served as a safeguard to protect the CNMI’s economic growth from being halted and jeopardized.”

According to Demapan, a fix for the CW-1 program could only also be changed by an act of Congress.

He added that Sablan’s H.R. 339, which was enacted last Aug. 23, 2017, was “severely short-sighted” and failed to address the “long-term needs of our Commonwealth.”

H.R. 339 essentially bumped up the number of CW-1 slots for fiscal year 2017 by 350, with 60 slots allotted to health-related occupations and 10 slots allotted to Commonwealth Utilities Corp. engineers.

Other key provisions of H.R. 339 include removing construction workers from the CW-1 program and a $50-increase in the education fee that employer’s pay when petitioning a foreign worker. The fee used to be $150 but is now $200. The money, which goes back to the NMI government, is used to fund local educational programs.

“It would have been more prudent for…Sablan to focus his efforts on drafting legislation aimed at strengthening the CNMI’s workforce needs based on our current economic growth and ongoing developments,” said Demapan.

According to a previous interview with Sablan, he said that H.R. 339 was a short-term solution to address the crisis caused by Chinese construction companies hogging about 4,000 CW-1 slots for fiscal year 2017. Sablan emphasized that the mere act of passing a bill in a period where the U.S. House is in recess is rare, highlighting the significance of H.R. 339 passing Congress.

“Going forward with any long-term solution, I think we have now achieved recognition for the need for some flexibility, depending on the circumstances, to adjust the number of workers so it meets our economic needs,” said Sablan in a previous statement.

Demapan said the only solution to saving the CNMI economy from the threat of a “misguided federal law” rests with members of Congress. He urged Sablan and Torres to work together with the business community on long-term fix for the CNMI’s economic growth.