Kilili: Legacy bill has strong chance if…

Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) said H.R. 6578, a bill he introduced that would grant CNMI-only immigration status to long-term foreign workers, has a strong chance of moving forward in the next Congress—if the Democrats take the majority in the House of Representatives.

The U.S. midterm elections, which will be held on Nov. 6, is expected to be a dogfight between Republican and Democratic candidates, with the GOP hoping to keep its stranglehold on Congress.

“Not this Congress, no. But in the next Congress, if the Democrats win the majority in the House, which is more likely,” said Sablan when asked if H.R. 6578 has a strong chance in the 115th Congress.

Sablan, who is seeking a sixth term as NMI delegate, was one of the speakers in last Saturday’s Democratic Party of the Northern Marianas Convention at the Grandvrio Hotel’s Fiesta Room. The Democrats endorsed him; he is technically an independent candidate, although he caucuses with Democrats in Congress.

“There has to be an immigration bill. It’s just, the system is so broken that there just has to be an immigration bill. Just today [Saturday], a federal judge, appointed by [former] President [George W. Bush] ruled that the Trump administration has to implement [the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] permanently, that the [Trump administration] could not stop the program because they don’t have a logical explanation as to why the program is illegal or why it is wrong. The judge decided that this is one of the strongest decision/opinion issued by a court on the DACA program. We do have, not many that I know of, two citizens here,” added Sablan.

He said it is the right timing to re-introduce the improved status bill for long-time foreign workers in the CNMI. “The timing now is to introduce it and leave it as a marker, so when in the next Congress, if the Democrats again get elected and if I win, the language is there and re-introduced. Because I know there would be an immigration bill.”

“Just like [what] I did with the Gang of 8. When I went to each of the Gang of 8 [in the U.S. Congress], they included my language, all of it [on] S. 744 [Border Security, Economic, Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013]. That’s because I already had a marker,” said Sablan.

The Gang of 8 is a bipartisan group composed of four Democrats and four Republicans that wrote the draft of S. 744. Democrat Sens. Michael Bennet (CO), Dick Durbin (IL), Robert Menendez (NJ), and Chuck Schumer (NY), and GOP Sens. Jeff Flake (AZ), Lindsey Graham (SC), John McCain (AZ), and Marco Rubio (FL) were the members.

“Yes, it has a chance in the next Congress, if Democrats are in the majority. We’re a much better people that we can learn to appreciate the contributions that many of [the foreign workers] had done for us over the years. And I think, helping out as much as I can makes me sleep well at night,” said Sablan.

CNMI-only resident
One of the languages in H.R. 6578 would allow guest workers to legally stay and work in the CNMI, where the individual has a choice of being a CNMI-only permanent resident for the rest of their lives.

“But in five years, you will be eligible to apply for a green card, it’s your choice. If you qualify, then you get a green card. If you choose not to apply, that’s your choice. You will be a CNMI permanent resident only and you can travel if you have a B1/B2 visa; you can go to the States. If you don’t, you can stay here permanently,” he said.

“[The language] has always been the same. The options are yours and you will make the choice. For some people, getting their green card is not so easy,” said Sablan, who added that the person has the choice to apply for a green card anytime they want.

Sablan said that granting improved status is the right thing to do for many of the guest workers that had stayed almost all of their lives in the CNMI. “Many of our third-country nationals have been here through good and bad times. They helped developed our islands.”

He also included E2C visa holders in granting improved status. E2C is a CNMI-only investor visa. “I included the E2C, which is around 200, and these are people who have businesses here and have workers [here]. And [they] provide jobs to long-term non-U.S. citizens here.”