Kilili introduces permanent status bill

Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) has introduced two pieces of legislation—H.R. 559 and 560—last Wednesday in the 116th U.S. Congress in the hopes of providing permanent status to qualified individuals that have called the CNMI their second home.

The two bills hope to address the status of workers under the humanitarian parole program and employment authorization document, as well as long-term workers and foreign investors. The legislation also aims to save the status of close to 2,000 workers affected by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ termination of the CNMI categorical parole program last month.

Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and other stateless individuals, CNMI permanent residents and their IRs, IRs of citizens of Freely Associated States (the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau), caregivers of CNMI residents are affected by USCIS’ decision to discontinue the program.

USCIS, however, has suggested they would work with Sablan and the administration of Gov. Ralph DLG Torres for a legislative fix and gave a 180-day transition window to those affected.

Sablan said with USCIS terminating the humanitarian parole program, granted to them under the Obama administration in 2011, those qualified workers would be forced to leave the CNMI on or before June 29 this year unless U.S. Congress acts on the bills that he introduced.

“The covered groups would also retain the right to work and to travel back and forth… Even with Democrats in the majority in the House, the legislation faces a hard road ahead,” said Sablan.

“The legislation is similar to what I introduced in 2011 that was ultimately blocked by the Fitial administration and the language I included in Section 2109 of S. 744, the bipartisan comprehensive immigration bill passed by the Democratic Senate in 2012 but blocked by the Republican House.”

Stateless individuals and CNMI permanent residents, and their spouses and children; spouses, child, or a parent of a U.S. citizen (notwithstanding the age of the citizen); in-home caregivers; long-term workers as defined in the U.S. Workforce Act; and E-2C investors are the said groups that would be given CNMI improved status.

USCIS said their decision to discontinue the program was part of their mission to properly administer the lawful immigration system of the U.S. They are encouraging U.S. Congress to address their status.

UCIS added that parolees that applied for an extension would receive a letter that grants a 180-day transitional parole. The extension, however, is on a case-by-case basis unless if there was a reason to deny the request. They would then issue new EADs that would cover the 180-day transition period to those who requested an extension.