151 illegal aliens arrive on Tinian

A boat carrying about 151 illegal Chinese immigrants arrived yesterday morning on Tinian, four days after the federal government sought again the assistance of the Northern Marianas to provide temporary refuge to these people.

The undocumented aliens were immediately transferred to a private warehouse where they were assisted by immigration authorities from both the U.S. and the CNMI.

The vessel, the fifth to be diverted by the U.S. Coast Guard to Tinian in four months, reached the San Jose harbor at nine o’clock in the morning. At least seven personnel from the Immigration and Naturalization Service were on hand to meet the Chinese.

“Our agencies and the (U.S.) immigration office are working closely and they will try to expedite the repatriation of those people presently on Tinian,” Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio told reporters.

While he was not certain when they would be sent home, the local chief executive expressed hope that hosting these undocumented aliens would be less costly this time, noting the island government has to scramble for funds for their accommodation.

“It’s very different now because we have a new procedure different from the past so the expenditures may be less,” the governor explained. “We have to scrunch our money. We have to use other resources to accommodate these expenses.”

During the previous months, CNMI officials had to tap funds from the deportation account, which is being maintained by the Department of Labor and Immigration for nonresident workers here, to cover expenses on Tinian.

Nearly $600,000 were spent by the Commonwealth for the two-month operations between April and June when close to 500 illegal immigrants were sent to “tent cities” set up by INS on that island.

According to Tenorio, a check to settle these unpaid charges, such as overtime pay for police officers securing the area and meals provided to the Chinese, will be forthcoming.

“I made a commitment that we will assist… the federal government on our side to accommodate the arrival of these undocumented boat people,” he said. “I have every confidence that the federal government will reimburse us all the expenses incurred by our government.”

Responding immediately to a White House request made last Thursday, the governor had mobilized local agencies to meet the needs of federal authorities once the new boatload of illegal immigrants reached shore.

Four boats were previously towed to Tinian, beginning April 17 when the island government first agreed to play host in efforts to help Guam deal with the worsening immigration crisis there.

Yesterday’s arrival came nearly two months after the last batch of the first wave of undocumented aliens immigrants had been sent home by both CNMI and federal authorities.