Senate eyes tighter pre-screening procedures • Proposal aims to stem fraudulent certificates from guest workers

In a swift reaction to a recommendation from a visiting key U.S. congressional staff, the Senate is expected to pass today a proposed measure to establish a Washington-approved list of foreign individuals and agencies that will screen guest workers seeking entry into the CNMI.

Offered by Senate Floor Leader Pete P. Reyes, the legislation will respond to concerns raised by Manase Mansur, adviser on insular and international affairs of the U.S. House Resources Committee, during his recent meetings with local officials.

The proposal is one of few crucial bills that senators hope to pass during their session this afternoon, including a measure that will grant spending powers to the Commissioner on Education over capital improvement project funds of the Public School System.

Senate President Paul A Manglona said Reyes’ bill is in line with Mansur’s suggestion of a pre-screening system on alien workers intending to come to the island, which is patterned after that of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Mansur, chief aide to Committee Chairman Don Young (R-Alaska), has been on the island since Saturday to brief local leaders on the forthcoming oversight hearing about current conditions in the Northern Marianas.

The panel, which has jurisdiction over the CNMI and other insular areas, has scheduled the hearing on Sept. 16 in Washington D.C. where island officials are expected to lobby for federal assistance to enforce local labor and immigration laws.

Under Senate Bill 11-153, the local Department of Labor and Immigration shall come up with a limited list of persons, agencies and entities in foreign countries from which it will accept police and health clearance or certification on any contract worker applying for a job on the island.

This list must include all persons, agencies and entities approved by the U.S. Department of State, the Department of Justice and INS “for comparable purposes.”

Another list may be accepted by the Commonwealth provided that these individuals and agencies get approval from the State Secretary or the Attorney General.

Fraudulent records: Reyes justified his proposal, saying the island government has encountered serious problems with fraudulent health clearance and criminal background checks obtained in foreign countries.

These are documents required under CNMI laws that guest workers must submit to support applications for entry and work permits here.

According to the legislative findings, it is imperative that such clearances be provided only from “reputable and reliable sources” to safeguard public health and safety of CNMI citizens.

To ensure that the list is acceptable, the proposal will endorse the ones being maintained by federal agencies when they check police records as well as require health clearance of any foreign national seeking entry into the United States.

“These U.S. certifications provide a good foundation for determining sources Commonwealth immigration and labor authorities can accept with confidence,” said the bill.

It added that enactment of such a law will address “weaknesses in current practice arising from too liberal acceptance of foreign clearances” and strengthen local immigration control by restricting them only to those obtained from preapproved agencies.

The forthcoming legislation is part of labor and immigrations reforms by the Tenorio administration in efforts to thwart federal takeover of these local functions.