US Senate tackles takeover proposal

The U.S. Senate is expected to begin deliberation this week on legislation seeking extension of federal immigration laws to the Northern Marianas for possible voting on the floor by members.

It is scheduled to resume session Monday afternoon (Washington D.C. time) to begin consideration of S. 1052 which is the bill that will allow automatic federal takeover of the island’s immigration standards.

The move came after the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which has oversight of U.S. insular areas like the CNMI, recommended favorably last November for its passage and was immediately placed on the legislative calendar for voting.

Although the measure was never considered before the Senate adjourned Nov. 24, 1999, it is one of the legislation being pushed in the upper house when sessions resumed late last month.

Sponsored by Committee Chair Frank H. Murkowski (R-Alaska), Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) and Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), the bipartisan measure was amended extensively when the committee unanimously passed it last Oct. 20 despite CNMI’s strong opposition.

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio, key members of the Legislature and business sector representatives testified at a hearing conducted by the committee last September in which they appealed to Congress against such action in view of the island’s economic situation.

The legislation, one of host of measures aimed at changing CNMI’s self-governing status, seeks automatic implementation of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act in the Commonwealth once the bill becomes a law.

It will, however, allow a nine-year transition period intended to help local businesses like hotels and tourism-related establishments cope with potential adverse economic impact.

The committee scrapped key provisions that would have provided the CNMI legal means to contest in the court a federal takeover of its immigration functions based on findings of the U.S. Attorney General under the first draft of the proposal.

Because of the change, the transition period in which to orderly phase in INA was shortened from 10 to nine years ending December 31, 2009, with up to 10-year extension for hotel and tourism industries.

Under the proposal, the target implementation will begin one year after its enactment.

Island leaders are hoping to drum up support of Republican leaders in Congress to quell the latest federal takeover proposal which was a byproduct of an earlier bill passed by the Senate committee in 1998, but failed to go through the full body.

Since 1997, there have been moves to strip CNMI control of its immigration, minimum wage and custom standards stemming from its alleged failure to curb influx of cheap labor from Asian countries — a move that local officials say will spell the island’s economic collapse.