GAO’s positive report tickles Teno

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio expressed relief yesterday over the generally positive review conducted by the investigative arm of the U.S. Congress on CNMI immigration policies, particularly on enforcement and reforms put in place by his administration.

But he declined to underscore significance of the General Accounting Office’s report to the efforts by the Commonwealth to convince its critics in Washington D.C. that the island government is addressing problems on local labor and immigration.

“I’m sure that the report will speak for itself . . . We will continue to do the reforms and we will continue to make sure that our guest workers [are] protected,” Mr. Tenorio told reporters in an interview after attending MVA’s general membership meeting held at the Diamond Hotel.

He said he knew that GAO was conducting an audit of the government when its representatives were on island several months ago.

“It’s good [because] at least we know that we are doing something to correct those mistakes that were made in the past,” added the governor.

The recently-released report documented efforts carried out by the CNMI government in reforming immigration policies to keep them in line with the federal standards. It set the record straight on claims that the island has been lax in controlling the entry of nonresident workers.

GAO conducted the investigation upon the request of U.S. Senate ranking minority member Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) who is also in the Committee on Governmental Affairs.

The probe, however, did not include the evaluation of the effectiveness of the CNMI’s customs and immigration policies, or the political ramifications of the presence of a large alien worker population on the islands.

The government has come under fire in recent years over its handling of labor, minimum wage and immigration, prompting the Clinton administration to press federal takeover of these functions.

Legislation extending federal immigration laws to the CNMI is pending with the U.S. House of Representatives after the Senate passed the bill last February — the first ever taken up by both houses of the bicameral Congress.

But island leaders have been trying to block the move due to its potential devastating impact to the local economy which has been battered by the recession in Asia, its main source of tourists and investments.