Lawmakers mull limited immunity for illegal aliens

Faced with an increasing number of illegal aliens in the Commonwealth, the House Subcommittee on Labor and Immigration is mulling once more the idea of granting limited immunity to overstaying nonresident workers to enable them to return to the fold of the law.

Subcommittee Chair Herman T. Palacios has introduced a measure, House Bill 13-103, which would provide the period of limited immunity for illegal aliens so they can report themselves to the Department of Labor and Immigration and become lawfully employed in the CNMI.

The measure would also safeguard these aliens from prosecution for their prior illegal status once they present themselves before DOLI.

The bill is a throwback to Public Law 11-33, which the 11th Legislature enacted to grant limited immunity to an estimated 5,000 illegal aliens in the CNMI. It shielded illegal aliens from arrest and other civil or criminal penalty as long as they voluntarily stepped forward and registered with the DOLI.

“The intent of Public Law 11-33 was a success as many illegal aliens did come forward to report their illegal presence in the Commonwealth without fear of prosecution. However, despite this law, the CNMI is still faced with a chronic problem of overstaying nonresident workers,” said Palacios, hence the need for a new limited immunity act.

At the same time, he pointed out that there continues to be a need for people to fill employment positions in the Commonwealth.

“By allowing these people to work, they will be able to fill positions that would otherwise remain unfilled due to the Commonwealth’s small local workforce,” he said.

Therefore, one solution, he said, would be to provide for another short period of limited immunity to allow those aliens to come forward to legitimize their immigration status or voluntarily exit the Commonwealth.

Palacios’ bill clearly specifies, though, who would qualify for the limited immunity. In particular, the bill, if passed into law, would only apply to those illegal aliens:

• who entered the Commonwealth on or before January 1, 2002;

• are deportable under 3 CMC § 4340;

• has not been apprehended or formally identified yet as illegally present in the Commonwealth by DOLI at the time of seeking the benefits and protection of this proposed law.

All who would like to avail of the immunity period have to present themselves to DOLI within 30 days from the effective date of this proposed bill.

Qualified illegal aliens who report themselves under the provisions of this bill would also be protected from prosecution, deportation, or barred, disqualified or prejudiced in any way from seeking or receiving lawful employment, or, public or private benefits, rights, or privileges in the Commonwealth.

At the same time, no employer of any qualified illegal alien would be prohibited from taking adverse employment action against such an employee for coming forward and claiming the benefits of the immunity. If any such employer takes any such adverse action against a qualified illegal alien, the employer will be liable to such alien for three times the amount of any damages arising as a result of such adverse action.