Dekada starts lobby efforts in DC

A lawyer representing a group of alien workers who are seeking permanent U.S. residency flew to Washington D.C. to begin lobbying efforts at the U.S. Congress.

The Dekada Movement and the Japanese Consulate on Saipan are also arranging a meeting, after the latter expressed interest in looking into the efforts being made by the movement for alien workers of diverse nationalities, according to Dekada leader Bonnie Sagana.

Sagana said about 3,000 alien workers have completed their registration with the group, which would ask the U.S. Congress to grant permanent U.S. residency—or green card—to alien workers who have had at least five consecutive years of lawful stay in the Commonwealth.

These workers have diverse nationalities, including Filipinos, Bangladeshis, Thais, Koreans, and Nepalese, among others.

Initially about 6,000 workers registered in the signature campaign being circulated by Dekada’s leaders. Sagana said the number went down because some of the original signatories failed to produce the required proof of stay in the CNMI.

Proof includes passport or old passports, employment contracts, driver’s license, and old identification cards, among others. Members have to pay $100 to pool in funds for the lobby effort.

Last Sunday, scores of alien workers expressed interest in joining the movement, Sagana said.

He said Dekada has set the deadline for registration on Dec. 15.

Sagana said lawyer Stephen Woodruff, former legal counsel for the CNMI Senate, flew to Washington, D.C. to begin lobbying efforts and has spoken to some key persons to push for congressional action on Dekada’s request for residency. Woodruff is expected to be back today, Sagana said.

Some local officials, including the leadership in the CNMI House of Representatives, oppose the group’s efforts, saying that the alien workers were not born on CNMI soil, unlike the so-called stateless persons.

House leadership spokesperson Charles Reyes Jr. earlier said that living in the CNMI for five or 10 years is not sufficient reason to obtain U.S. citizenship or residency.

Federal immigration policy, however, allows those lawfully living in the United States for at least five years to ask the government for permanent residency status.

The Dekada movement began after Herman T. Guerrero, a former constitutional convention delegate, publicly said that the CNMI government should urge the U.S. Congress to grant permanent residency status to alien workers who have been legally staying on the islands for at least 10 years.

Guerrero also separately asked Gov. Juan N. Babauta to include a question to CNMI voters on whether the Commonwealth should hold another constitutional convention or not in the Nov. 2005 Commonwealth elections.

A constitutional convention may pave the way for major amendments to the CNMI Constitution, including provisions on CNMI permanent residency.

Babauta said he would issue a proclamation to include the question in the ballot in next year’s polls.