Kilili to DHS: Create visas for IRs

The Department of Homeland Security currently has no plans to issue visas to immediate relatives of residents’ once federal immigration laws are extended to the Commonwealth in June, according to CNMI Delegate Gregorio “Kilili” Sablan.

Sablan called on the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. State Department to work together to develop a way for immediate relatives of CNMI residents to enter and leave the CNMI legally once federal immigration laws extend to the Commonwealth on June 1.

During yesterday’s annual meeting of the White House Interagency Group on Insular Affairs that was also participated in by Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, Sablan voiced his concern that there is no visa for IRs, meaning that starting June 1, IRs will not be able to re-enter the CNMI if they leave and do not have a visa.

“There are IRs who have been living in the Commonwealth with their families for upwards of 20 years,” Sablan said. “And under the new law, these IRs may remain in the CNMI as long as they have a valid IR visa issued by the CNMI. However, if they must leave the CNMI for a medical emergency or any other reason, these IRs won’t be able to re-enter the NMI without a visa issued by the U.S.”

The State Department is the U.S. agency that issues visas. The Department of Homeland Security manages the border entry points. Sablan said that Homeland Security had informed him that it was not aware of any State Department plans to issue visas in the NMI.

“I am concerned that this means that there are no plans,” the delegate said. “Or worse, if there are plans, Homeland Security, the department that is responsible for accepting the visas at the border, doesn’t know about them. Either way it’s clear that the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security need to start talking with each other. And they need to make sure that families in the CNMI with IRs are not separated as a result of federal immigration control.”

Homeland Security assistant secretary Richard Barth and Glyn Davis, principal deputy assistant secretary for Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Affairs, were among those at the meeting.

Also, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security yesterday addressed rumors circulating among nonresident workers relating to the visa waiver program.

Because the proposed joint Guam-CNMI visa waiver program will allow for travel between the islands for up to 45 days, some nonresident workers who will legally be in the CNMI after June 1 believe they will be able to travel to Guam freely. Currently, nonresident workers need a visa to enter Guam.

“In order to be admissible in Guam, the traveler would either have to be a citizen of a participating country under the Guam-CNMI visa waiver program, the ‘national’ visa waiver program, or have a non-immigrant visa that would allow for travel to the United States,” said Michael Balero, public affairs liaison for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. “At this time, the regulation governing nonresident worker classifications is still under development within the Department of Homeland Security.”

Citizens from the following countries will be eligible for participation in the Guam-CNMI visa waiver program: Australia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, South Korea, Singapore and the United Kingdom. Taiwan residents who begin travel in Taiwan and fly to Guam without an intermediate layover or stop en route are also eligible.

During yesterday’s IGIA meeting at the Interior headquarters, CNMI Delegate Sablan, along with Guam Delegate Madeleine Bordallo and Virgin Islands Gov. John deJongh, also pointed to the need for cooperation between the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Education in the management of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed into law last week.

Title XIV of the law appropriates up to $268 million for the four insular areas represented at yesterday’s meeting: American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Marianas, and the Virgin Islands. The Secretary of Education is supposed to hand out the funds according to need in the islands. But he is supposed to consult with the Secretary of Interior.

“The Secretary of Education certainly has the resources to decide when it comes to education,” Sablan said. “However, with respect to other functions of government the Secretary of the Interior—and the Office of Insular Affairs under the Secretary—is the expert.”

Sablan said he wanted to be sure that the new money coming from the federal government is spent wisely and well to create private sector jobs, to maintain government services in the Marianas, and to build a base for future economic health.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, who presided over the IGIA meeting, promised U.S. island leaders yesterday that he will promote a more active and effective working relationship with them through the White House Interagency Group on Insular Affairs.

Salazar also discussed President Obama’s commitment to transparency and accountability for investments in the islands from the economic recovery plan. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the island territories receive funding through formula and competitive grants from a host of federal departments and agencies.

Major issues before the Interagency Group include coordinating with the Department of Defense on the relocation of U.S. military forces from Okinawa to Guam; a request for an extension beyond the June 1, 2009, for federalization of immigration in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; health care in the insular areas; and the minimum wage law’s impact on the islands.

The governors and delegates each submitted a list of their priority concerns for 2009, which are posted on the Office of Insular Affairs website at www.doi.gov/oia. The major issues include: economic development, minimum wage policy, the planned military expansion in Guam, rum excise tax levels, visa issues, infrastructure financing and local Veterans Affairs services in the Northern Mariana Islands.

Staff from the Office of Insular Affairs will be following up with federal agencies to address these priorities.