Cohen pushes for ‘flexible’ federalization, green cards

David B. Cohen, a former deputy assistant secretary for the U.S. Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs, says “flexible federalization” should be implemented to minimize harm to the CNMI economy by including Russian and Chinese tourists in the visa waiver program, exempting the islands from caps on H visas, extending the transitional guest worker program beyond 2014, and making legal workers who have lived in the CNMI for at least five years eligible to apply for “green card,” among other things.

Cohen is one of the witnesses at the May 19 hearing in Washington, D.C. by the U.S. House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife on the implementation of the federalization law.

Public Law 110-229 or the Consolidated Natural Resources Act calls for federal takeover of CNMI immigration by Nov. 28, from an earlier date of June 1, 2009.

Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, who is also testifying at the hearing, wants another one-year delay in federalization.

But his proposal is opposed by guest workers who are holding a three-day peaceful vigil, as well as the local advocacy group Taotao Tano president Greg Cruz and Rep. Tina Sablan.

“Supporting such request is seriously counterproductive and not in the interest of our people, community and our homeland as a whole,” Cruz said in a letter yesterday to members of the CNMI Legislature.

Cruz and Sablan separately said Fitial’s ongoing lawsuit against the federal government over federalization constraints his request for further extension.

Sablan said it is not for Fitial to decide whether the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is ready to implement federalization by Nov. 28, 2009.

Cohen, who visited the CNMI again two weeks ago, spoke of the economic decline that was already in full swing when the federalization bill was being drafted in 2007, and has continued to this day.

He said if the Marianas immigration legislation is not implemented in accordance with the stated intent of Congress, then an economic and humanitarian disaster is likely to occur.

Cohen was the federal official responsible for generally administering, on behalf of the secretary of the Interior, the federal government’s relationship with the CNMI and Guam.

In his eight-page testimony, Cohen offered suggestions for the implementation of the federalization law, some of which will require legislative action.

He said the express intent of the U.S. Congress must be taken seriously in minimizing, to the greatest extent practicable, potential adverse economic and fiscal effects of phasing out the CNMI’s nonresident contract worker program and to maximize the islands’ potential for future economic and business growth by encouraging diversification and growth.

“Congress should hold the Executive Branch accountable to this language, and require the Executive Branch to demonstrate how every action that it takes or fails to take to implement the Marianas immigration legislation is consistent with the letter and spirit of Congress’ clearly stated intent,” said Cohen.

He said the statute gives the Department of Homeland Security plenty of special tools to ensure that China and Russia can be included on the list without threatening the welfare, safety, or security of the United States or its territories.

The CNMI government and business community want continuous access to the Chinese and Russian tourists, especially with the downturn in arrivals from major markets of Japan and South Korea.

Cohen also said the CNMI should be permanently exempted from caps on H visas, and Guam should be exempted from such caps, at least for long enough to ensure that it has the labor required for the military and civilian infrastructure planned for the coming years.

The federalization law provides for the transitional guest worker program to be phased out by the end of 2014, but it can be extended indefinitely in increments of up to five years.

“The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources has already acknowledged…that at least one five-year extension will likely be necessary,” said Cohen.

He said there is nothing to prevent the secretary of Labor from making that determination today, rather than waiting until the end of the five-year period.

“An early extension would certainly help to alleviate the uncertainty that businesses and workers in the CNMI currently have to deal with,” he said.

Cohen said the U.S. Congress should also make sure that the federalization legislation does not break up families.

“The statute will likely have to be amended in order to prevent many long-term residents of the CNMI from losing their status, including spouses of citizens of the Freely Associated States, persons to whom the CNMI granted permanent residence and their spouses, widows and widowers of U.S. citizens, and those remaining so-called “stateless children” who were born before the U.S.-CNMI Covenant legislation was signed into federal law,” he said.

He encourages Congress to consult with immigration attorneys in the CNMI who could provide details on how the Marianas immigration legislation could be amended to avoid splitting up families of long-term CNMI residents.

Cohen said Congress must do right by the long-term guest workers who have become an integral part of CNMI society.

“Congress should make legal guest workers who have lived in the CNMI for at least five years eligible to apply, on a one-time basis, for lawful permanent residence in the U.S.,” he said.

Congress may, in the not-too-distant future, again consider comprehensive immigration reform.

“If Congress is going to entertain proposals to grant a pathway to citizenship for people who entered this country illegally, it should at least offer permanent residence to long-term CNMI workers who entered this country legally. Conversely, there is no reason to wait for comprehensive immigration reform in order to address the status of CNMI guest workers,” he said.

He said making long-term workers eligible for green cards would be the best way to stabilize the CNMI’s workforce, short of returning to the system that Congress was determined to eradicate through its passage of the Marianas immigration legislation.

Cohen said the legislation is far from perfect, but it is a creative, flexible and unique statute.

“It must be implemented with a matching creativity and flexibility, and a profound appreciation for the unique circumstances that make it so imperative that we get this right,” he added.