Fitial also wants delay in review of alien workers’ status

Gov. Benigno R. Fitial is not only asking for a delay by up to November 2010 in the implementation of the federalization law but he also wants to put off any discussions on the future status of long-term guest workers, set by law to occur no later than May 2010.

Fitial was one of nine witnesses who testified at the U.S. Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife’s oversight hearing on the implementation of Public Law 110-229 on Tuesday at 10am in Washington, D.C. (Wednesday midnight on Saipan).

As stated in an advanced copy of his 13-page testimony, Fitial said a previous proposal affording long-term status to certain foreign workers lawfully in the CNMI was a very divisive one, he said, that’s why committees in both Houses elected to strike this provision from the bills that eventually became Public Law 110-229.

“The Commonwealth suggests that future consideration of this issue be deferred until the report required under the law is submitted to Congress by the Secretary of the Interior,” said Fitial. “By that time, the overall review of immigration policy promised by President Obama may well be underway. Such a review certainly will be addressing the claims of large groups of aliens in the United States for an improved status and it is in that context that we believe the Commonwealth’s situation should be evaluated.”

The governor’s position on federalization is not shared by everyone in the cash-strapped CNMI, including government officials, businesses and workers.

At least six groups of foreign workers in the CNMI have been holding a peaceful assembly in front of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Center on Saipan since Monday to appeal to the Subcommittee to support their quest for an improved immigration status under federal laws.

Besides Fitial, other witnesses on panel 1 were Guam Gov. Felix P. Camacho and Guam Vice Speaker Benjamin F. Cruz.

Panel 2 of witnesses included Dr. David Gootnick, director of the Government Accountability Office’s International Affairs Trade; Nikolao Pula, acting deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs; and Richard C. Barth, acting principal deputy assistant secretary for policy at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The subcommittee, chaired by Guam Delegate Madeleine Bordallo, also heard from witnesses on panel 3, including DFS Pacific Division director Jim Beighley; David Cohen, a former deputy assistant secretary for Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs; and Saipan Chamber of Commerce president Jim Arenovski.

The hearing was webcast live on the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources’ website at http://resourcescommittee.house.gov.

Fitial asked for up to a year of delay in the implementation of P.L. 110-229 from Nov. 28, 2009, or until Chinese and Russian tourists are included in the visa waiver program, citing their economic contributions to the CNMI.

The original implementation date of June 1 was already pushed back by 180 days, the maximum allowed by law.

Fitial said the Department of Homeland Security’s initial efforts have not been reassuring, and its “final” regulations regarding a joint visa waiver program for Guam and the CNMI were “disappointing.”

“They reflected a serious disregard for the economic impact of the proposed regulations on the Commonwealth’s visitor industry,” said the governor, who was accompanied in Washington, D.C. by his special counsel, Howard Willens.

Fitial added that DHS’ action and statements over the past few months have unnecessarily added to the community’s concerns.

“The department appears to be delaying its issuance of other critical regulations relating to investor visas and the future employment of foreign workers in the Commonwealth. Its statements regarding enforcement policies under federalization reveal an insistence on applying standard procedures without regard for the Commonwealth’s unique history or the human costs involved,” he said.

Fitial added that DHS has refused to hire even one employee from the CNMI Division of Immigration.

“I am asking this Subcommittee to assist the Commonwealth by examining critically the department’s implementation policies and procedures to date. If an extension of the effective date of the law is required to ensure that the intent of the law is implemented fully and competently, then I urge the Subcommittee to provide such relief,” he said.

The governor said he is concerned that DHS will not be ready to enforce Public Law 110-229 on Nov. 28, 2009.

He said any shortcomings in DHS’ assumption of its new responsibilities in the CNMI will present a serious national security risk to the people of the CNMI and the United States.

“Our concern is the department’s readiness to protect the borders of the Commonwealth as the law’s current effective date is based in part on the limited information available about the department’s funding and staffing plans for the Commonwealth,” he said.

He cited DHS’ calculation that implementation of the federalization law in the CNMI for the last four months of Fiscal Year 2009 and all of Fiscal Year 2010 would cost about $97 million.

The governor also called on DHS’ prompt publication of draft regulations relating to investor visas and foreign worker permits.

Fitial said he’s aware that Guam’s representatives may be seeking a clarification and extension of the exemption for the national caps relating to H visas in light of the current schedule with respect to the military buildup in the Marianas.

“The Commonwealth supports any modification to the law desired by Guam in order to ensure that it has the workforce believed necessary to implement the buildup in an economically responsible manner,” he said.