US House goes into recess without acting on HR 1466

The U.S. House of Representatives went into recess without acting on Delegate Gregorio Kililili Sablan’s bill granting a CNMI-only resident status for four groups of aliens—including parents of U.S. citizen children—before Nov. 27, the cutoff date for nonresidents to be petitioned for a Commonwealth-only worker status or a grant of parole status.

While many long-term foreign workers face a loss of immigration status after Nov. 27, new U.S. Department of Homeland Security memos are reinforcing the policy that immigration agents use prosecutorial discretion and focus on criminal aliens for removal.

Sablan said his H.R. 1466 has not been calendared for consideration by the U.S. House, but added that the bill “continues to move forward inch by inch.”

“I have met with leadership on both sides of the aisle. I continue to push for action. And, as I have said before, I am hopeful that the House will pass H.R. 1466 before the end of the year,” he told Saipan Tribune.

He earlier said that the bill now has a better chance to pass the House before the end of the year. Once the bill passes the House, it will be easier to have it passed by the Senate.

The House is in recess for constituent week and goes back into session on Nov. 29. It targets a Dec. 8 adjournment.

If HR 1466 does not pass the House by that date, it will have to wait until 2012. Most parole in place granted by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to both employed and unemployed nonresidents expire on Jan. 31, 2012.

HR 1466 proposes a “CNMI-only resident status” for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens as of May 8, 2008, CNMI permanent residents, those born in the CNMI between Jan. 1, 1974 and Jan. 9, 1978, and immediate relatives of U.S. citizens under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a Nov. 17 memo titled “case-by-case review of incoming and certain pending cases,” reinforcing the Morton memo of June 2011 and another DHS memo in July 2011.

It said during the course of the review of incoming cases and cases pending in immigration court, attorneys should focus on the factors discussed in the June 17 prosecutorial discretion memo, as well as the criteria contained in the “Guidance to ICE Attorneys Reviewing CBP, USCIS and ICE Cases Pending Before the Executive Office for Immigration Review.”

DHS memos said removal cases involving those who are suspected terrorists or national security risks and those who are convicted of felony, immigration fraud, misdemeanor violation such as sexual abuse or drug trafficking, should be prioritized.

The Mortin memo directs ICE attorneys and employees to “exercise prosecutorial discretion” and refrain from going after non-citizens with close family ties in the U.S., among other things, unless they are criminals or pose a clear risk to national security.

ICE confirmed that the Morton memo covers the CNMI.

Meanwhile, as of Nov. 10, only more than 700 foreign workers of the estimated 13,399 eligible for CW status have been petitioned by their employers.

USCIS said it will release updated data this week on the number of CW petitions filed, and the number of beneficiaries, among other things.