NMI faces uncertain future as transition phase expires

Gov. Ralph DLG Torres told members of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce that the CNMI faces an uncertain future after Dec. 31, 2019, the deadline of the CNMI-Only Transitional Worker nonimmigrant visa or CW program.

The CW-1 program would have supposedly ended in 2014, a five-year period only, but got extended to 2019. The CNMI, however, would be facing a workforce shortage with the CW program about to expire in two years while developments and other investment are coming in.

Torres, who spoke to Chamber members last February, repeated what he had said in yesterday’s meeting where he also encouraged businesses to bring in more U.S. citizens to their workforce or avail of other visa types for their foreign employees.

“When I was before the Chamber in February, I said that we must accept the fact that although we will do all we can to protect the availability of foreign workers in the CNMI, we cannot be certain what will happen after the immigration transition phase expires,” said Torres.

“I asked all of you as our business leaders to prioritize U.S. citizens and [local] residents in our workforce,” added Torres, when he again addressed Chamber members yesterday during their monthly meeting at the Pacific Islands Club-Saipan’s Charley’s Cabaret.

He said the last three months have been a challenging phase for the CNMI in terms of labor issues, with some employees under the CW program forced to go back to their respective countries after the fiscal year 2016 cap was reached.

“These past few months offered a dramatic reminder of the vulnerability we all operate in. The success of our private sector allows for success in the public sector, and when you do not have the labor to run your operations, we have less to contribute to meeting the needs of our students, our public safety, and our basic infrastructure,” Torres said.

He said the business gross revenue tax dramatically increased last May, amounts that the CNMI had never seen before, but that dropped once the CW issue worsened. “We took that data and showed it to the people in [Washington] D.C.”

“When you see our workforce increase, it drives our revenue. But if it reaches that peak (cap), it drops down because how would your business progress if you don’t have the workforce? The statistics were critical, so we really need to work together.”

Torres said the CW issue was one of the things that he and the CNMI panel brought up to their counterparts with the federal side, led by Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Insular Areas Esther Kia’ana.

“The 902 talks is the avenue that should not be taken for granted. It happens once every 10 years where all our issues could be addressed. These people have never been to Saipan, they are the ones who will be making decisions. Now it was not one-sided since they saw and heard our problems and issues firsthand,” said Torres.

“The reality of the shortfall of our workforce is real and not imaginary. If they don’t help us, it would also affect us. What we’re asking the federal government is to give us something that we have to improve our economy. The report is a package that would be sent to President Barrack Obama.”
 
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SCC president Velma Palacios said business leaders in the CNMI support Torres and Delegate Kilili C. Sablan’s (Ind-MP) proposals of increasing the cap to 18,000 and for another 10-year extension of the immigration transition.

Failure to address the problems would affect the CNMI’s economy that had made a dramatic rebound after close to 10 years of being stagnant. “If we don’t do something about it, we’re back to where we started.”

The Hotel Association of the Northern Marianas Islands, the Society for Human Resource Management-CNMI Chapter, and the Strategic Economic Development Council along with SCC are working with Torres and Sablan.

“We’ve been working together in efforts to address our workforce issues. Once the cap is again reached, we will be in the same situation where more of our foreign workers are leaving the islands. We must find a solution, either immediate or long-term,” said Palacios.

USCIS had already approved 4,661 applicants for fiscal year 2017 while 5,595 are still pending for a total of 10,256 based on date released last Sept. 20. There are only 2,742 slots left to be filled.

Palacios said that even Marianas Visitors Authority chair Marian Aldan-Pierce mentioned that the problem would not only affect the administration or the business sector but the entire CNMI.

“Many businesses struggled with their operations after some of their employees have had to leave the CNMI. We continue to encourage the business community to utilize other applicable visa categories for their foreign workers.”