Something to think about

We knew all along when we became a U.S. Commonwealth that minimum wage and immigration will eventually be taken over by the federal government. When Public Law 110-229 was extended to the CNMI it became a “U.S. port of entry” or a “gateway” to the United States. As such, all ports of entry into the United States are under the jurisdictional responsibility of the Department of Homeland Security.

Knowing that Kilili’s bill, HR 1466, extends to certain specific groups who might be eligible for temporary parole, USCIS decided to provide humanitarian parole to persons in the four groups covered by HR 1466. The action taken by Secretary Janet Napolitano and USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas says a lot about their compassion for their fellow human beings.

A great many of the guest workers did not come to the CNMI of their own accord. They were brought here because we (the CNMI) needed them to enhance the economy of the CNMI. We lack professionals so we had to bring them in from abroad. As years went by, the CMNI continued to express the need for continued employment of these guest workers and every year our government renewed their labor and immigration papers because we continued to need them to help us develop our economy. As a result, many of these workers remained in the CNMI for decades. We have grown accustomed to their presence and have become used to having them and they have learned to be live amongst us. The vast majority of guest workers pay taxes, pay rent to landlords, pay utilities, buy their needs from local stores, and help clean parts of our islands.

When U.S. Law 110-229 was extended to the CNMI, our local Immigration and Labor office reported a total of 22,417 guest workers present in the CNMI. Most of them, if not all, were granted umbrella permits to enable them to stay until Nov. 27, 2011, when USCIS receives applications for CW1 and CW2.

A few months ago, Congressman Kilili introduced H.R. 1466 to allow specific groups of people to remain in the CNMI legally. This bill is still in Congress and will probably take several more months before it can become law; at least we hope that it will ultimately becomes law for the sake of those who might be eligible to remain on island by virtue of their unique status. The “humanitarian gesture” demonstrated by officials of DHS, to extend the stay of those who might otherwise be covered by H.R. 1466 for one year pending further action by the U.S. government is the greatest thing ever since the discovery of “toasted bread.” In all due respect, though, we should all thank Secretary Janet Napolitano and Mr. Mayorkas for their kind-hearted gesture and for their initiative.

The people of the CNMI should appreciate the presence of all the guest workers as well as investors who have toiled and sacrificed so that we may look toward a better life for all of us here in the CNMI. We have witnessed the ups and downs of our economy. The stores and shops are experiencing a drop in their sales. The World Trade Organization virtually killed our garment industry and some 15,000 workers have had to leave the CNMI. The departure of the garment workers adversely affected businesses. Since federalization, I understand that many guest workers have left the CNMI. The 2010 census seem to indicate a total population of 46,000 plus/minus. I am sure that this figure will continue to decrease. Many of our people have gone to Guam and the United States. If this trend continues, I am afraid that there will not be too many people living on these islands. More businesses will have to shut down and more unemployment. Saipan, Tinian, and Rota might become a “ghost town.” If and when that happens, we need to reduce the size of the government to a realistic level. Convert the bicameral Legislature to unicameral with no more than, say, 10 lawmakers. Let’s have a part-time Legislature and have a Bureau to work year-around with a total budget of say, $2 million. Executive Branch employees will have to be cut to 60 percent of what we now have. The budget for the Executive Branch should be commensurate with the number of FTE’s after the cut. The Public School System will be exempted and we need continue to improve our educational system.

Is this real? Perhaps not, but it is something that our elected leaders should be thinking about since the economy of the CNMI is not looking any better. I don’t claim to be the “answer man” to all the problems facing the CNMI but I have been around long enough to observe what is happening with the CNMI and what I see dictates drastic changes in our government operations. We must work within our means.

David M. Sablan Sr.
Chalan Pago, Saipan