Torres reaches out to DC movers

Gov. Ralph DLG Torres has reached out to a number of individuals and groups in Washington, D.C., putting labor, immigration concerns, and other CNMI issues front and center of his outreach efforts.

Torres attended the inauguration of President Donald Trump and co-hosted a 58th Presidential Inauguration Gala, a day before the swearing in of the former reality show star as the 45th commander-in-chief of the United States.

The Asian American and Pacific Islanders advisory committee hosted the gala, with Torres being a co-chair with Gov. Eddie B. Calvo of Guam. The committee was part of the GOP’s campaign group where they pushed AAPI’s concerns and how to address them.

Torres said his trip to D.C. was fruitful, having reached out to congressional leaders and the National Governors Association where he and Calvo are also members. NGA consists of the governors of all 50 states and the five territories: American Samoa, the CNMI, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

“We’ve done a lot of reaching out to key people. We’ve met with some [U.S.] representatives and senators where we informed them of a lot of issues affecting the CNMI like the [CNMI-Only Transitional Nonimmigrant Visa waiver program],” said Torres.

“This is a new administration, new leadership. A new start, so I’ll be putting a lot of effort on our issues. We’re going to be more aggressive in reaching out to them and press on with our issues.”

Torres also met with several GOP governors to inform them of the CNMI’s labor and immigration problems. “I have also invited [NGA] members and congressional leaders to come [to the CNMI] to learn more about our situation. We look forward to them coming here.”

Torres said NGA members could help the CNMI where they could reach out to their representative or senator. He also attended the Spanish Caucus meeting where he also aired the CNMI’s concerns.

“We’re working hard, especially now that it’s a new administration. Everything is moving fast now and we just want to make sure our concerns are heard.”

Torres said opening a CNMI office in D.C. is one way of showing that the concerns that they are raising would have a big impact on the Commonwealth, especially its economy. The CNMI Washington bureau would be different from the CNMI Delegate’s Office, currently occupied by Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP), who is a non-voting member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

“The D.C. office will make sure that our issues are heard. We don’t know yet how we’re going to work on it since the [D.C. office] is still on its planning stage. But we’re really looking to open an office in D.C. We will have a government office to assist in doing more to reach out, so our issues here in the CNMI would be known.”
 
Workforce, immigration issues

Torres said he would accept any temporary solution to the CW issue after the numerical limit for fiscal year 2017 was breached. A bill by Sablan, House Resolution 339, was voted on in the House of Representatives on Monday. Results of the vote were not yet available as of press time.

“I think we would like to see more but if 15,000 [worker slots] is the only thing that we could have, we’re definitely going to take it. I’m all for it. I know that we’re going to need more workers. And the more we have [workers] the better we are economically. We’re going to make sure no one is going to be displaced,” said Torres, who added that developers are trying to finish their projects.

Torres is also concerned over China’s visa waiver program as tensions continue between the Asian giant and the U.S. “The future of the visa waiver program is also our concern. We’re worried anytime that’s on the table.”

He said that putting forward the CNMI’s concerns on the visa waiver is a big concern since China composes 30 to 40 percent of the Commonwealth’s tourism market. He added that it would be better to raise the concerns now before the federal government makes its decisions.

“Once decisions are made, it will be too late for us to voice our concerns on the table. It would affect the casino resort project. All of us are working to have our CW extension, increase the numerical cap, and at the same time, work on our China and Russia visa waivers.”

He remains optimistic with the 902 report after it was sumitted to congressional leaders early this month. “The report is now being reviewed. It is really important that the issues be addressed. The report is a document that we worked really hard on.”

“It is not just a document that the President signed, ‘so please look at it because it is serious.’ It is a document that we worked on based on our relationship [with the U.S.]. We hope to move forward with it since it is our obligation to reach out and let them know that this is important.”