Thread: U.S. territory (CNMI) hits 'amnesty' as threat

U.S. territory hits 'amnesty' as threat
By Stephen Dinan
October 29, 2007
A U.S. territory in the Pacific is battling to stop Congress from imposing federal guest-worker rules and an "amnesty" for current temporary workers, saying aliens could then use the territory as an entry point to get into other places in the U.S.

The government of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) says two bills working their way through Congress to impose federal immigration law on the territory would go back on the 1976 convention with the U.S. and put the islands' economy, already reeling, into a tailspin.

"We think we're much better qualified to administer to our own needs, as opposed to bureaucratic federal offices 9,000 miles away," said Richard Pierce, a special assistant to CNMI Gov. Benigno R. Fitial. "Before this is done, people with expertise in immigration should be working with these congressional committees to make sure they truly understand this is going to create a new class of permanent residents we've never had before."

But those pushing the bill say CNMI, which currently writes its own rules for immigration, is a magnet for human trafficking and is a huge hole in U.S. homeland security. They say the only solution is to impose the U.S. federal immigration system, which would include a new legal status for some long-term foreign workers.

"The CNMI's immigration system must be federalized as soon as possible," David B. Cohen, an Interior Department official, told the Senate at a hearing in July.

Congress has given up hope for a broad immigration bill this year, but the CNMI bills could turn into another round in the immigration debate, particularly if the legislation includes a new legal status for some of the islands' current guest-workers.

The sponsors of the bills — Sen. Daniel K. Akaka, Hawaii Democrat, and Delegate Donna M.C. Christensen of the U.S. Virgin Islands in the House — are redrafting their legislation, promising to take the islands' concerns into consideration. They want to accommodate Hawaii and Guam, which both fear an influx of workers with new legal status under the bills.

House members even held a field hearing in the islands over the summer to get a firsthand look.

"We took the hearing very seriously, and we've gotten a lot of comments from people like the governor and resident representative in Washington, and all of those things are being taken into consideration," said Mrs. Christensen, a Democrat.

But with a military buildup planned for nearby Guam, homeland security in the area is becoming a higher priority. CNMI's immigration system is seen as a gaping hole in that security, and the solution is federal law.

"It's pretty clear that it was never intended that CNMI would have control over their immigration forever," Mrs. Christensen said.

CNMI's economy is dependent on garment factories and cheap foreign labor, mostly from Asian nations. About half of the islands' 60,000 residents are temporary workers — some of them who have been in CNMI for years, but without any long-term stability or a chance at citizenship. That leaves CNMI's immigration system assailed by both sides in the debate in Washington.

Those who generally favor a more lenient approach to immigrants say the islands' system is exploitative and point to government studies that show a high level of human trafficking. Those who want a crackdown on illegal immigration and limits on legal immigration also see CNMI's system as a way to circumvent federal rules and import cheap foreign labor.

With changes in the global economy, CNMI already has lost its competitive edge in garment-making, and jobs are fleeing. That has left an acute problem of what to do with longtime guest-workers who now face layoffs.

The pending legislation would grant longtime temporary workers renewable visas good for five years, which CNMI officials say amounts to amnesty. They fear those workers will leave immediately for better-paying jobs in Hawaii or Guam.

The numbers are small by U.S. standards. Backers say about 8,000 would be eligible for new work status under the drafts of the bills, though CNMI officials say it could be several thousand more. They are urging Congress to wait for a study being conducted by the Government Accountability Office.

"Some, I suppose, would consider this an 'amnesty' of sorts for many that would currently seek to use the CNMI for gaining a status within the U.S. system," Mr. Pierce said.


http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbc ... 90046/1001

Duplicate post:
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-88584.html

I bet they lost their garment industry to China.

Dixie