THE Variety is usually so balanced, fair and objective that I was shocked when I read the Friday, Oct. 12 article in the Guam edition about Resolution 80, which opposes bills now before the U.S. Congress to federalize CNMI immigration. The specific feature the resolution criticizes would permit about 15,000 alien contract workers to come to Guam as “non-immigrant” residents. I was also surprised by the Monday, Oct. 15 Variety on Guam, which quoted an Interior Department official’s inaccurate and unverified claims. As Mr. Cohen stated, they are entitled to their opinions, and certainly have every right to participate in this debate, but when their statements are inaccurate, the media should say so.
The Oct. 12 story was based almost entirely on the opinions of the only individual who testified against the resolution, Mr. Alfredo Antolin Jr. The article did not quote any of the counter arguments made in favor of the resolution, in order to be balanced and fair.
Mr. Antolin, who also had a letter to the Guam Variety published on Monday, Oct. 15, obviously has strong feelings about the resolution.
Unfortunately he makes several incorrect assumptions, misleading statements and non-factual claims, all of which the Variety should have verified before publication.
First, Mr. Antolin claims that “the foreign national workers from the CNMI are not the problem; they are the answers to Guam’s shortage of skilled workforce.” This isn’t correct. While some are skilled, many are not or possess skills we don’t need, such as the garment factory workers and the farmers.
The unskilled workers, from China, Bangladesh, Korea, the Philippines and perhaps other Asia-Pacific locations, would need extensive training to convert them to jobs needed for the military build-up. Who will pay for this training? The federal government has not confirmed that it would provide any impact funding to take care of such training and the other social services the “non-immigrant” residents would require. The federal government’s dismal track record of NEVER fully reimbursing Guam for the impact of “non-immigrant” Compact residents, only increases my concern.
Second, Mr. Antolin said “there is a big difference between hiring these skilled Filipino-descent foreign national workers from the CNMI and those who might be hired from the Philippines.” This argument doesn’t make sense. H-2 visa workers brought from the Philippines have to possess the skills needed for the job that is waiting for them in Guam. Their employer is responsible for any continued training, for housing, for health services, and other social service needs of the H-2 workers. If “non-immigrant” workers without needed skills can come to Guam to look for jobs, they will only create an additional burden on our island’s already overburdened social services.
Third, Mr. Antolin repeatedly asks, “why the urgency?” He should read the comments made by Interior Deputy Assistant Secretary David Cohen who told the Variety that “the Senate bill is going to be reported out of the committee shortly,” and that the provision granting five-year nonimmigrant status to long-time foreign workers is in the second draft of the bill. “The bill can change. That’s something that everyone has to keep in mind,” Cohen said. That’s why we can’t wait months or even weeks. If the U.S. Senate is getting ready to bring the bill to the floor, the time to act is NOW.
Finally, the Oct. 15 Variety has Mr. Cohen saying that a proponent of Resolution 80 “expressed concern about an influx of Filipinos to their island.” Mr. Antolin and Mr. Cohen are the only ones making racially based comments. Mr. Cohen is tasked to ensure that the federalization bills in Congress become law, and Resolution 80 has made his job more difficult. No senator, including myself, has ever said a word about “an influx of Filipinos.” This is certainly not a fear any of us feels, and the implication that senators have this opinion is a misrepresentation of our position.
Our concern focuses on another potential unfunded mandate being imposed on Guam by the federal government. If Mr. Cohen truly wants to understand our concern, he need only look at how the federal government has mishandled the Compact- Impact arrangement as it affects Guam and at the millions of dollars of funding that have never been reimbursed to GovGuam.
We recognize the need for outside labor, and we welcome skilled labor from the Philippines and other Asia-Pacific areas that will be brought to Guam through already established channels, because their employers will take care of the proper training, housing, health care and social service needs of these temporary workers.

JUDITH PAULETTE GUTHERTZ
Senator
29th Guam Legislature