By Gemma Q. Casas
Variety News Staff

NINE members of the CNMI House of Representatives want the federal government to conduct a study on the possible federalization of local immigration laws.
Rep. Manuel A. Tenorio, R-Saipan and one of the nine lawmakers who recently wrote a letter to the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said the yet-to-be drafted CNMI federalization bill should allow the islands to keep the economy afloat.
The local economy depends on an alien workforce which has been paid $3.05 an hour since 1996 and who can “temporarily” work here year after year without gaining any residency rights.
Tenorio admitted that the new Democratic leadership of the U.S. Congress is bent on changing local labor and immigration laws.
“But the good thing about this is that there will be separate legislation on immigration, which will be outside the national agenda so we will be able to make adjustments to meet our needs here,” Tenorio said.
In their letter to the U.S. Senate committee, the nine local lawmakers proposed major points of discussions.
These are: a visa waiver program to allow the CNMI to tap into existing tourism markets; exemptions from H1 and H2 caps to avoid unnecessary delays in hiring workers under these categories; grandfathering in existing foreign investors; a carefully designed guest worker program, outside H1 and H2 job categories to meet the CNMI’s workforce requirements which should be an integral part of the new immigration framework; foreign student visa waiver; continuity in memorandums of understanding with various federal agencies to meet treaty obligations relating to refugees and asylum; construction of a new immigration framework which should “prevent the political and social alienation of Chamorros and Carolinians.”
The local lawmakers are also seeking the creation of an immigration board whose members will represent the federal and local governments.
This board will be authorized to make appropriate periodic changes to immigration regulations without having to pass new laws or regulations.
The local lawmakers want an independent study before foreign workers are given residency status.
“We recommend that a provision be made to mandate an independent study be done to evaluate the impact of changing the residency status of nonresident workers as it relates to the economic and political future of the CNMI,” they said.
Besides Tenorio, other signatories of the letter were Vice Speaker Justo S. Quitugua, D-Saipan; House Minority Leader Arnold I. Palacios, R-Saipan; Reps. Joseph Deleon Guerrero, R-Saipan; Benjamin B. Seman, R-Saipan; Ramon A. Tebuteb, R-Saipan; Candido B. Taman, R-Saipan; Stanley T. Torres, Ind.-Saipan; and Ray N. Yumul, Ind.-Saipan.