In an 11-page complaint filed by plaintiff Bernadette Carreon, on behalf of herself and foreigners in Palau that are required by the new regulation to pay $25 , the named defendants are, Republic of Palau, President Toribiong , the Bureau of Immigration and its Director Jenkins Mariur.
The request for a temporary restraining order was however denied yesterday by Supreme Court Chief Justice Arthur Ngiraklsong. Instead the hearing for preliminary injunction is set on Sept. 28 to give the defendants the chance to respond.
Plaintiff seeks to halt the collection of fees before the government set deadline of Sept. 30 and to require the government to repay the fees already collected from the foreigners.
Lawyer David Shipper is representing the plaintiff in the class action suit.
In the complaint, the plaintiff argued that it is a violation of equal protection because it requires certain aliens to register and pay the fee “but exempts similarly situated Americans and Micronesians.”
“This is an act of government that discriminates based on place of origin,” the complaint stated.
The complaint said that in order to salvage the scheme, the government need “to prove that it is serving a compelling purpose through the regulation and that the discriminatory component is necessary to achieve that purpose.”
The complaint said if its purpose is to keep track of all nationalities then it must not be imposed only on certain nationalities.
It also added that it should have been done in a less burdensome way or registration without paying a fee.
The scheme is also a violation of due process because although the scheme purports to help the government in making sure that the law is being followed, it leaves out other nationalities who may be violating the law.
It added that the fee itself bears no relation to the legitimate governmental interest.
“While it is allegedly charged to help offset the cost of regulating immigration, the revenues will not necessarily go back to the immigration enforcement. They will be placed in the national treasury and maybe appropriated for any purpose of the Olbiil Era Kelulau,” the complaint said.
It added that the executive branch has no legal authority to impose a fee because the OEK has the constitutional right to levy taxes.
The scheme also goes beyond the regulatory authority granted to the president and the bureau.
Under the law, their powers cover entry of persons in the country and not on actions that could be taken with persons already lawfully residing in Palau.
The plaintiff is seeking a preliminary injunction because the regulation also stated that failure to pay the fee may result to jail time.
“This is a violation of her fundamental right to liberty. Clearly this harm is also irreparable.
It also added that since a vast number of Palauan employers employ foreign workers the burden is on the employers.
There are at least 6,000 foreigners in Palau.
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