In spite of the petitions, rallies, appeals and Motion for Temporary Restraining Order for Preliminary Injunction PRO SE of former garment workers who are still on the island THAT WAS EVENTUALLY dismissed and considered to be “dead on Arrival last January 28, 2010 at 2:47 PM” at the US District Court of Northern Mariana Island, because according to the former garment workers, the trust fund trustees continue to wear bandage on their very eyes so that they could not see the weeping recipient garment workers roaming around the island on their toes, the trust fund trustees continue to wear earplugs on their ears so they could not hear the noise of former garment workers waiting for their share from their hard earned money OUT OF THE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT that is intended for them because of their sufferings in an indentured labor they were in during their sad days in the garment industry. Now that the court relieved the Garment Workers Trust Fund trustees of their duties and EARNINGS (huge Attorney’s Fees) for nine long years, the very workers who are behind the funds were losers and driven into the “Perpetual Dark Days” of their Sacrifices.
The report said, “In adopting and approving final report, Munson noted that no interested party opposed, the report said. The trustees having fully and faithfully disclosed their obligations to the court and the beneficiaries of the trust are hereby relieved as trustees,”
According to the former garment workers, while the trustees faithfully disclosed their obligation to the court, they forgot to faithfully extend their obligation to the true beneficiaries of the trust fund money the garment workers itself by denying them what is due to them. The trustees also forgot to disclose how much money they earned from the trust fund litigation for the period of nine long years. Not all former garment workers have the access to open courts record; therefore it is also best for the trustees to disclose all expenditures during the period of litigation in public like what the trustees did in awarding the residual funds to the charitable institutions publicity.
Foreign Garment workers nine years Saga in the islands garment industry ends but their Saga on their immigration status continues. As everyone knows, no garment factory exists in the island that will employ them, leaving them under the status of unemployed. June 1, 2010, according to the CNMI Department of Labor and Employment, the new labor amended employment regulations came into effect establishing certain fees up to $300 per year. These changes in the commonwealth labor regulations were provided under local P.L 17-1 or the omnibus immigration bill that asserts CNMI control over nonresident workers. This omnibus immigration bill contradicts the DHS USCIS definition on the Federal Immigration Law. DHS USCIS said, and I quote;
“The employment authorization of aliens in the CNMI is now a matter of Federal law. However, for a two-year period following the Nov. 28, 2009 transition to Federal immigration law, Federal law authorizes aliens to work based on the employment authorization they had received under CNMI law as of the transition date. The U.S. Department of Homeland Securit, which is charged with administering and enforcing the immigration laws, fully recognizes employment authorization based on that provision, as further discussed in this guidance,” end of quote.
The deputy director of the CNMI Department of Labor says that nothing had change in terms of payment of every alien worker in the department. I agree with her if a foreign workers is employed because the employer is responsible in paying their employees labor processing. The local regulations says and I quote; “is requiring aliens to register every year, establishing fees of up to $300” according to the news report. This is an additional burden with respect to those aliens who are not currently employed and are just holding their Umbrella Permit for them to stay in the island legally. The new law now requires them to register and pay fees for them to avoid being in jail for 90 days and or paying a fine up to $500. In addition to that, upon expiration of alien’s employment, they are required to report to the labor department or face revocation of the issued umbrella permit. The DHS USCIS says otherwise, aliens are caught in between two departments who declared that both are doing right.
The Southern Poverty Law Center says and I quote; “Aliens and or Immigrants perform some of the hardest, most dangerous jobs in our economy – FOR THE LEAST AMOUNT OF PAY. But they are routinely cheated out of their wages and denied basic protections in the workplace. In their communities, they are subjected to racial profiling and harassment by law enforcement and or management – and frequently forced to prove themselves innocent of immigration violations, regardless of their legal status. And they are, increasingly, targeted for violent hate crime”, end of quote. That is the very predicament of the aliens facing now a days.
Alien workers motorcades and rallies for the immediate passage of the Department of the Interior’s recommendation to the US Congress for the improve status of all alien workers in the island for the very reason that was stated above on the confusion brought about by the CNMI local government who created P.L 17-1 right AFTER the implementation of the US P.L 110-229. Which of this two P.L’s is the right one?
If the local P.L 17-1 is to be followed and revoke umbrella permit for a reason, a lot of alien workers will be out of status and eventually become illegal aliens. Of course there will be no deportation if only to be out of status according to DHS USCIS P.L 110-229. This is one hardest thing to face in the future. Comes November 2010, another mid-year US Election is about to happen. A Republican candidate for the US Senate from Kentucky Dr. Rand Paul said in an interview done shortly after his primary victory last week that the U.S. shouldn’t provide an easy route to citizenship. The interview was done with RT, an English-language station in Russia. It also added that “Legislation dubbed the Birthright Citizenship Act was introduced in the House last year, seeking to prevent citizenship to babies born to illegal immigrants even though the 14th Amendment to the Constitution guarantees citizenship to everyone born in the U.S” If the cancellation or revocation of umbrella permit is going to happen, a lot of alien workers became illegal in the island, by then there will be no longer baby born US Citizen to an illegal alien. Would you like that to happen?
Therefore, the best thing to do right now for the alien workers is to pray and call for the US Congress for the speedy passage of the Department of the Interior’s Recommendation for the improve status of all alien workers by signing the petition on-line. To date there are only more than a thousand who signed in, join us and be part of “The Saga”.
CARLITO J. MARQUEZ
Puerto Rico, Saipan
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