GAO, the investigative arm of the U.S. Congress, said CBP requires at least 15,000 square feet for primary and secondary screening of incoming passengers but it currently occupies just 9,390 square feet of airport space.
“The space that the CNMI government has provided for CBP operations at the Saipan and Rota airports is inadequate to meet CBP’s basic facility requirements, and the two parties have yet concluded negotiations for long-term occupancy agreements that would allow CBP to begin upgrading the facilities,” the GAO report said.
CBP, which described the Saipan international airport as a “low-volume and midsize airport,” needs not only office space but also room for inspection and temporary detention of aliens.
“CBP has estimated that it will process between 800 and 1,400 passengers per hour at peak hours at the Saipan international airport and has designated the airport as a low-volume and midsize airport, requiring at least 15,000 square feet for primary and secondary screening and other airport space,” the report added.
CBP is considering three alternatives to widen its space —extend its area to include an unused space leased by a tenant; identify other space in the airport for reconfiguration; and build an additional facility on airport adjacent to
CBP’s immigration processing area.
CBP is willing to fund any construction or reconfiguration required to bring the airport facilities into compliance with its operational requirements given the islands’ dire financial conditions.
But CBP said it’s not obligated to rent airport space that the CNMI should provide.
“As of May 2010, CBP officials reported that they had not requested that the [Department of Homeland Security] Office of Policy intervene in conversations with the CNMI government regarding long-term occupancy agreements for airport space,” the report said.
GAO said the CNMI government is not prepared to enter into negotiations with CBP “unless it is assured that the request for space has been cleared at least at the assistant secretary level at DHS and that the department has received the necessary assurance from Congress that the funds necessary to fulfill CBP’s space needs will be available.”
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