The vote was 12 to 6 in favor of House Resolution 17-56 which claims to “assert the local people’s rights not to have their community and culture radically changed.”
Reps. Ralph S. Demapan, Covenant-Saipan, and Trenton B. Conner, R-Tinian, were absent.
Those who voted no were House Minority Leader Joseph P. Deleon Guerrero, R-Saipan, Reps. Francisco S. Dela Cruz, R-Saipan, Tony P. Sablan, R-Saipan, Ramon A. Tebuteb, R-Saipan, Ray N. Yumul, R-Saipan, and Teresita A. Santos, Ind.-Rota.
The Fitial administration wanted the House to adopt the resolution on July 15 while the governor testified against Kilili’s bill before a U.S. House subcommittee. But the CNMI House did not act on the resolution, after several members said they “needed more time” to review it. Others said their constituents supported H.R. 1466 which proposes to grant CNMI-only status to certain nonresidents.
Santos said U.S. lawmakers were assured that H.R. 1466 will not grant amnesty to illegal aliens and won’t create problems in the CNMI’s healthcare system and other social programs.
But Rep. Ramon S. Basa, Covenant-Saipan and the author of the resolution, asked Santos, “Where do you think 11,000 unemployed people can find jobs? Can you find jobs for them here?” referring to jobless nonresidents.
The resolution does not say where it got the 11,000 figure.
Santos replied “it is the job of the entire community and the commonwealth and not just lawmakers” to provide people jobs.
Vice Speaker Felicidad T. Ogumoro, Covenant-Saipan, expressed concern about giving status to nonresident parents of U.S. citizens.
She said their number “is very disturbing.”
She also doubts that the number of nonresidents presented during the U.S. House subcommittee hearing recently was correct because, she said, based on the CNMI Department of Public Health records, 18,431 were born here from 1990 to 2010 and many of them if not most of have nonresident parents.
She said if nonresidents will outnumber the indigenous population of the CNMI, “the vision of economic self-sufficiency and self-governing Chamorros and Carolinians will not be realized.”
Nonresident workers already outnumbered locals in the 1990s, thanks to the CNMI government’s “open” immigration policy.
House Floor Leader George N. Camacho, Ind.-Saipan said Basa’s resolution is not about depriving some people of opportunities.
He said he is supporting the resolution because it is about fairness to other people who have been trying to get status under the current federal immigration process.
Rep. Joseph M. Palacios, R-Saipan, said Kilili “should be working with us.”
“He is our eyes, ears and mouth in the U.S. Congress,” he added as he asked what Kilili has been doing in the nation’s capital in pushing the CNMI people’s interest.
Rep. Raymond D. Palacios, Covenant-Saipan, said Kilili’s bill is not fair to nonresident workers who have been here for 20 years but do not fall under any of the categories mentioned in the measure.
Rep. Tony Sablan said the measure simply tries to keep families together, including families with men and women in uniform who are serving the U.S.
Yumul reminded the House leadership of Kilili’s invitation to a townhall meeting at the multi-purpose center on Aug. 16 so they could discuss the bill with the U.S. delegate himself.
But Speaker Eli D. Cabrera, R-Saipan, said the appropriate place to meet with House members is the House chamber.
The House today is holding a public hearing at the Joeten-Kiyu library to hear the concerns of library patrons.
Focus on NMI woes
Kilili told reporters yesterday that he hopes CNMI lawmakers will focus their efforts in resolving the problems of the islands.
One of the critical issues facing the CNMI is its need for more food stamps, he added.
Citing the $2.3 million Medicare aid that he recently got for the CNMI, Kilili asked, “What have they [the House leadership] done lately for the people of the CNMI?”
He said some CNMI officials are “playing shell games.” They are bringing up issues that have nothing to do with his bill, he added.
