THE Mariana Islands Legislature Association on July 12, 2024, unanimously adopted a resolution “urgently requesting” the U.S. Congress to repeal the CNMI-Only Workers Program and replace it with a Marianas Visa Program, “tailored to meet the unique and urgent needs” of Guam and the CNMI.
The Marianas Visa Program will authorize the hiring of much-needed non-U.S. workers for Guam and the CNMI and retain the fees collected from the program to fund workforce training programs.
Introduced by CNMI House Floor Leader Edwin Propst and Guam Sen. Jesse A. Lujan, MILA Resolution No. 2-GA-5 stated that both the CW program in the CNMI and the temporary need exemption for certain H-2B workers in Guam will terminate in December 2029.
The Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008, or CNRA as amended, caps to 13,000 the number of CW permits issued to foreign workers in the CNMI and reduces it by 1,000 annually.
The MILA resolution stated that in fiscal year 2025, the CW-1 cap “shall be 9,000 workers and does not authorize the hiring of construction and extraction occupations.” Currently, there are approximately 5,000 CWs in the CNMI, which “may need as many as 15,000 foreign workers to meet the demands of [a] growing economy and the development of new industries.”
Guam, the resolution also states, has over 5,500 H-2B workers, “but needs approximately 15,000 foreign workers or more to meet the demands of the local construction industry, tourism industry, the military buildup, and the development of new industries.”
The resolution also recommended the creation of a federal Marianas Regional Commission to be co-chaired by a presidential appointee, confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and with co-chairs selected by the governors of Guam and the CNMI. The commission will “streamline federal programs focusing on infrastructure, local construction industry, transportation, workforce development, military buildup, climate and environmental risks, and other regional priority concerns.”
The establishment of this commission will foster the recovery and sustained economic growth in Guam and the CNMI, the resolution stated.
Prior to the voice-vote, Lujan said the issues discussed in the resolution are “being tackled” in the U.S. Congress “as we speak.” He said he will inform Delegate James Moylan of Guam about MILA’s resolution, and he’s sure Moylan will be glad to push it forward and probably will make a joint effort with U.S. Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan of the CNMI in addressing Marianas issues in the nation’s capital.
For her part, CNMI Sen. Celina Babauta said the Commonwealth has been affected by the recent actions of the federal government in the implementation of CNRA. Also, she said, the deadline for the CW program “is just around the corner.” She also noted the implementation of the touchback provision that requires CW workers to exit the CNMI every three years.
This, she said, goes against the CNMI’s unique agreement with the U.S. in Covenant’s Section 701, which obligates the U.S. government to assist the Commonwealth government in achieving a progressively higher standard of living as part of the U.S. economic community and to develop economic resources needed to meet the financial responsibilities of local self-government.
