Former Speaker Oscar C. Rasa, the group’s spokesman and adviser, said they intend to present their apprehensions and “be appraised on how the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will establish and implement its regulations” in the CNMI.
He said the paramount concern of their group is the employment of more than 200 employees of the local Department of Labor and Division of Immigration during the transition period.
“We don’t want them displaced,” Rasa said.
He said they believe there is room to accommodate these employees through training and education programs.
If the federal regulations require higher standards, Rasa said they will suggest a transition period so that CNMI employees workers can be qualified.
“Arbitrary displacement,” he added, “will create more problems.”
“All factors should be taken into account,” he said.
Their group, Rasa said, is presently communicating with their contacts in Washington, D.C. and they have already requested that any proposed regulations should be meticulously reviewed to prevent the marginalization of the indigenous people in their own commonwealth.
Rasa said there is a need to establish a network in Washington, D.C. so that federal officials can understand the concerns and issues of the CNMI.
Otherwise, he added, “Washington will play politics and the general concerns of the commonwealth will remain unheeded.”
