“It may be unpopular to other people but it’s only the right thing for me to do. And I strongly believe in doing the right thing and I am not afraid,” the governor said.
He reiterated that the lawsuit filed on Sept. 12 in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia will not prevent the application of the federal border security and immigration laws to the Northern Marianas but aims to stop the federalization law’s labor-related provisions from being implemented.
Based on the legal interpretation of the administration, the CNMI will no longer be able to host foreign workers beyond 2014.
Fitial, who credits himself for drafting the legislation that allowed the CNMI to hire guest workers, said the islands’ tourism-based economy cannot survive if it relies only on local labor force.
But he said foreign workers’ should only work and should not be entitled to permanent residency.
“I authored Public Law 3-66 which gives nonresident workers the opportunity to come here and work but it did not give them the opportunity to come here to become U.S. citizens or Trust Territory citizens. The only opportunity that I provided them was for work because I needed a labor workforce that would help develop the economy of the Northern Marianas from $12 million during the Trust Territory days to what it is today,” he said.
The governor who served as speaker of the House of Representatives, separately sponsored a bill that repealed the foreign investment act of the TT government that paved way for the Saipan garment industry and other foreign-owned establishments on the islands.
“Thirty-one years of Trust Territory government, zero private sector development. What development that you see here is a result of Public Law 3-11 with P.L. 3-66. P.L. 3-11 repealed the Trust Territory foreign investment act which basically discriminated against foreign investment,” he said.
Before, he added, foreign investors could only own up to 49 percent of their investments in the Northern Marianas.
“No one is crazy to come here and invest millions of dollars and own only up to 49 percent of their investment. Besides, we don’t have any local people who own millions of dollars at that time. So it’s a joke,” he said.
According to the administration, the tourism-based economy of the CNMI needs about 30,000 foreign workers.
Under the soon to be implemented federalization law, the CNMI can only host over 22,000 foreign workers.
However, employers can petition additional foreign workers under two federally administered guest worker programs like the H-visa but at a certain cost.
H-1 visas are available for skilled professionals like accountants, computer programmers, engineers, among other professions.
H-2 visas are for temporary intermittent work in construction projects, entertainment, etc.
According to Fitial, “the federal government is only interested in our land because it’s military strategic. The federal government was never interested in our people. And they continue to posses that attitude toward us.”
He added, “People are saying Northern Marianas people are dispensable. There are only few of them. But that’s not how I feel about my people. I’m fighting very hard to secure as many benefits for the people and this lawsuit is one of those tools.”
