This was according to Marianas Visitors Authority Vice Chairwoman Marian Aldan-Pierce during Thursday’s MVA biweekly general meeting at the Hyatt Regency Saipan.
“We need to make a louder noise so we can be heard in Washington, D.C. regarding the plans of the U.S. government to take over our labor and immigration systems,” Aldan-Pierce said.
She said the CNMI has tools to support itself but not enough people are showing concern for these tools.
“Let’s do something. We can write to our leaders and to the members of the U.S. Congress to air our concerns that implementing federalization without a visa waiver that includes China and Russia is reckless and irresponsible,” Aldan-Pierce said.
She added that writing letters to U.S. leaders is a public form of communication and solidarity.
Aldan-Pierce was among the delegates from the CNMI who testified during a U.S. House subcommittee hearing on federalization last May.
In her presentation, Aldan-Pierce quoted former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior David Cohen who stated that “applying federal immigration in blind and abrupt fashion would be ruinous to economic and social fabric of the CNMI.”
Cohen also stated that “the economic decline in the CNMI is scary.”
People are leaving the islands, the garment industry has shut down, there are several commercial properties that are now vacant and businesses are closing down, Aldan-Pierce said.
MVA Chairman Jerry Tan encouraged individuals and businesses to make a move and do it now.
He said MVA can assist individuals or groups write letters to the U.S. Congress to express their concerns regarding federalization.
On Jan. 16, 2009, the interim final rule establishing the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program was published. It did not include China and Russia.
Aldan-Pierce said that these two areas represent 11 percent of arrivals and 18 percent of expenditures in the CNMI.
The Fitial administration has asked for a delay of federalization for one more year, but key members of the U.S. Congress, including CNMI Delegate Gregorio C. Sablan, favor full implementation in November.
