What I got instead was a mixed bag of well-choreographed and improvised dance moves designed to shake, rattle and roll around the issues. At best, I walked away knowing only that “federalization” means something will happen come Nov. 28, 2009. The truth, it seems, is that nobody (least of all any of us who actually live here) knows exactly how things will unfold.
I can’t say I wasn’t warned. Congressman Killili whom I know to be a cool, personable man of the islands was visibly perturbed when referencing his dealings within the federal bureaucracy which, in his own words, has a way of dancing around a straight answer. “Ask the hard questions and don’t take no for an answer,” he said. I expect he is doing as much for us in Washington, D.C., but the fact remains that at this very moment there is an unnumbered gathering of cubby-holed Washingtonians crafting legal regulations that will dictate the who, what, where, why and how our commonwealth will be shaped in the very near future. Make no mistake, I am all for the implementation of federal immigration principles in our islands, but (like the good gentleman from the CNMI) am not inclined to accept regulatory mandates without practical and due considerations of, by and for the people of the CNMI.
The reasoning is simple: what works for Dick, may not work for Jane (and let’s say, in this case, that the Washingtonians are Dick and those of us who call the CNMI home are Jane — you see, the Jane I know does not want to Watch Dick Run or Dance for that matter — she wants to run and dance too). Put another way, the clickity-clackity shoe sounds of skinny Irish River dancers could be all the rage on the grand stages of the nation’s capital, but bring that to the sandy beaches of our beautiful islands and it’s nothing more than a silent cluster of sunburned white people kicking sand on each other. If we could get them to dance in the mellow moods of our tropical island beats, however, then we might not wake someday to find that our eyes are full of sand or that we’ve been left out in the rain — America is a big enough umbrella and we don’t always have to be the ones who end up getting wet.
But, Rain Dance aside, some point-blank questions demand a point-blank answer. For example, as the state-designated agency for protection and advocacy services on behalf of individuals with disabilities, the Northern Marianas Protection & Advocacy Systems Inc., has been asked if there is anything it could do about the immigration status of non-resident parents who have U.S. citizen children with disabilities. The notion is that because the children have disabilities, NMPASI ought to be advocating for an exemption or special immigration status for their parents so that they can stay in the CNMI and care for said children. The short answer from NMPASI has been a simple, no — the mere coincidence of non-resident parents bearing U.S. citizen children with disabilities does not entitle them to an exempt immigration status. To be certain, though, the question was posed at the above referenced meeting, “Will there be any special status considerations given to non-resident parents of U.S. citizen children with disabilities?” Without missing a beat, the answer came as a, “no…but” scenario which basically said that “no,” parents would not be entitled to any kind of special status, “but” there could be the possibility of a “deferred action” depending on who would be handling the matter. Again, I’m not too well-versed in the Federal Shuffle, but it seemed to me just another reinforcement of the over-arching message to anyone listening that something will happen when the federal government assumes control over immigration in the CNMI.
For more on the rights of individuals with disabilities, please feel free to contact the NMPASI office at 235-7273/4 [voice] or 235-7278 [tty] or 235-7275 [fax] or check us out on-line at www.nmpasi.com.
JIM RAYPHAND
Executive Director
NMPASI
