I want to make it completely clear to everyone that the Department of Homeland Security has issued an “interim final rule” on the visa waiver program, not a final rule, as the Marianas Variety reported me to have said.
It is true that this “interim final rule” would not permit Chinese and Russian tourists to come into the Northern Mariana Islands, as they now do, without obtaining a visa before arrival.
However, our community is of one voice on this issue: we want Chinese and Russians to continue to be able to enter the commonwealth easily, so that the Northern Mariana Islands are viewed as a welcoming destination for these visitors.
The recent visit of Chairman Nick Rahall of the House Natural Resources Committee and the five members of Congress, including myself, who were part of that delegation was a unique opportunity for our community to make itself heard on this issue. And we did. I believe Chairman Rahall does now understand the importance of the visa waiver program to our economy.
Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman David Price, likewise, heard our message, when he led a congressional delegation here in July at my invitation.
The need for continuation of the visa waiver program was also heard loud and clear at the May hearing I called for on this issue before the House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans, and Wildlife.
And I have made numerous personal contacts with U.S. administration officials, including twice with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, to bring the visa waiver issue to the forefront of their consideration.
All of this effort is having an effect, I believe; and a change in the interim final rule is possible.
But we must understand that we face some considerable obstacles on this matter. Most importantly, the U.S. military build-up in our region has heightened concerns about security. And, no matter how friendly our Chinese and Russian tourists may seem to us, to certain factions in the U.S. government people allowing these visitors to enter without a heightened form of scrutiny is viewed as a threat to the security of our nation.
The visa waiver — and other issues surrounding the transition to federal control of immigration — is also stuck in the crack between two administrations. The very restrictive visa waiver regulations that we want to change was written by the previous Republican administration. The Democratic administration of President Obama is still staffing up its political appointees and necessarily dealing with the biggest immigration problems first, such as border problems with Mexico and the millions of illegal aliens living and working within the United States. While the visa waiver program is very important to us, it is small compared to other issues the new Obama administration must deal with.
So we must be persistent and we must be persuasive. We must accept that this is an uphill battle with no guarantee of success. But we must not give up. And most certainly we should not think that the continuance of a visa waiver program for the Northern Mariana Islands is a closed issue.
We can still prevail and keep the visa waiver program that makes it easy for Chinese and Russians to visit our islands. That is the goal I continue to work for; and, I think, the goal all of us in the Northern Mariana Islands should keep working for.
GREGORIO C. SABLAN
CNMI Congressional Delegate
