I continue to believe that federal immigration control is in the long-term best interest of the people of our commonwealth. Although a certain amount of readjustment could be expected with this transition, the public has a right to expect the responsible government agency to accomplish the job with the highest degree of professionalism and the minimum disruption to public services, to families and to businesses.
It is now my judgment that the Department of Homeland Security is not prepared to meet these standards and establish effective control of the borders on Nov. 28.
A principal reason for this judgment is that DHS has budgeted no money for the transition, despite having reported to Congress that $86 million will be necessary for this job. This lack of funds may account for the lack of presence — no personnel and no equipment is in place — a scant 90 days before the date of transition.
Regulations, too, are lacking. DHS may publish regulations explaining how investors will be treated within 60 days of Nov. 28, as the law requires; but DHS shows no sign of issuing regulations explaining the fate of transitional workers. And the regulations regarding the visa waiver program have not been finalized — or changed to allow Chinese and Russian tourists to continue to visit the Northern Marianas as they now do. I believe the public needs an opportunity to consider how DHS intends to interpret the law and sufficient time to provide feedback to the agency. And the agency needs sufficient time to carefully consider and respond to that feedback.
Then there are the many problems of transition associated with immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, and with non-U.S. citizens who are long-standing residents of the commonwealth. For many of us these people are our families, our friends and our neighbors, but the Department has refused to answer any of the questions about their fate.
In fact, DHS has refused to answer any of the questions I have asked, the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife has asked, and Senators Bingaman and Murkowski have asked about the essential questions of how the department will manage the transition. I have concluded that the department does not know.
So, I have decided to work for a delay in implementation of federal border control, even though I know this will be most difficult to accomplish.
I want to be very clear: I am not seeking delay for the sake of delay. I am not interested in simply moving back the goal posts. We have already had one six-month delay to give the department time to prepare and the department is still not prepared. Any new action by the U.S. Congress will have to require that DHS do its job in a way that the department cannot duck. And any new action by the U.S. Congress must force the department to act as quickly as possible, so that we can make the transition, erase the uncertainties, and get on with the work of building the commonwealth.
GREGORIO C. SABLAN
CNMI Congressional Delegate
