ASKED if his office will prosecute foreigners illegally entering Guam from the CNMI, U.S. Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the NMI Shawn Anderson said in an email: “Regardless of past prosecutions, each new case is analyzed individually based on the evidence and our available resources.”
He added: “In determining whether to commence or decline a prosecution, we consider whether a person’s conduct constitutes a federal offense, and that the admissible evidence will probably be sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction.”
He said “federal law enforcement resources are not sufficient to permit the prosecution of every alleged offense over which federal jurisdiction exists.”
“We can neither confirm nor deny any pending federal investigations for this type of conduct,” he added.
Recently, Guam authorities have arrested at least nine Chinese nationals from the CNMI who arrived illegally by boat.
They were charged in Guam Superior Court with failure to acquire clearance requirements, failure to deliver a manifest to a customs officer and prohibited unloading as misdemeanors.
A U.S. Department of Homeland Security agent, who requested anonymity, said the Chinese nationals entering Guam from the CNMI are not technically violating any federal regulations.
“These individuals are not entering the U.S. — they are already here [in the U.S.],” the agent said.
