U.S. Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan on Thursday introduced H.R. 560 or the Northern Mariana Islands Population Stabilization Act which proposes to grant CNMI-only permanent status to qualified long-term foreign workers in the Commonwealth.
The bill was referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources, and the House Committees on the Judiciary, and the Budget.
Kilili broke the news in his e-newsletter on Friday.
The bill is similar to the one that Kilili introduced about three years ago, known as the Northern Mariana Islands Residents Relief Act.
In his e-newsletter on Friday, Kilili said, based on the U.S. Census, the number of people living in the Northern Marianas dropped by 12.2% between 2010 and 2020.
That means lower tax revenue for the Commonwealth government and fewer customers for our local businesses, Kilili said.
To counter these negative trends, Kilili said he introduced the Population Stabilization Act which would “encourage approximately 1,600 long-term foreign workers living in our islands since 2015 to remain here by offering them a permanent status.”
He said 21 foreign investors who were here before 2009 could also apply for the permanent Marianas-only resident status.
He noted that it was then-President Donald Trump who signed the laws defining who are long-term workers and establishing the CNMI-only status.
“The population loss in our islands and resulting loss of economic viability not only hurt all of us, but also have implications for the U.S. strategic position in the Western Pacific,” Kilili said. “With increasing competition for dominance from China, the United States needs to be strengthening our position in the region, not shrinking in significance. My legislation fits into that larger strategic imperative.”
Jeffrey Boado who has been working in the CNMI legally for 20 years now said he hopes that Kilili’s bill will become law.
Boado, who works for a restaurant, said long-term guest workers like him are hoping that they can continue serving their employers in the Commonwealth.
A restaurant manager who requested anonymity said he hopes that even long-term guest workers who recently lost their status due to “minor glitches” in the application process could also benefit from the bill if it becomes law.
Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan
