the commonwealth that the U.S. is open to suggestions and dialogues ahead of the full implementation of the law that will federalize local immigration.
Speaker Arnold I. Palacios, R-Saipan, said the Homeland Security delegation will meet with administration officials today and the Legislature on Tuesday afternoon.
Press Secretary Charles P. Reyes Jr. said the governor welcomed visiting federal officials on Saturday and will hold talks with them until Wednesday.
“I welcome our guests to the CNMI and I look forward to more discussions on how to best implement the new federal law for the CNMI’s maximum economic benefit. I agree with many in our Legislature about the need to engage in good faith negotiations concerning the implementation of this sweeping new law,” said Fitial in a statement.
Fitial has retained the U.S.-based law firm of Jenner & Block to review the draft lawsuit against the U.S. government over the federalization law.
Reyes identified the visiting federal officials as Igor Timofeyev, Director, Immigration Policy and Special Advisor for Asylum and Refugee Affairs; Alex Hartman, Policy Advisor; Phil Busch, Legislative Counsel, Office of the Chief Counsel, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Service; David Gulick, District Director, Honolulu, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Service; Steve Sander, Congressional Liaison, Office of Insular Affairs, Department of the Interior; Allen Joe, Program Manager, Office of Field Operations (San Francisco), Customs Border Protection; Wayne Wills, Special Agent in Charge-Honolulu, Office of Investigations, Immigration & Customs Enforcement; Nancy Alcantar, Field Office Director, San Francisco, Office of Detention and Removal Operations, ICE; Clarence Wagner, Chief Counsel – Honolulu, Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, ICE; an Paul McCloskey, Associate Legal Advisor — Enforcement Law Division, Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, ICE.
Meetings & issues
The governor expressed confidence their meetings would be productive and stressed the need to have the proposed regulations in tune with the islands’ economic recovery in the area of tourism.
He wants to raise important issues relating to the CNMI immigration system, including the visa waiver issue in relation to the visitor industry, as well as issues relating to foreign workers and foreign investment in the commonwealth.
Bill Wicker, communications director of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, told Variety that federal officials are traveling to Guam and the CNMI to consult on the regulations that will be drafted in relation to the federalization provisions of U.S. Public Law 110-229.
Wicker said the Fitial administration’s threat of filing a lawsuit against the U.S. government to challenge the federalization law may negatively affect the talks and “are inconsistent with the cooperative spirit needed to work through these issues cooperative.”
Palacios said they welcome the opportunity to hold talks with the envoys of the U.S. government to clear up ambiguous issues on the new law.
“We need to be honest and candid with them. We want to know what the process is. Whether the Legislature would be able to participate in the drafting of the regulations,” the speaker told Variety in a phone interview yesterday.
“The first step is to be assured that the CNMI government has access to provide input to the drafters of the regulations,” he added.
The regulations of the federalization provisions on U.S. P.L. 110-229 must be published in the Federal Registry before June 2009 or before the full implementation date next year.
Among the major issues that the Legislature wants to be discussed is the foreign workers’ presence in the CNMI.
Under P.L. 110-229 foreign workers can transfer at will to new employers but there is no information yet about how long they can be hired under the yet to be introduced federal guest worker program.
Some employers are worried they will no longer have foreign workers after 2014 — the target date to fully phase-out the guest worker program on the islands.
The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources said much thought had been given on this subject and assured that the federal guest worker program will continue beyond that year or so long as the CNMI needs more labor force for its tourism-based economy.
The federal government capped the number of foreign workers on the islands at over 22,000.
Palacios said the Fitial administration should be open to hold talks with the federal government on the federalization issue for the benefit of the CNMI people and thousands of guest workers who are here.
“I think it’s time to move on with this issue,” he said. “To be completely honest, we’ve been fighting this issue for over two decades.”
Palacios referred to the House Committee on Judiciary and Governmental Operations House Resolution 16-42 which raises concerns on the economic impact of the federalization law in the CNMI and supports the governor’s planned lawsuit against the U.S.
But most of the members of the House expressed concern over the lawsuit’s impact on the cash-strapped government’s finances as well as the impression that it will create in Washington, D.C. which continues to provide millions of dollars in assistance to the islands.
