Buckingham recognized that the removal of foreigners on the islands now solely rests on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s law enforcement unit, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
Even if the CNMI government revokes umbrella permits, their holders cannot be removed because ICE adheres to the federal government’s interpretation that they can legally stay on the islands until Nov. 27, 2011 unless they have been convicted of crimes.
“The umbrella permits provide unrestricted employment authorization in the CNMI,” said Gulick who has 31 years of experience in U.S. immigration matters.
Employers and their representatives asked the three officials about the impact of umbrella permits on the hiring guest workers, the backbone of the CNMI business community.
Umbrella permits binding
Many employers who wish to renew the contracts of their foreign workers this year were told they don’t have to process them at the CNMI Department of Labor if the workers have umbrella permits valid through Nov. 27, 2011.
“You don’t need to go anywhere. You don’t even need to file Form I-9 with us. If you’re renewing an employee, or even if you’re promoting an employee, if they are still under your employment you don’t need to file anything.
Of course, the CNMI government’s position is opposite, so this is when you need to talk to a legal counsel, if you have doubts,” said Brown.
Buckingham said it is best for these employers to follow the DOL rules to avoid the risk of having their foreign hires referred to ICE.
“What the commonwealth would be advising individuals is to continue to work with the conditions that were established under the umbrella permits and to work cooperatively with the Department of Labor,” he said.
Brown, however, said ultimately, it is ICE that will decide on the removal of foreign workers, not the CNMI government.
During the forum, Buckingham urged the federal officials to work with the Fitial administration, which earlier sued the U.S. government over the federalization law.
The federal government has also noted that CNMI agencies are not sharing their labor and immigration data.
“Let’s get together. Sit down and work constructively,” Buckingham said.
Both the AG and the USCIS distributed SHRM members copies of their respective Questions and Answers handouts.
The federal government said employment of aliens in the CNMI is now within its jurisdiction.
But the CNMI government said this is a shared responsibility because the federalization law is still in the transition phase.
“Part and parcel of preventing the expiration of commonwealth immigration status and employment authorization, however, is continued compliance with commonwealth law, administered by commonwealth agencies. For example, while an ‘umbrella permit’ conditionally grants employment authorization until Nov. 27, 2011, the authorization may expire early if the permit holder fails to appear before the commonwealth Department of Labor on an earlier date specified in the permit. The alien may also lose commonwealth status, which may result in deportation by federal authorities,” the CNMI’s Q&A states.
The USCIS Q&A, however, reads in part: “Federal law does not require that you seek CNMI DOL approval to hire an alien with an umbrella permit for new employment in the CNMI. Umbrella permits are valid through Nov. 27, 2011; the maximum period of time permitted by federal law, and cannot be extended. An employee will need another work authorization under federal law to continue to work after that date. Even if CNMI authorities revoke a holder’s umbrella permit, the holder remains authorized to work under federal law until Nov. 27, 2011.”
Employers said there are still many unanswered questions but they are convinced the federal government will prevail because the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has already upheld the federalization law.
Rabby Syed, the president of the United Workers Movement, urged the federal and local governments to come up with a conclusive position.
“There is no clear message about what we should do. It’s affecting the CNMI’s economy, not just the employees and the employers,” he said.
