Sablan, for his part, said his bill aims to “keep families together, and keep Americans in America.”
H.R. 1466 will grant CNMI-status only to certain nonresidents, including those with U.S. citizen children.
Fitial, in his testimony, once again criticized the federal government’s failure “to implement the detailed provisions of the [federalization] law in a timely, orderly, and constructive fashion.”
Sablan noted that “the biggest unresolved problem is the lack of regulations covering guest workers.”
He added, “The purpose of [the federalization law] is to zero out guest workers and replace them with Americans. We all know this transition has to be managed carefully, however, so businesses still have the skilled labor they need. In October 2009 [the Department of Homeland Security] did publish regulations explaining how to hire these workers. But Governor Fitial went to court and blocked them.”
Fitial again blamed the law for the situation in the CNMI which he said “continues to deteriorate.”
“The uncertainty created by this law has created an unacceptable limbo situation that has severely hampered new investment and has created morale problems throughout our community,” he added.
He urged the subcommittee to “consider the overall implementation of [the law] and its impact on the 30,000 United States citizens living in the commonwealth.”
He said “the implementation of this unnecessarily complicated law operates to reduce the political authority of the commonwealth’s local government in ways that would not be tolerated in the counties and states on the mainland.”
As for Sablan’s H.R. 1466, Fitial described it as a “large scale amnesty for aliens.”
Sablan disagreed. “This bill has nothing to do with amnesty. Amnesty is for illegals. H.R. 1466 covers people who were legally admitted under the laws of the Northern Mariana Islands. To qualify under H.R. 1466 individuals must still be in lawful status and in full compliance with the standards of the Immigration and Nationality Act.”
He said his bill “provides no new social benefits and adds no new societal costs. In fact, by stabilizing the population and the workforce, H.R. 1466 will have a positive economic effect.”
He thanked the chairman of the subcommittee, Congressman John Fleming, R-La., for including the bill on the agenda.
“You and I talked about the families that would be protected by my bill back in January. I will never forget what you said: ‘These people have been whipsawed.’ That’s exactly right.”
