“We give money to the CNMI,” he added. “We deserve to be given consideration.”
Kim, like other foreign students in NMC, were previously worried that their student entry permits would not be honored by the federal government, which is set to take over local immigration on Nov. 28.
“What will we do if they sent us home?” Xhin Yeon, Park’s friend, asked.
She said her family in Korea is expecting her to graduate from her nursing program after two years.
She said is afraid to tell her mother that she’ll be sent home after federalization because “it will break her heart.”
Five other foreign students interviewed by this reporter said they feel more secure now that they were given an umbrella permit.
They said the Department of Commerce should stop denying student permit applications if they want “edu-tourism” to prosper.
“Deny and deny and soon no more foreign students after federalization,” said student Anthony Manlupo.
He believes foreign students will decrease in number after federalization since it will be more difficult for them to enter the islands.
