THE government has threatened to sue a lawyer for sponsoring the visit of a Chinese mother and her children who are now seeking asylum in the CNMI.
Assistant Attorney General Andrew Clayton said Joseph Arriola, who submitted an affidavit of support for Jiang Xiu Ying and her children Dong Wen Qing and Dong Xing You, should provide for their needs.
Arriola submitted an affidavit of support for the three in Dec. 2001 so they can spend Christmas on the island. The Department of Labor and Immigration later issued an authorization to board for them.
On Jan. 16, before the three could leave, Jiang was arrested. On March 11, she pled guilty to passport fraud before the U.S. District Court.
While Jiang was in jail, the Division of Youth Services looked after her children.
Recently, Jiang and her children, through attorney Bruce Jorgensen, filed a civil action in the U.S. District Court to prevent the authorities from deporting them.
Judge Alex Munson allowed them to stay in the CNMI. The children were also given permission to study while on island.
The issues of whether the CNMI or the U.S. governments should pay for their expenses while here, and whether or not Jiang should be allowed to work, were not resolved.
In his letter to Jorgensen, Clayton said Arriola’s affidavit of support “clearly manifests that he should be held liable” for the asylum seekers’ expenses.
“Without this affidavit of support, Ms. Jiang and her two children would never have been allowed to enter the commonwealth. Please note paragraph 5 which states, ‘I understand that I will be responsible for the essential needs of my visitors, including food, housing, medical and other incidentals that (may) be necessary,” Clayton told Jorgensen.
Clayton added: “Mr. Arriola’s obligation is clear and the commonwealth will seek to hold him to his agreement to provide support for Ms. Jiang…. If you move forward to obtain work authorization for Ms. Jiang, the commonwealth will seek to bring in Mr. Arriola as a third party defendant.”
Jorgensen claims that Clayton is “punishing” and “retaliating” against Arriola for “having the “audacity to be the single CNMI-situated attorney willing to provide assistance” to his clients.
Jorgensen reminded Clayton to familiarize himself with certain court rules before he moves to file a motion to name Arriola as a third party defendant.
Jiang is still insisting on her right to be employed in the CNMI during the pendency of her request to be provided a refugee status, Jorgensen said.
