Rabby Syed and Ronnie Doca of the United Workers Movement said they will ask the president to support the recommendation of the U.S. Department of the Interior for granting long-term status to legal aliens who have resided in the CNMI for five years or more.
On Nov. 9, the United Workers Movement will hold a prayer vigil and launch a petition signature campaign addressed to Obama.
They will also urge the U.S. Congress to act quickly on Interior’s recommendations that were submitted to American lawmakers last April.
The group expressed confidence as they quoted Obama’s message of hope: “In the United States of America, there has never been anything false about hope…. In America, no dream is beyond our grasp if we reach for it, and fight for it, and work for it. Because hope is not blind optimism.”
Syed at the same time noted that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has yet to come up with the regulations for temporary workers.
The umbrella permit issued by the CNMI government to nonresidents will expire in Nov. 2011.
The economy is going down and more guest workers will lose their jobs, Syed said, adding that their status remains “uncertain” even after the implementation of the federalization law.
The upcoming military buildup on Guam can help guest workers in the commonwealth find new jobs if they are given improved status, he said.
The signature campaign will start at 6 p.m. at American Memorial Park on Nov. 9.
It will end on Dec. 9 and the group will submit the petition to Washington, D.C.
Aside from the petition, the group will also write a letter to Obama, Syed said.
All community members are invited to join the prayer vigil and the launching of the petition, he added.
On Rota and Tinian, Syed said they have designated persons who will get signatures from guest workers and community members.
For more information contact Rabby Syed at 888-4025 or Ronie Doca at 235-1965.
