Hocog, Ind.-Rota, said he will introduce his amendment which he describes as “good for the economic activity” of the commonwealth.
Labor Deputy Secretary Cinta M. Kaipat told lawmakers the bill “accommodates only the interests of foreign workers and has no appropriate compensating benefits for the citizens of the commonwealth.”
Kaipat urged Rep. Rosemond B. Santos, R-Saipan and House Judiciary and Government Operations committee chairwoman, not to report the “unfortunate and flawed bill.”
“No one should mistake the purpose of this bill: It is to award permanent residence,” Kaipat said. “Even though it says that permanent residence is not available, the bill creates conditions under which virtually every foreign workers in the commonwealth will become eligible for a residence status that can be renewed indefinitely, and thus is ‘permanent.’ ”
But Hocog said the local economy “cannot grow without a sufficient number of workers.”
According to Kaipat, the measure could cover close to 20,000 people — foreign workers and their family members — in the first year of its implementation.
Perhaps, she added, an additional 2,400 to 3,000 persons will have to be accommodated every year thereafter.
“This bill has no protection against fraud and, indeed, is so general as to invite evasion,” she added.
Hocog said that the economy will collapse if all non-resident workers will exit.
“The commonwealth will be crippled almost immediately. And I can honestly say we need them,” he added.
Sablan, Ind.-Saipan, said under her bill, “qualified foreign nationals would be able to apply for an entry permit that would allow them the ability to be employed at will in the commonwealth for the duration of their permits. This means that they would be responsible for negotiating the terms of their own employment contracts, including medical coverage, and for paying their own permit fees. They would also be able to operate businesses, and to accept, leave, and transfer jobs without having to obtain the approval of the Department of Labor. Foreign nationals who can show that they have maintained legal status in the commonwealth for at least five consecutive years prior to the date of application; have a clean criminal record; have never been public charges of the commonwealth; have sufficient potential for employment; and are not otherwise deportable, would be eligible to apply for resident foreign national entry permits.”
She said her bill aims to “stabilize and strengthen the commonwealth’s workforce during this time of economic vulnerability and transition.”
