Immigration Director Melvin Grey said the policy helps the government efficiently identify whether or not the new migrant workers have legitimate jobs on the islands.
Those who don’t are sent back home to their home countries.
“We going to put on the next plane back or they can request for deportation if they want,” he said. But he added the “reclusion” process is the best way to tell if a migrant worker is cheating on his or her job qualifications.
Labor Deputy Secretary Cinta Kaipat said alien workers must complete certain processing, including orientation, in order to enter the Commonwealth and the Immigration Division will hold their passports until all processing procedures are completed.
Grey said the policy has been going on for awhile and “the new hired guest workers are pretty much very cooperative but we got a few who are not qualified.”
In that policy, guest workers who just arrived were asked to deposit their passports to the immigration officer before leaving the Francisco C. Ada International Airport and they are given receipt and schedule of orientation at the Labor Office.
“We just want to make sure they are properly qualified,” he said.
Grey said the immigration office returns the passport to the owner upon completion of the orientation process.
However, during the evaluation and interview the Labor Department will determine whether or not the guest worker is really qualified on the preferred job, Grey said.
He said the policy was enforced to avoid any fraud and to ensure the employer gets the right worker.
