Fitial yesterday hailed the decision of U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Doc Hastings, R-Wa., saying this “may ensure that the controversial bill fails. It will not be entertained in the final week of sessions for this year.”
The governor earlier requested members of the U.S. Congress to reject H.R. 1466 in a letter he sent to congressional staffer Curtis Rhyne and U.S. House Republican Study Committee executive director Paul Teller.
Fitial told reporters yesterday that the draft of his proposal is already done and he will submit it to the U.S. Congress soon.
His recommendation, he added, will give jobless nonresident parents of U.S. citizens children and those married to U.S. citizens the opportunity to apply for an “employment-based” visa.
The fact that they are immediate relatives or have U.S. citizen children will give them the eligibility to get such a visa, Fitial said, adding that it is different from parole.
“Those who have children here can apply for that visa and stay here to work,” the governor said.
Sablan’s H.R. 1466 grants CNMI-only status to parents of U.S. citizen children, spouses of U.S. citizens, those who were born in the NMI from Jan. 1974 to Jan. 1979 and those who were granted permanent residency by the commonwealth.
Fitial said he mentioned his own recommendation when he testified against H.R. 1466 last July.
In a phone interview, United Workers Movement President Raby Syed said he does not support any measure that favors only a certain group of nonresidents.
All long-term legal aliens in the CNMI should get improved immigration status, he added,
Syed said granting a working visa only to a certain group of nonresidents “will only create more uncertainty for the CNMI economy.”
He said his group will continue to ask the U.S. Congress to grant aliens legally residing and working in the CNMI improved status and a pathway to U.S. citizenship.
In his statement late afternoon regarding Hastings’ decision to remove H.R. 1466 from the calendar, Fitial claimed that the bill “was created and sold with inaccuracy [and] dishonesty.”
He said it will affect over 10,000 people and will be used “as a blueprint for ‘amnesty’ efforts in the mainland states.”
Fitial also noted the “potential harm” of H.R. 1466 to an “already ailing economy.”
He said former contract workers are now competing for scarce jobs which has kept local wages artificially low.
But most of all, the governor said, “the individuals covered by H.R. 1466 are not skilled labor workers.”
“U.S. citizens will be made to suffer from unfair competition for low-skilled positions if there is a labor pool of thousands of guest workers readily available. This would prevent the CNMI economy from growing,” said Fitial, who earlier opposed the implementation of a higher minimum wage rate in the commonwealth.
The governor said Sablan’s measure would set a “dangerous precedent that would set the stage for more demands, more amnesty and less integrity in the U.S. immigration system.”
Press Secretary Angel A. Demapan said the governor learned about Hastings’ decision yesterday morning.
He quoted the governor as saying, “Chairman Hastings’ decision is definitely a big step toward defeating a blatant attempt to drastically alter the NMI’s indigenous traditions and culture. I hope that members of Congress would now take a closer look at the true ramifications of this flawed legislation.”
Fitial also expressed his appreciation to Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Ca., and Rep. Steven King, R-Ia., for their support and consideration of the arguments he raised to the House Republican Study Committee.
He thanked the committee for its swift action in bringing his concerns to the members in the wake of what could have been a possible vote on H.R. 1466.
The governor also offered his proposal for the creation of an H-5 visa within the regular U.S. immigration system, which he described as a far better alternative for the people of the commonwealth than H.R. 1466.
Fitial also reiterated his July testimony: “We treated guest workers well over the years, and we continue to do so. Some critics have cited poor working conditions. We corrected those long ago.”
He said some people cited an estimated $6.1 million in back pay owed to guest workers over the 25 years since 1985. That estimate was wrong, he said. The total turned out was far lower, he added.
All claims of back pay, he said, have been adjudicated, and only a relatively few cases remain in our courts.
“Other critics have pointed to alleged human trafficking violations. Human trafficking is a federal crime and the only fair measure is convictions in federal cases — not allegations or rumors. Federal convictions over the past 10 years have been very, very few. Our record over the years is the equal to, and we think better than, anywhere aliens are employed in large numbers in the United States,” the governor said.
Fitial said he understands why aliens in the commonwealth want to stay.
“They have freedoms, are treated well, and have employment opportunities and social benefits.”
