President Obama personally informed Guam Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo that Russia will be added to those countries that can visit Guam without a visa, under parole authority, during a meeting on board Air Force One, but Bordallo could not release the news until she got an official word from Homeland Security.
The president invited Bordallo to accompany him back to Washington, D.C. following his trip to the Asia-Pacific region for the Asia-Pacific Economic Corporation meeting last week.
Department of Homeland Security officials also contacted Gov. Eddie B. Calvo’s chief of staff, Franklin Arriola, yesterday to relay the news to him.
Arriola said Guam’s positive relationship with key Department of Defense officials greatly helped in Homeland Security’s decision.
“We would not be at this point had it not been for the support of Defense Deputy Under Secretary [Dorothy] Robyn, Navy Under Secretary [Robert] Work, Navy Assistant Secretary [Jackalyne] Pfannenstiel, Adm. [Paul] Bushong and Gen. [John] Doucette. They fought for Guam when it became apparent the hesitation was coming from another division within the Defense Department,” he said.
Calvo said he was “excited about the potential this has to create good jobs for our people.”
The extension of parole authority will permit, on a case-by-case basis, eligible Russian nationals to travel to Guam as tourists.
Russian nationals who wish to visit other parts of the U.S. will still be required to obtain visas in advance of their trips. These individuals may not engage in local employment or labor for hire, according to Bordallo’s office.
DHS has also not made any final decision on granting parole authority for Chinese nationals to travel to Guam. However, the department has committed to working with Bordallo and Guam stakeholders.
“I had hoped that the DHS decision would include China as it seemed that the recent visit of Guam stakeholders to Washington, D.C. made progress in addressing concerns pertaining to parole authority for Chinese visitors,” said Bordallo.
However, Obama informed her that while they can move on Russia now, China remains an open issue.
“While I am disappointed that this announcement did not include parole authority for Chinese visitors, I will continue to work with this administration to address any concerns.”
Bordallo said Guam “will build off this positive step forward and continue to press hard for inclusion of Chinese visitors.” She looked forward to the island’s economy benefiting from increased visitors from the Russian federation, “and we can now work with the visitor industries in Guam and the CNMI to start to develop a regional marketing approach to drawing visitors from Russia.”
Calvo’s Chief Policy Advisor Arthur Clark was also a key player who worked hard in establishing relationships with Defense officials.
“The collaboration between the business community, the congresswoman’s office and senior staff members in the governor’s office laid the foundation for our push,” Clark said.
“And they were aggressive and unrelenting as well. We were all constantly calling each other to see what new information we each had from any of our federal contacts. This really was a daily thing. There was a lot of momentum the past few months, and I’m grateful to everyone involved who pushed this very hard. This really was a Team Guam victory.”
Opening the Russian tourist market to Guam is a landmark achievement. However, the prize is China, said Calvo.
“It is critical that the secretary did not reject our China proposal,” Calvo said. “That means the federal government is still open to it and you can be assured that the administration is committed to continue pushing for China visa waiver. This will continue being one of the top priorities of my administration.”
