It was said that the local government should have done long ago what the federal government is doing now, i.e., raising the minimum wage and addressing the immigration and labor problems that have developed in the CNMI. It was also said that federalized immigration would help stabilize the economy and that more reputable companies might consider investing in the CNMI if the laws didn’t change so quickly and were properly enforced.
Regarding the status of long-term nonresident workers: there were many who said that the proposed federal immigration law would correct long-standing injustices in the CNMI, that implementation of the law would benefit everyone, residents as well as nonresidents, and that those who are fighting federalization are simply fighting for what they see as a “right” to cheap guest workers. Some also said that opposition to federalized immigration is rooted at least partially in racial prejudice and fear.
There were others who feared that improving the status of nonresident workers might mean certain disadvantages for residents (i.e., fewer jobs available, and the erosion of indigenous culture and political power). Much of the opposition expressed about the proposed federal law seemed to be based primarily on fear of change and uncertainty in general, particularly during this economic crisis when people are feeling so vulnerable already. Doubts were expressed about how effective the federal government would be in implementing this law, although it was also said that the local government has not been very effective either in implementing its own laws.
Finally, some expressed disappointment with the uncompromising position of local business and political leaders with respect to the proposed federal immigration law. Instead of fighting the inevitable, our leaders should work with the inevitable, and offer specific, practical recommendations to the federal government that would benefit the CNMI. Some also expressed concerns that the pending local labor law (HB 15 – 38) is being rushed by the Legislature and Administration in order to “neutralize” the impacts of federal immigration law, particularly with respect to long-term nonresidents (i.e., so that people who would qualify for FAS cards could be expatriated under the local labor law before the passage of the federal law).
With respect to immigration and labor we should ask ourselves some critical questions. Is it bad policy to permit unlimited access to cheap guest labor? To allow a huge influx of immigrants to enter into a community to work when the local government does not have the capacity or the will to monitor or properly protect them? To keep wages in the private sector far lower than wages in the government? To fail to invest in the development of our own people through education and training? To establish arbitrary quotas for resident workers in the private sector? To penalize businesses who can’t find qualified, reliable residents to hire because they have left the island, work in the government, can’t work for low wages, or don’t want to work at all?
If the answer to all these questions is,“Yes, these are very bad policies,” then we should change the policies, and change them so that they work in the best interests of the community and are actually worth enforcing. And then we should enforce them.
I decided to support the federal government’s proposal to extend federal immigration law to the CNMI for a number of reasons and after long and serious thought about our current situation. Our local government, overwhelmed by dwindling resources, mismanagement, and corruption, cannot effectively control its own borders and manage the guest worker program any more than it can effectively keep the lights on and the hospital running. Labor abuses and immigration violations continue to this day. Many of our current leaders are the very same ones who designed our terribly short-sighted immigration and labor program years ago – they and their friends benefited handsomely from it, and are today defending it, saying there is nothing wrong with it, and once again paying lobbyists to tell the same lies that were told years ago. The local labor law that is currently being proposed is little more than a rehashing and recompilation of previous bad policies – and one more reactionary and poorly-conceived response to a critical situation.
I looked at the entire situation, the mess that we have made of our own government, our own islands, our own families and the lives of people who came here to work. I considered the reform measures that are being proposed by the federal government, and the efforts to incorporate recommendations from the local government and from various community groups into the bill. I reread the Covenant, and the part where we clearly agreed to someday follow federal immigration and wage laws upon an act of the U.S. Congress. I talked to many people in the community from all backgrounds, and all walks of life, and thought deeply about what it means to be a citizen of the United States as well as a citizen of a self-governing Commonwealth. And then I made the decision to support the extension of federal immigration law to the CNMI.
It is not that I have blindly embraced the federal bill, or trust the federal government so much more than my own local government, or that I believe that our own local government is completely hopeless. But I do believe that immigration and labor reform is necessary to finally bring social and economic justice for all the people of the CNMI, including long-term nonresidents who have helped build our islands and have become part of our community. I also believe that immigration and labor reform is critical to bring a measure of stability to our local workforce and economy, and to free up limited resources that can be invested in much-needed infrastructure and public services.
Unfortunately, with few exceptions (our Washington Representative and Senator Pangelinan being two), our leaders have shown little maturity, foresight, or inclination to cooperate with the federal government and advocate for the interests of all the people of the CNMI. But as citizens who have voted our leaders into office year after year, we should know by now why we are so poorly represented, and how we can change that. The maturity, foresight, and spirit of cooperation must come from us, and it must be reflected in the leaders we choose.
Read up on some of the discussions that occurred here:
Problem: The CNMI government claims that it is nearly broke – no money for PSS, etc.
Problem: There is a desperate lack of well-paying employment in the CNMI.
Solution: Let the Feds take over Immigration, and save the local government the millions of dollars a year it costs to run our own Immigration.
Solution: Let the Feds take over Immigration, and create hundreds of secure, high paying jobs, with good benefits here, and a guaranteed retirement, just like TSA did at our airports.
Solution: Let the Feds take over Immigration and handle all Immigration matters in the Federal District Court, saving the CNMI millions of dollars a year from the Local court budget.
there is no problem in giving people long term status here and no its not about fear of change.it’s our homeland to protect just like our children,we have something to give them that we own period.are you willing to give it away?guess you don’t own anything since you are a renter.
Al,
What is it that you own? The ability to grant Long Term Guest workers improved status or US Citizenship? That is not anyone but the Federal Government’s responsibility to give out. They Gave ti out to us here int eh CNMI as we agreed to in the Covenant and we got US Citizenship from the Federal Government. Maybe the Guest Workers will get the same, either way it is not our choice to give it. Just like if someone marries and gets a green card we cna not say anything about it. Same goes for those in the US that get naturalized and get greencards. We can not stop it.
In your mind, what is Tina giving away? She is not giving anything out other than support and hope for a group of people that have lived with us here in the CNMI for decades. The same people that you have just said you have “no problem giving status” to. If that is true than what problem do you have with Tina saying the same thing you just anonomously posted here?
Is your true reason for being upset, that Tina is publicly saying it while you have to hide? Don’t be. That is why she is a representative. We elected her to speak out on issues and take stances. Not to hide and stay in the middle of the road.
As for being a renter. What does that have to do with anything. I know her family has land. She chooses to rent. Who cares? This is our homeland and it is also the U.S. so people can do what they want so long as they don’t break the law. Renting is not a violation of the law and it does not make you less of a Chamorro or NMD or person.
gee ernest dont i have to say my piece just for the sake of expressing myself?as far as what i said u still dont get it do you?i did not say anything about those that are married to u.s citizens.saipan is a small island and it is ours to protect like it says in the covenant with the u.s.if its not then will be like guam dont u think.this guest workers have an agenda everybody with a brain knows that.we are so fast to help outsiders.i ask u, wat about our own, our poor people, do we sacrafice them for outsiders.as the saying goes you can’t help others if u cant help yourself let alone helping others when u cant even help your own.wat u say to that ernest?u speak as if we dont have problems here.if u are an american i understand how u guys work to solve problems in the us.u just ignore all those homless mingling around you begging.and you call the american dream. dream on ernest, thats not the kind of dream i want to wake up to.
p.s as far as the rent goes i just wonder what kind of people rent when they have lands.go figure.
maybe she is not as rich as you are to afford to build a house. why that would be a problem for you i don’t understand. go figure.
Hi Al,
Gee, I am not stopping you from expressing yourself. Am I? I am merely doing the same. Are you trying to stop me?
I don’t get it. I don’t have a clue as to what you are saying. I don’t think you do either.If you do than it is just my stupidity.
Can you help me understand?
What exactly are you protecting the CNMI from? or who are you protecting it from?
What exactly are you afraid of losing? Your land? if so, no one is taking it. Your culture? What difference does it make if a guest worker is a citizen of the US or of the Philipines? They live here with us and influence us either way. They are not invisible right now. Are they?
If by an agenda you mean that the Guest Workers want a pathway to citizenship than you are correct. What exactly is wrong with that? Did we, ourselves, not also ask for Citizenship and receive it from the U.S. when we entered into the Covenant? Do you realize that the CNMI government was never ALLOWED to grant US Citizenship and that can only come from the FEDERAL government? Why does their attempt to request that from the Federal Government upset you? Anyone with a brain would understand their agenda and agree with it.
How are we sacrificing our own people and our poor people for the outsiders? Who are the outsiders? Is a Guest Worker who has lived here for 20 years an outsider? Is a foreigner that just moved here and married an NMD an insider?
Are you saying that Tina Sablan is not “helping” the local residents? If so, please explain? If you say because she wants to help long term guest workers get a path to citizenship and she is also in support of ending our guest worker program than maybe you need to look closer at that. Once the guest worker program is over we will not be able to get cheap foreign labor and that will help our residents by opening up job opportunities that are currently being filled with low cost foreign workers. How her doing that hurt the residents?
We have problems here. Tina is trying to fix them. What problems do you think she is not addressing? How should she go about fixing them?
All CNMI residents that hold a US Passport ARE AMERICANS. I hold a US Passport. I am an American. So are ALL of our elected officials. It is the law. What are you?
I have a CNMI dream and it involves having many more people like Tina Sablan elected into office and addressing the problems we have today. People like her that give a damn about this island and not just getting rich themselves. People that have integrity and that can not be bought out. My CNMI Dream doesn’t include this problematic CNMI guest worker program that we had in place for so many years. My dream doesn’t include corrupt officials. My dream includes voters that care not about their own personal enrichment but the whole CNMI when they vote.
I don’t ever wish to wake up from this dream. I want instead to work towards making it a reality. One big step is me voting for Tina. Another is me talking with people.
okay ernest u win,tina can win for all i care,good luck.sorry i even talked to u
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