Draft of New CNMI Labor Bill Raises Questions

October 30, 2011

The failure to include a status provision in PL 110-229 has created a humanitarian crisis in the CNMI for the legal, long-term foreign workers. Excuses, self-serving political agendas, inexcusable delays, inaction of members of the U.S. Congress, and missteps by U.S. Departments and agencies are contributing factors to the predicament, which could inflict irreversible damage and injustice to thousands of affected legal aliens.

Now to complicate the matter, a frightening bill is being proposed to govern labor (and in some cases immigration) in the CNMI. The bill is said to have been drafted by Governor Fitial’s “special counsels” Deanne Siemer and Howard Willens. The details of their contract have not been disclosed.

The draft bill is entitled, “A bill for an act to create a comprehensive state-level system to govern labor in the Commonwealth that operates in parallel with the federal labor laws” or “The Labor Act of 2011”.

As if they expect opposition, the authors of the bill defend it in the introduction stating:

Public Law 110-229 does not ipso jure preempt the Commonwealth's labor laws. In the United States federal system, there are areas in which the States share responsibilities with the federal government. Labor (including the terms and conditions under which workers are employed) is such an area. The federal government can regulate labor through its control of interstate commerce and immigration. But the States remain free to regulate labor under the power to control intrastate commerce and under the general police power. The Commonwealth has all of the powers of a State in this area, as well as the powers of local self-government under the Covenant. Employers and workers in the Commonwealth must comply with both federal and Commonwealth law.

The draft bill requires an alien registration, which I would classify as an immigration issue, not a labor issue. The U.S. government should have records of those who enter and exit the CNMI as well as records of all aliens who receive parole documents and visas of any kind. Still under this bill, the CNMI government, through the Department of Labor, will require local registration of every alien.

The draft bill reads: "Any alien who knowingly fails to comply with this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or the imposition of a fine of not more than $500 or both."

The registration appears to be a way for the CNMI to maintain its own immigration records. As has been the CNMI's practice, the bill suggests that the registration records will not be shared.

It states: "Registration shall be conducted by the Department for all classes of aliens. Registration information may be taken on oath or by declaration. Such registration information as the Secretary may require is confidential and may be made available only on request of law enforcement authorities in connection with criminal or juvenile delinquency investigations." The CNMI government has been uncooperative with federal agencies in sharing any data and statistics. Any information that has been shared has been questionable.

The proposed bill attempts not just to regulate labor, but also to regulate collections and payments unrelated to employment. It reads:

The Legislature finds that very serious and long-term damage is done to the Commonwealth's economy when the United States immigration authorities are unable to remove from the Commonwealth alien workers who are unemployed and out-of-status. Since the very beginning of operations under federalization of immigration, federal authorities have been unsuccessful in removing more than a tiny fraction of the aliens intended under Title VII of Il0-229 to be removed from the Commonwealth. The burdens are enormous on the Commonwealth's economy and taxpayers from unemployed aliens remaining in the Commonwealth. These alien workers migrate to the underground economy where temporary businesses pay no taxes, compete unfairly with legitimate employers, fail to comply with laws requiring consideration of qualified U.S. workers, abuse alien workers, and create law enforcement problems.

Unemployed alien workers pile up medical expenses, require food aid, are taken advantage of by landlords, and become involved in incidents requiring police attention. The Commonwealth must protect itself from this damage.

Firstly, the foreign workers who were issued umbrella permits (under Siemer’s own plan) are in the CNMI legally and cannot be removed until after November 27, 2011 if the federal government decides that they are out of status. Additionally, most of the police “incidents” involve indigenous U.S. citizens, unless of course, the bill is talking about those foreign victims of wage theft by non-prosecuted employers, foreign victims of police brutality, human trafficking of foreign workers and other incidents involving foreign workers.

The bill attempted to portray foreign workers as creating "long-term damage"to the CNMI's economy, but we all know it was the CNMI's policies, guest worker program and the lack of enforcement that was responsible for the problems and any damage caused in the CNMI.

The drafters of this bill failed to mention that there are hundreds of employers who paid no income taxes. How about the Tinian Dynasty that owes $30 million, and other CNMI businesses that owe hundreds of thousands in taxes? Doesn't their failure to pay taxes and the CNMI's inaction to pursue their debt contribute to the economic woes of the CNMI?

Employers who were required under CNMI law to pay medical costs for foreign workers failed to pay these bills. Because of lack of oversight and follow-up by the CNMI government, the unpaid bills (just like the unpaid wages that the foreign workers are owed) piled up to represent millions of dollars in uncollected charges. The CNMI government failed miserably to enforce their own laws to the extreme detriment of the CNMI economy.

Under this draft bill employers are responsible for ensuring that their employees pay their CHC medical bills and CHC must garnish wages up to a whooping 25% in order to collect payments that are due. Employers become the CNMI's collection agencies for all employees, whether they are U.S. citizens or alien workers. The provisions imposes extensive bookkeeping and record-keeping requirements on all employers and will be extremely time-consuming and expensive for large employers. The provision may serve as a deterrent for attracting potential investors to the CNMI.

From the draft bill:

CHAPTER 2. Medical care.
§4321. Employer responsibility for records
(a) Every employer shall provide to the Commonwealth Health Center, within 60 days of enactment of this section for current employees and within 30 days of the hiring or rehiring of any employee in full-time status, the employee's full name, identification information, and O-NET job number together with the full name and identification of the employer. The identification information may be social security number, CNMI drivers' license number, federal visa or permit number, or other positive identification number acceptable to the
Commonwealth Health Center. This information may be provided online, via fax, e-mail, or regular mail to the Accounts Receivable Section, Commonwealth Health Center.
(b) The Commonwealth Health Center shall within 30 days of enactment of this section establish and thereafter maintain a database of employer-employee information so that it can collect from wages or salaries paid by employers amounts due and owing the Commonwealth Health Center that are not paid by employees.
(c) In the event that an employer fails to provide records as required in this section, the employer may be required to pay to the Commonwealth Health Center from the employer's own funds (and not by deduction from the employee's wages or salary) the full amount due to the Commonwealth Health Center or a fine of up to $1,000 for each such failure, such penalties to be imposed by order of a court or hearing officer.
§4322. CHC responsibility for collections.
(a) The Commonwealth Health Center may collect directly from an employer up to 25 percent of the monthly wages or salary of any employee who fails for more than 30 days to pay the full amount due under any invoice issued by the Commonwealth Health Center until the full amount of the invoice is paid.
(b) As apart of its documentation with respect to every person to whom it renders service, the Commonwealth Health Center shall require government-issued identification and sufficient information about employment to allow collection of unpaid invoices.
(c) For invoices issued after the enactment of this section, within l0 days of the end of each month, the Commonwealth Health Center shall publish a notice in an English-language newspaper of general circulation in the Commonwealth the name and any other necessary identification information of any person who fails for more than 30 days to pay the full amount due under any invoice issued by the Commonwealth Health Center. This publication shall provide notice of non-payment, without violating privacy interests in the treatment provided or the amount owed, together with the invoice number and a 20-day period for objections to be filed to any aspect of the invoice.
(d) For invoices issued prior to the enactment of this section, the notices required in subsection( c) shall be published regularly so that within six months of the enactment of this section, all such notices have been published.
(e) Within 45 days after notification as provided in subsection (c), the Commonwealth Health Center shall send to the employer of any employee who fails for more than 30 days to pay the full amount due under any invoice issued by the Commonwealth Health Center a demand for the full amount due to be paid by withholding up to 25 percent of the wages or salary due that employee in each pay period.
(0 An employer who receives from the Commonwealth Health Center a demand pursuant to subparagaph (e) above shall make such withholding beginning with the next pay period and, within l0 days after the close of each pay period, shall pay the withheld amount to the Commonwealth Health Center until the full amount due has been paid.
(g) In the event that an employer fails to make withholdings and remittances to the Commonwealth Health Center as required in this section, the employer may be fined up to $1,000 for each such failure by order of a court or hearing officer.

The proposed bill requires the CHC and Attorney General Office to file quarterly reports on CHC billings and collections.

Another problematic provision in this draft bill requires alien workers to be subjected to a physical in the CNMI.  The law states that the employer will pay for the physical, but we all know that the costs are typically deducted from an employee's pay. If the alien worker fails to "pass" the physical then he/she must be repatriated and can be deported.

Imagine paying recruitment fees and going through the process of compiling documents and papers to land a job in the CNMI only to find that you didn't meet physical requirements after arrival. Here is what a foreign worker could face (Take note host countries):

(c) Notification. Upon receiving notice that there is a medical reason any alien worker or immediate relative should not be permitted to remain in the Commonwealth for health reasons designated as a threat to the public health in the Commonwealth by the Secretary of Public Health, the Secretary shall notify the alien worker and offer repatriation at the earliest
date on which it is medically safe to travel. If repatriation is not accomplished, the Secretary shall forward the relevant documentation to the federal immigration authorities for deportation.

The bill has a “workforce participation goal” to ensure that U.S. citizens are given preference in the local workforce. This is another provision that could be frowned upon by potential investors. The bill reads :

Chapter 2 

§4221 (a) In the full-time workforce of any employer, the percentage of U.S. workers employed shall equal or exceed the percentage of U.S. workers in the available private sector workforce unless attainment of this goal is not feasible within the current calendar year after all reasonable efforts have been made by the employer.
(b) The Secretary shall define the percentage specified in subsection (a) by regulation.
(c) The Secretary shall not waive the requirements of this section. 

§4222. Exemptions.
(a) The provisions of section 4221 shall not apply to employers of fewer than five (5) employees, provided however, the Secretary may, by regulation, require each business to have at least one employee who is a U.S. worker.
(b) The Secretary may remove the exemption available to employers of any number of employees against whom two or more judgments are entered in Department proceedings in any two (2) year period.
(c) The Secretary, or an authorized designee, may grant an exemption from section 4221 for a particular construction project of limited duration.

All employers with 10 or more employees are also required to comply with the workforce participation goal or they will be placed on a mandatory “manpower training and educational plan for increasing the percentage of U.S. workers in the workforce.”

The proposed bill allows extensive, unannounced worksite inspections by investigators.

The draft bill restricts due process by requiring an employee to file a labor complaint within six months of the "last occurring event."

Another provision states: "Damages may be awarded to a U.S. worker who is qualified for a job, the employer rejects the application for the job without just cause, and the employer employs and alien worker for the job." How will "just cause" be determined?

The draft bill preempts federal immigration law.  For example, it imposes a fine and/or imprisonment for any alien who fails to leave the CNMI after termination of work authorization. This would fall under federal jurisdiction.

Sanctions and penalties are stiff. The proposed bill is a revenue-generating bill full of fines for both employers and employees.

The bill represents more of the same. It may just serve as a repellent to foreign workers and investors.

More on Legal Options for CNMI Foreign Workers

October 30, 2011

Last week foreign workers heard from renowned attorney Loida Nicolas-Lewis, chair of U.S. Pinoys for Good Governance who informed the foreign workers of their constitutional and legal rights regarding their precarious immigration status. (Please see this post.)

Now attorney Ted Laguatan, also from the organization U.S. Pinoys for Good Governance, joins attorney Nicolas-Lewis in stating that foreign workers have some legal options in seeking relief after November 27, 2011. Laguatan is also a well-known and respected U.S. immigration attorney and author.

An option for those who are in ICE custody and scheduled to appear in immigration court is cancellation of removal. The cancellation depends upon circumstances such as length of years living and working in the CNMI and having U.S. citizen immediate relatives.

The Saipan Tribune reported that in a radio interview on KWAW Magic 100.3, Attorney Laguatan told listeners:

“They cannot just pick you up and put you on an airplane and send you home. That would be unconstitutional. USCIS already announced that they will not prioritize for removal non-criminal cases. You have rights before the courts. You have constitutional rights. They cannot force you to leave without a hearing before an immigration judge and in front of the immigration judge and all these defenses could be presented."

I know that thousands of foreign workers are living in fear and uncertainty as the November deadline approaches. Many have called or emailed Boboy and me to tell us their stories. Stories about selling all their land and possessions 28 years ago for the chance to live the American Dream and now having no "home" to return to. Stories about how their employers stole their wages, and because the CNMI DOL never enforced their Administrative Orders and judgments their savings accounts were drained, they were plunged deeply into debt and have no money for tickets to leave. Stories about employers who told them they were not going to petition them for CW visas just a month before the deadline.

Attorney Laguatan stated:

“The most important message I can say is for them not to leave the CNMI because the Commonwealth is now part of the American territory. The immigration law of the U.S. became applicable in Nov. 28, 2009, and so therefore all of you have constitutional rights. They cannot force you to leave American territory without a hearing before an immigration judge and all of the defenses and relief can be presented to immigration court,” said Laguatan.

Laguatan said that without a political solution, the idea is to keep and prevent jobless alien workers from being deported.

“If they know their rights and they have a good lawyer, the process will take a very long time. And that's because everybody is entitled to a hearing before an immigration judge as a matter of constitutional right,” he said, adding that it is his hope that legislation be introduced in Congress to allow to allow foreign workers in the CNMI to stay.

I would listen to the experienced and respected immigration attorneys rather than listen to politicians who are pushing their own self-serving agendas in order to preserve their power and ensure that the foreign workers remain an oppressed underclass who are denied of basic civil and human rights in the CNMI's two-tiered society.

There is presently a grave humanitarian crisis in the CNMI that must not be ignored. Some argue that we should focus on the law rather than the fact that this is a human rights tragedy. The focus must be on both. The urgent plight of the legal, long-term foreign contract workers is a humanitarian crisis and it is a matter of law. It makes elected officials and bureaucrats uncomfortable to admit that their is a human side to the problem – that it is not just an economic or political problem– so they attempt to ignore or dismiss the human rights side of this issue. People of conscience will not allow them to pretend this is a mere economic or political problem.  By standing up for their rights the foreign workers are not allowing those who hold their fate in their hands to ignore the fact that they are people, not replaceable commodities.

After months of delays and agonizing uncertainty, the CNMI's foreign workers are now on the doorstep of tomorrow, as November 27th is just a step away. If the United States of America is truly the defender of human rights then now is the time to act.

We must fight to amend laws to protect the basic human and civil rights of legal, long-term foreign workers. We must continue to fight for the introduction of legislation that will grant status to all legal, long-term foreign workers of the CNMI.

It is great news that two renowned immigration attorneys are taking a stand to support the constitutional rights of the CNMI's foreign workers. In the upcoming weeks expect to see more labor, immigration and human rights groups stepping into the spotlight to show solidarity with the CNMI legal, long-term foreign workers.

OCCUPY USCIS Picking Up Steam

October 28, 2011

OCCUPY USCIS, photo by Itos Feliciano

OCCUPY USCIS has been attracting more foreign workers and resident community members according to UWM President Rabby Syed and other foreign workers who contacted me over the last few days. DEKADA and the Human Dignity Movement have joined the movement. CNMI residents have stopped by the site to show support and solidarity with the cause.

The foreign workers and their supporters have been gathering outside the USCIS Office every day and will continue their protests until November 27, 2011.

These foreign workers seek permanent residency status after working LEGALLY in the CNMI on U.S. soil for 5, 10, 20, 30 or more years. Until such time as the U.S. Congress introduces legislation to address the status of ALL, legal, long-term foreign workers, the foreign workers are asking for parole.

Some foreign workers at OCCUPY USCIS are collecting donations to cover the legal costs for lawsuits that they will be filing to protect their due process rights, and to fight for protection for any noncriminal aliens who may be served with removal papers.

Organizers report that there are few foreign workers who will be leaving the CNMI. They have no money for airfare and no place to go since the CNMI IS THEIR HOME and for most, it has been their home for decades. This has become a humanitarian crisis that the U.S. is failing to properly address.

Organizers invite all foreign workers to please stop by the OCCUPY USCIS tents so they can evaluate the next moves. They would like to know who supports a one to two hour walk out or a one-day strike of the foreign workers to show the leaders and residents of the CNMI what it is like if 90% of the private workforce don't show up for work and what to expect if they leave. 

All foreign workers are invited to OCCUPY UCSIS to enjoy the food, fellowship, and exchange of ideas. The foreign workers are calling for a unified front to fight for basic rights and freedom.

Thank you to Itos Feliciano for the photos!

Vice-President Joe Biden Visits Florida Educators

October 28, 2011

Vice-President Joe Biden, Photo by Wendy L. Doromal © 2011

As an elected delegate to the Florida Educators Association Delegate Assembly, I was able to catch up with some old friends, attend a Human Rights Banquet and be recharged with inspiring words from passionate and rousing speakers. Being with 1,000 like-thinking people is validating and motivating, especially for people like myself who spend too many long hours working in isolation.

Notable speakers were Lily Eskelen, the Vice President of the NEA; Andy Ford, President of the FEA; Vice-President Joe Biden; the Second Lady, Dr. Jill Biden; and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the chair of the National Democratic Party.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) was the youngest woman ever elected to the Florida Legislature. She was 26 when she was elected and served eight years before she was elected to the House of Representatives. She has been a friend of FEA and teachers since she was elected to office.  She is probably our state's most precious natural resource.

Rep. Wasserman Schultz noted, "Teachers deserve and have earned a seat at the table."

The Vice-President and his wife were greeted with a thunderous applause and a standing ovation. 

Dr. Jill Biden has been an educator for over thirty years and presently teaches at  Northern Virginia Community College. She considers community colleges one of our country's "best kept secret." She noted that being a teacher is "not about what I do, but who I am."

Vice-President Biden is a great speaker. Of course he knows a great deal about the teaching profession and loves teachers since he is married to one.

Like all of the speakers, the Vice President talked about the organized political attack on the teaching profession, and he defended teachers and the profession. He noted that education does not receive the funding it needs.  He told us that his father said, "Don't tell me what you value. Show me your budget and I will tell you what you value." If that is true our leaders certainly do not value education.

Mr. Biden spoke about the need to properly fund education so America can succeed. He noted that Republican governors, like Florida's governor, Rick Scott, were cutting education funding and leading attacks on teachers and our profession under the pretext of "standing up to public employees."

Speaking about the political attack on labor and teachers, he said, "This is not your father's Republican Party."  He said, "You are not the problem, you are the solution."

Teachers and public employees have seen cuts in pay and retirement funding under Republican governors.  Florida teachers were handed a 3% pay cut this year and are promised another cut next year.

He noted that these politicians were manipulating the "brutal recession and inherited economic crisis" to attack teachers as a direct assault on organized labor. He said, "This is one of the biggest scams in American history. They are using you to launch the most direct assault on labor, not just in my lifetime but, without hyperbole, since the 1920s."

Vice President Biden spoke lovingly about his father several times, sharing what advice he gave to him over his lifetime. He also revealed some personal insights. He related that as a child he stuttered and he got through that difficult time of his life with the help of his family and loving teachers. He said that he loves teachers because they believe in the possibilities of any child to grow up to be something special.

He told us, "Your fight is our children's fight. . . "These are our children. They are like kite strings that lift our nation's ambitions aloft."

He told the audience of educators, "Keep the faith, you are our hope."

The Vice President quoted his favorite poet, William Butler Gates who said, "Education is not about filling a bucket, but lighting a fire."

Some photos:

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Photo by W. L. Doromal ©2011

Photo by W. L. Doromal @2011

Dr. Jill Biden, Photo by Wendy L. Doromal ©2011

Vice President Joe Biden listening to his wife speak

Jill Biden FEA Delegate Assembly, Photo by W. L. Doromal © 2011

Vice President Joe Biden, Photo by W. L. Doromal ©2011

Photo by W. L. Doromal ©2011

CNMI Legislator Arrested

October 27, 2011

Saipan Covenant Party Rep. Raymond Palacios was reportedly arrested for trafficking methamphetamine. Palacios was served with an arrest warrant late yesterday afternoon at his home in Chalan Kanoa, according to the Saipan Tribune. He was allegedly charged with two counts of trafficking "ice",  an extremely dangerous drug that is a life destroyer.

Palacios is reportedly being held in the detention center in Susupe after DPS investigators served him with a warrant that was issued by Superior Court Associate Judge David Wiseman.

The lawmaker-lawbreaker had previously denied the reports that he was going to be arrested for selling drugs.  Over the last few days news of his impending arrest caused the self-admitted drug user to make some mind boggling statements to the press.

An October 25, 2011 Marianas Variety story about Palacios was so unbelievable that I read it twice. In the article, Palacios not arrested, Representative Raymond D. Palacios proved that he is not fit for office. Palacios was responding to a rumor that he had been arrested for dealing "ice." The lawmaker apparently was not arrested, as the story states –"yet".

It is the words that this lawmaker uttered that seemed to stir outrage from commenters. Palacios was quoted by the newspaper as making some seriously damning statements and ridiculous excuses, including:

“I might have used [‘ice’] in the past.” 

“But the past is the past. Everybody knows that, even [people] in my precinct, that I might have used it. But honestly I don’t sell, that is the truth.” 

“Yes, I may have gotten it for someone, which makes me a buyer, but not a seller because I never sell,” he added. 

“If I got from someone, that makes me a buyer myself, which of course I should not be doing because of my position. But I’m just helping out a family member but if we look at it, it is wrong to do it and I regret doing that.” 

“But in terms of selling, I never sell. I make that clear to you.” 

“Almost all of us have done things against the law like smoking marijuana, ‘ice’ or cocaine. We have done all those in the past and we have learned from our mistakes. And right now, to be honest, I’m trying to get things straighten up myself and in fact I’m trying to look positively forward."

What kind of person would rationalize buying a dangerous drug, ice (methamphetamine), "to help" a family member? We all know that he is hurting his family member and anyone else that he gives this drug to.

The CNMI should get the award for the most people who break the law and/or take actions that will inflict harm to others, yet stubbornly rationalize their actions with insulting excuses.  We saw this pathetic technique being used in the case of the governor releasing his masseuse from prison for a late night massage; in the case of the governor's gun-carrying driver dealing drugs from the governor's official vehicle; in the case of Attorney General Buckingham breaking election and ethics laws; in the case of a rogue cop brutally beating an innocent Chinese foreign worker; in the case of hundreds of unscrupulous employers who committed wage theft and other abuses against innocent foreign workers and got away with it; and on and on and on. At least in this case an arrest was actually made.

CNMI Parole for Urgent Humanitarian Reasons

 

USCIS Update
October 27, 2011

PAROLE FOR URGENT HUMANITARIAN REASONS


Parole Available from USCIS for Eligible Caregivers of Critical Medical or Special Needs Individuals

If you are a resident of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and have an in-home caregiver who is a foreign worker, your in-home caregiver may apply to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for humanitarian parole if he or she is required for extraordinary medical or special needs reasons and meets other conditions for eligibility. With the expiration of umbrella permits on Nov. 27, 2011, caregivers such as these may not have another option under U.S. immigration law and in-home care services currently may not be available through the commercial sector.

USCIS may grant parole on a case-by-case basis based on the individual circumstances presented and has exercised parole authority on a case-by-case basis in the CNMI since 2009 for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. With the publication of the transitional worker final rule, many foreign workers in the CNMI will be able to obtain authorization to live and work in the CNMI through a petitioning employer; however, USCIS will continue to consider parole in specific situations, including that of CNMI permanent residents and their immediate relatives and the immediate relatives of nationals of the Freely Associated States (FAS).

USCIS will also consider granting parole for urgent humanitarian reasons when:

• There is a compelling medical or special needs situation; and
• The existing foreign caregiver has worked for a disabled or special needs individual in the CNMI prior to Nov. 28, 2011.

Q. Can my employer apply for an in-home worker as a CW Transitional Worker?
A. No. The CW Transitional Worker nonimmigrant category is designed for workers of legitimate
businesses that are doing business in the CNMI. An individual who employs someone in his or her home
does not qualify as a business under the CW rule.
Q. Can an employer get a business license in order to apply for an in-home worker as a CW Transitional Worker?
A. A business for purposes of immigration is more than just having a business license. The CW rule specifies that to qualify to hire workers with CW status, an employer must be engaged in a legitimate business. This means he or she must produce services or goods for profit or be a governmental, charitable or other validly recognized nonprofit organization. The employer must also demonstrate that he or she has considered available U.S. workers for the position. The employer must be doing business as defined by the rule, meaning the regular, systematic and continuous provision of goods or services. A business license does not transform a normal household into a legitimate business under the CW rule. A legitimate business that is doing business as defined in the CW rule may petition to employ an in-home worker as long as the business:

• Pays and supervises that employee;
• Offers terms and conditions that are consistent with the nature of the petitioner’s business and the nature of the occupation, activity and industry in the CNMI; and
• Otherwise meets the requirements of the CW rule.

Q. Are all in-home workers eligible to be considered for parole?
A. No, this is not a blanket option for anyone using the title “caregiver.” A foreign worker applying for parole under this situation must be providing care for a person who requires medical assistance in order to live independently or is otherwise in a situation of urgent humanitarian need. This means a significant medical or special needs situation going beyond normal house maintenance or ordinary childcare. This could include, for example, an individual who is disabled and unable to care for him or herself or a special needs child for whom no care facilities exist in the CNMI. Someone who is employed in the home simply to make life easier or to facilitate employment of the household outside the home by taking care of the children, cleaning the home, buying groceries, cooking meals and other such work, is not eligible to be considered for parole. The situation should also involve a continuing need for the special care.
Q. Can anyone work directly for a family or other non-business as an in-home worker without parole?
A. All foreign nationals must be authorized to be employed in order to work in the CNMI. CNMI “umbrella permits” or other work authorization based on status provided by the CNMI government before Nov. 28, 2009 generally expire no later than Nov. 27, 2011. If you are a U.S. citizen, U.S. permanent resident or Freely Associated State (FAS) national, you are authorized for any employment in the CNMI and may work as an in-home worker. If you are in another immigration status, your ability to work as an in-home worker will depend upon the specifics of your immigration situation (for example, you may have work authorization that is limited to specific employment.) You can apply for parole with USCIS for these purposes if you are:

• A CNMI permanent resident;
• An immediate relative (spouse or child) of a CNMI permanent resident (living or deceased); or
• The immediate relative of an FAS national.

See below for more information about how to get work authorization as a parolee.
Q. Is there a fee to apply for parole?
A. There is no filing fee to apply for parole. However, there is a filing fee for the Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization.
Q. Does the caregiver or the employer apply for parole?
A. The caregiver must apply for parole, not the person being cared for or the person paying the caregiver’s salary.
Q. Does the employer need to be a U.S. citizen?
A. This use of parole is intended for those involved in significant long-term caregiver situations. This typically will mean that the person to whom the care is provided should have a status providing a continuing long-term right of residence in the CNMI, in particular, U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident or FAS national. All situations will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and the fact that the employer is not in one of these statuses does not absolutely preclude favorable consideration. For example, a situation could involve an employer in one immigration status and the person to whom the
care is being given in another, such as a U.S. citizen child.
Q. What must be included in the parole request?
A. The following must be submitted as part of the caregiver’s request:

• A letter from the foreign worker’s employer explaining the compelling humanitarian need and details of your current employment, including the number of hours worked per week and other  details of the arrangement;
• A letter from you, the caregiver, asking for parole that includes:
• A P.O. Box mailing address,
• A contact telephone number; and
• The location where you work (give cross streets so that our inspectors can find the home);
• A completed Form G-325, Biographic Information;
• A copy of a valid identity document such as a passport or birth certificate;
• Evidence of your residence in the CNMI at the time of application;
• Evidence of your legal presence in the CNMI at the time of application, such as a valid umbrella permit; and
• Evidence of status of the person being cared for, such as a copy of his or her valid passport or birth certificate.

You should include evidence that supports the need for you to fill this position as a caregiver, in order to justify to USCIS the use of special consideration for you. USCIS will make a decision on the parole request based upon the merits of the case that you present. It is important that you include as much
relevant information as possible such as:

• Your current work situation (how long you have worked for this person, number of hours per week, etc.)
• Why your services are absolutely necessary for the welfare of the person being cared for.
• In the case of special needs children, this could include a letter from specialists and/or a verification from the school authorities about what is and is not available on-island outside of a home care setting.
• In the case of medical disabilities, this could include information from a medical doctor.

Q. Where can I apply for humanitarian parole as a caregiver in the CNMI?
A. Make an InfoPass appointment at www.uscis.gov to come into the USCIS office at TSL Plaza in Garapan. Bring all the items listed above to the interview.
Q. How long will it take for me to get parole?
A. If you come to your appointment with a complete package and are eligible for parole, the USCIS officer could issue parole immediately.
Q. Can I work once parole is granted?
A. Parole permits you to remain temporarily in the CNMI subject to any conditions but does not automatically provide for employment authorization. In order to work, you must submit a Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization and receive an Employment Authorization Document (EAD).
Q. Can I work anywhere with my EAD?
A. No. Caregivers who are granted parole for humanitarian reasons (specifically because of their role as caregivers) are expected to continue to work in that position. Your parole will be revoked if you are no longer working as a caregiver as explained in your initial request.
Q. Can I provide care to more than one employer?
A. If your parole request demonstrates that you provide care justifying a grant of parole for more than one household, your parole may similarly authorize you to provide care to more than one household, once you are issued an EAD.
Q. Can I travel anywhere in the United States?
A. No. Parole for caregivers of individuals with compelling medical or special needs will be granted for the CNMI only and does not authorize travel to any other part of the United States. If you need to travel, you will have to contact USCIS.
Q. How long are the parole and EAD valid?
A. Depending upon your request, both parole and the EAD will be issued for up to one year. To lawfully remain in the CNMI thereafter, you will need to request an extension of your parole or obtain another Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) nonimmigrant or immigrant classification before your parole expires.
Q. Is there a minimum wage required for caregivers?
A. Employers must comply with federal and CNMI requirements relating to employment including, but not limited to, minimum wage requirements and Fair Labor Standards.
Q. What about my dependents? If I am granted parole, will my dependents also be allowed to
remain in the CNMI with me?
A. If you are a worker eligible for parole under this guidance, you may also request parole for your spouse and dependent children (under the age of 21) who are lawfully present in the CNMI. You must submit the following information regarding any family member requesting parole along with you:

• A letter or affidavit signed by the family member requesting parole, or signed by you if the family member is a child under 18;
• Evidence of the family relationship between you and the family member requesting parole;
• A copy of a valid identity document, such as a passport biographic page (with photo, date of birth and expiration date); and
• A copy of any Form I-94 (front and back), umbrella permit and/or other document showing current lawful presence in the CNMI.

This parole will allow the family member to remain with the worker lawfully in the CNMI after Nov. 27, 2011, but does not authorize employment. Work authorization will not be granted to paroled family members. If you and your spouse are both eligible for parole and work authorization as workers under this guidance, you should file separate requests for parole and separate applications for an EAD.

USCIS is the agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responsible for immigration benefits. For more information, please visit our website at www.uscis.gov/cnmi.
- USCIS -

Kevin Ring Sentenced to Prison

October 26, 2011

Jack Abramoff's pal and co-lobbyist, Kevin Ring  was sentenced today in the District Court of the District of Columbia to 20 months in prison and 30 months of probation for five felony counts that included conspiracy, payment of a gratuity and honest services wire fraud.

Prosecutor Nathaniel Edmonds called for a sentence of 50 months. In the Sentencing Memorandum he stated:

"Ring was the second-in-command of a corruption scheme that shook the nation’s confidence in its public officials and compromised the integrity of our government. Team Abramoff, and its Chief Operating Officer Kevin Ring, sought to corrupt numerous public officials with expensive meals, exotic trips, tickets to exclusive concerts and sporting events, and a low-show job for a Congressman’s wife. While all corruption offenses undermine citizens’faith in democracy, Ring (along with his co-conspirators) contributed greatly to the recent decline in the trust of government and reinforced the belief that the political system is rigged in favor of those that would use their wealth to lavish gifts on public officials and corruptly influence the manner in which our nation’s limited tax dollars are spent. Ring entered a “corrupt bargain for early success and money,” and this Court should appropriately punish him for his crimes.Accordingly, the Court should sentence Ring to a Guidelines sentence of 50 months incarceration, followed by a period of three years of supervised release.

Unlike Abramoff, Ring refused to admit any guilt or accept any responsibility for the damage that his actions caused many innocent people, including the foreign workers of the CNMI.

Today in court there was a crack of admission when Ring sobbed as he asked U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle not to lock him up.

The prosecutors pointed out that the jury found Ring guilty of intending to corrupt public officials including Congressman Doolittle. Ring was a staffer for Doolittle before he joined Team Abramoff.

The sentencing memos states the government's objection to Doolittle's letter of leniency for Ring:

While the Government has concerns over a number of letters, Ring’s choice to submit a letter from former Congressman Doolittle is particularly egregious. Ring could have chosen to have Doolittle appear before this Court and subject himself to cross-examination at trial. Instead, Ring selectively quotes the self-serving statements of the recipient of Ring’s bribes—including putting forth such conclusory statements as “at no time was I ever corrupted by Kevin Ring in any of his dealings with me nor did I feel that Kevin ever attempted to corruptly influence me or members of my staff.” DE 290-1 at 41. 

Although Doolittle claims that Ring did not intend to corrupt him, a jury found otherwise. Doolittle’s denials of corruption in his relationship with Ring would ring hollow during cross-examination when it would be made clear that the “low-show” job that Julie Doolittle received from Abramoff and Ring was not the only “low-show” job that those seeking official acts from Congressman Doolittle created for his wife. Ring should not be allowed to proffer half-truths for the Court to consider as “mitigation” or evidence of his honesty, while failing to give the Court the full ability to assess Doolittle’s credibility.

Doolittle belongs behind bars with his loyal former staffer, Kevin Ring. Too bad that investigation was dropped.

Angel Demapan's Nonsensical Remarks

October 26, 2011

Angel Demapan, Governor Fitial’s press secretary, made some ignorant statements on behalf of Governor Fitial yesterday. He was quoted by the Saipan Tribune as saying:

“And now that the final rule is out, most of those rally organizers and attorneys seemed to have 'vanished.' We know this because many guest workers have approached the administration to express their frustration about people giving them false hopes and misleading information. The administration knew then, as it knows now, that all those worker rallies and motorcades were just an exercise in futility, but the workers were given false hopes by certain U.S. citizens that portrayed themselves as the 'saving grace of guest workers.' Where are they now? They are not talking anymore. They are not standing out there with the workers that they misled,” said Demapan.

“Now, the final rule is out. The administration does not agree that foreigners should continue believing in the personal opinion of people. The most responsible thing to do is to follow the laws and policies that are in place. It's as simple as that,” he said.

Let me respond. The foreign workers are free to believe the opinions of any person of their choice. That is their right. Why does Demapan feel the need to tell the foreign workers who to listen to or who to believe for whatever circumstance at issue?  This is especially odd since the corrupt Fitial Administration has stuck it to the alien workers with racist remarks, anti-alien legislation and refusal to prosecute employers and others who have cheated or abused the foreign workers. The foreign workers are educated adults who can research, sort out facts and make their own opinions.

Demapan has just returned from one of his many off-island junkets with the governor. Now that he is back, he may want to catch up on what is happening. Rally organizers have not “vanished”.  In fact, there is a demonstration, OCCUPY USCIS, outside of the USCIS Office all day, every day until November 27th. Maybe he could stop by and learn something.

What foreign worker would go to the Fitial Administration to express disappointment with “false hopes and misleading information”? Just not believable.

There were no U.S. citizens who ever portrayed themselves as “the saving grace” of anyone. There were, and still are, U.S. citizens who support democracy, justice and freedom of the legal, long-term foreign workers. I am among them. The only promise I ever made to the foreign workers was to fight for justice and status for them. I have been doing that and I will continue until justice is achieved. The CNMI foreign worker advocates see their roles as fighting for the workers’ basic rights that have been trampled for decades.

No one has been misled. Every day I put out information on this website so that the foreign workers can sort out the facts and stay informed. Others including federal agencies and officials, dispense information, as well. What has the Governor’s Office done to help address this enormous humanitarian crisis or to advance the cause of the foreign workers who have contributed so much to the CNMI?

The foreign workers can make their own choices. If they want to stay after November 27, 2011 even if they have no employer or visa, then that is their decision. If they want to leave to find jobs elsewhere, then that is their decision. If they want to sue the CNMI government for failing to prosecute employers who owe them back wages, then that is their decision. If they want to march, rally, picket, petition, strike, contact officials or talk to the press, then that is their decision. Not Demapan's, not the governors, not mine –theirs. Show some respect.

News for Foreign Workers

October 25, 2011

Renowned Attorney Loida Nicolas-Lewis, chair of US Pinoys for Good Governance, wrote a letter to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano "requesting that alien workers in the CNMI “be granted deferred status with work permits so that they have legal status beyond the Nov. 27, 2011 deadline,” according to the Saipan Tribune. The author and philanthropist was interviewed by Magic 100.3 DJ Jimmy B. yesterday.

The immigration attorney discussed the Morton Memo, which allows for ICE  and immigration officials to use prosecutorial discretion in determining removal of aliens. The memo states that among the specific classes of persons who should be given “particular care” when making prosecutorial decisions are long-time lawful permanent residents; minors and elderly individuals; individuals present in the United States since childhood; pregnant or nursing women; victims of domestic violence, trafficking, or other serious crimes; individuals who suffer from a serious mental or physical disability; and individuals with serious health conditions. Certainly the vast majority of the legal, long-term CNMI foreign workers are "long-time lawful permanent residents" who should be given prosecutorial discretion.

©2011 Photo by Itos Feliciano

OCCUPY USCIS, a demonstration sponsored by the United Workers Movement, is in its second day. UWM President Rabby Syed reports a steady flow of workers has shown up to the tent outside the TSL Building in Garpan where the USCIS Office is located.

The protest will continue until November 27, 2011.

UWM is hoping that DHS will at least give all foreign workers some parole or protection until the DOI report is acted upon by the U.S. Congress and all legal, foreign workers are granted status.

Thanks to Human Dignity Movement President, Itos Feliciano for the photos:

NOTICE: CNMI WIDOWS AND WIDOWERS OF DECEASED US CITIZENS

October 25, 2011

Reminder From USCIS:


WIDOWS / WIDOWERS OF DECEASED U.S. CITIZENS
Qualifying Widow(ers) Must Apply for Status by October 28, 2011 if Spouse Died Before October 28, 2009

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) again reminds eligible widow(er)s of U.S. citizens that October 28, 2011 (mainland time) is the deadline for filing a Form I-360 visa petition if your spouse died before October 28, 2009.

USCIS must receive your Form I-360 for Special immigrant classification as a widow/widower by October 28, 2011. Since you must file Form I-360 by mail or overnight courier, please be sure to ship it in time for USCIS to receive it no later than October 28, 2011 (mainland time.)

Among other things, you must establish that
• You were the citizen’s legal spouse.
• You have not remarried.
• You are admissible as an immigrant.

More details on filing as a I-360 Widow(er) —including application requirements, fees and procedures—are available at www.uscis.gov/I-360. For additional information, applicants may also contact USCIS at 1-800-375-5283.

A widow(er) whose citizen spouse died on or after Oct. 28, 2009 will have two years from the date of the U.S. citizen spouse’s death to file their Form I-360.

- USCIS -

Push to End DHS Secure Communities Program

October 25, 2011

There are probably few people who would oppose the deportation of illegal aliens who have committed serious crimes. But between October 2010 and September 2011 ICE deported 396,906 illegal immigrants, which is the largest number of yearly deportations in U.S. history. It is ironic that the record breaking numbers have occurred under the Obama Administration that promised immigration reform. The President promoted bringing the illegal immigrants out of the shadows to put them on a pathway to citizenship, not reaching into the shadows to deport them.

The cost of one deportation is estimated at $12,500, so deporting an estimated 400,000 costs taxpayers $5 billion, according to the Philly Insights.

An analysis, Secure Communities by the Numbers by Aarti Kohli, Peter Markowitz and Lisa Chavez from Berkeley Law at the University of California states that annual deportations have increased by 400% since 1996 with over 1 million people being removed just during the Obama Administration.

Secure Communities is a program started by the Bush Administration where the federal immigration officials partner with local law enforcement. The report states that the program is active in "1,595 jurisdictions in 44 states and territories." Based on the report, the program is a human rights nightmare. While the federal and local law enforcements officials are supposed to be targeting criminals according to the report "well over half of those deported through Secure Communities had either no criminal convictions or had been convicted only of very minor offenses, including traffic offenses."

I located the Berkley report after listening to a story yesterday on NPR that describes how numerous U.S. citizens were deported under the Secure Communities Program. In fact, according to this report a stunning 3,600 U.S. citizens have been arrested by ICE. From the NPR broadcast:

Stevens looked at about 8,000 cases in just two immigration detention facilities. She found that about 1 percent of the time, people were eventually let go because they were U.S. citizens. However, that meant the citizens were held between one week and four years in detention.

Stevens says that when members of Congress hear the figure is 1 percent, they think it's not bad.

"However, if we think about the magnitude of our deportation process, that means that thousands of U.S. citizens each year and tens of thousands in the course of a decade will be detained for substantial periods of time in absolute violation of the law and their civil rights," she says.

The NPR story tells how U.S. citizens were mistakenly deported to Mexico. The Berkley report states that thirty-nine percent of the aliens who were arrested have a U.S. citizen immediate relative.

Several states including New York, Massachusetts and Illinois wanted to opt out of the program, but DHS would not allow them to. From the report:

DHS declared that participation is compulsory for all jurisdictions nationwide; states and localities do not have the option to opt-out.21 Some counties have now begun using other mechanisms to limit ICE’s jail based enforcement programs, such as refusing to hold certain individuals on ICE detainers for transfer into immigration detention.

Another concern with the Secure Communities Program is the lack of due process afforded to detainees.
The report states:

Only those individuals who can pay for an attorney or who find a pro bono attorney have legal assistance during their proceedings. Even then, however, non-citizens in deportation proceedings face many barriers to accessing counsel, including locating coun- sel while in detention, collecting the needed paperwork for their case, and staying in contact with their attorney while they are in custody and being moved by ICE

The Berkley analysis recommends suspending Secure Communities until some safeguards and improvements are implemented and due process can be protected for affected individuals. Sounds like a sound plan.

Foreign Worker News

October 24, 2011

OCCUPY USCIS

The first day of Occupy USCIS went well according to organizers. Rabby Syed, President of the United Workers Movement said that despite the bad weather, dozens of foreign workers and supporters trickled in during the day to show support. At one point there were 60 participants. 

The foreign workers are staging a protest at the USCIS office to ask for parole-in-place until such time that the U.S. Congress acts on permanent residency status for the legal, long-term foreign workers.

Rabby said that there is coffee and donated snacks.  A tent was donated and more donated tents will be set up tomorrow.

The UWM will be staging OCCUPY USCIS until November 27, 2011.

 CNMI DOL's Message to Employers

A statement by the CNMI DOL is sure to get attention.  They warn employers not to “inflate qualifications” for job positions.

From the Marianas Variety:

Pangelinan said they noticed that some JVA’s include qualifications that are “too high” for the positions being announced.

He said CNMI Labor has developed a reporting system that will enforce applicable local labor laws against “over inflation of qualifying factors.”

If any employer is seen inflating the qualifications for jobs, Pangelinan said they will send notices to that company.

Will the CNMI DOL also be sending employers notices to tell them that their advertised wages are "too low" for the position being advertised? Advertised wages of $5.05 for a teacher, $5.05 for an radiation technician and other degreed positions are plain insulting.

IR Parole in Place Workshops are Online in Video Format

October 24, 2011

Micronesian Legal Services has posted 4 videos that showcase the workshop that Attorney Jane Mack conducted at American Memorial Park on USCIS parole in place for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens.

Thank you to Jane for making these videos available to the foreign workers who have a U.S. citizen spouse or child.

You can view these videos at the Marianas Office of the Micronesian Legal Services, Inc. Day in Court Website. (Click the links below)


Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

There is also a note of caution on the website:

Since we conducted this workshop we have heard two things of importance:

1. USCIS is not likely to grant parole-in-place to immediate relatives of US citizens unless the I-130 (or I-360 for abuse victims and widows/widowers) has been filed. Note, however, USCIS continues to be sympathetic to specific cases where extreme hardship exists caused by medical issues (handicapped or disabled individuals, special needs children).

2. If USCIS denies the parole-in-place application, it is likely to turn over the name and information about the foreign national to ICE. This means that removal proceedings will likely be filed against you more promptly than if you did not file the parole-in-place application.

Just a caution.

Why would  USCIS  hand over the denied applications to ICE? Is this an indication that the USCIS will take steps to remove aliens who have not committed criminal acts? I think that members of the U.S. Congress and officials should be notified of this. A spokesperson from ICE said that the Morton memo applies to the CNMI, as it should.  Therefore, no action should be taken to deport any alien from the CNMI who has not committed a criminal act. I am watching.

There is an extremely short two-month time frame for workers to determine the futures of themselves and their families. Many foreign workers are overwhelmed with stress and uncertainty. Will their employers petition for them or hire U.S. citizen workers? Will those who have recently been terminated locate a new employer? Where will those without jobs go since they have lived most of their adult lives in the CNMI and have no other "home" to return to?

If the Governor, Congressman Sablan, or anyone else would like the aliens who are not granted CW visas, other US visas or parole to leave the CNMI (In the case of Sablan he said he would tell the foreign workers who do not have a U.S. citizen immediate relative to "go home") then they should:

1. Ensure that employers who committed wage theft are prosecuted and victims are paid back all the money that is owed to them or otherwise made whole;

2. Push for green cards so that the legal, long-term foreign workers are finally freed, and if unemployed, they can relocate to the U.S. mainland to find work.

Show some humanity and justice. People should not be treated like commodities or yesterday's trash.

Fitial Proposes Leasing Islands to China

October 24, 2011

If nothing else, Governor Fitial has much success getting the CNMI spotlighted in the national and international news. Having his masseuse released from jail to give him a massage brought lots of media attention to the CNMI. Now the idea of leasing northern islands to China has made the international headlines.

Some news media covering the story are Bloomburg Businessweek: Northern Mariana Governor Offers to Lease Islands to China; Global Times: Northern Mariana Islands offers to lease land to China for investment; AFP:   U.S. Territory offers to lease land to China; and Business Recorder: US territory offers to lease land to China.

Bloomberg reported:

“If you are interested, I am offering these islands to China,” Governor Benigno Fitial told a group of Chinese governors and provincial Communist Party Secretaries at a conference in Beijing. “Lease these islands so that I can have enough financial resources to provide for more full employment for my people.”

. . .“We control the islands, the islands belong to us,” he said. “We have to make sure in the lease agreement that we won’t allow anything that will be military because we are under the U.S. government.”

Why is anyone even surprised? The same man previously leased the CNMI to China with his garment factory plan that was built on quicksand. Fitial and some others got very wealthy, but the economic boon for the CNMI was short-lived and scandal-ridden.

The Western Australian reported:

A spokesman for Fitial, Angel Demapan, said the governor wanted to do business with the Chinese to alleviate economic hardship.

Fitial pitched the Northern Marianas as a prime destination for Chinese tourism, real estate development, agricultural, education and technology investments.

In his statement, Fitial said the acting governor of the Chinese province of Yunnan, Li Jiheng, planned to make an exploratory visit to the islands, while Anhui Governor Wang Sanyun said he was committed to a partnership.

It seems that this governor is always looking outside of the CNMI for investors, when there is a goldmine beneath his feet.  The CNMI is beautiful and could be a top tourist destination if the place was cleaned up and tourist-related businesses were encouraged. Turning the empty Fiesta Mall into a state of the art cultural center would be a start.

By tapping into the talent of the people who are already in the CNMI, the economy could improve. Why are outside investors needed to push agriculture or aquaculture? Property taxes and sales tax could also help raise revenue.

Anyway, it would appear that the CNMI Legislature would have to approve any large-term lease, so can he really "offer these islands to China"? Can a governor even propose leasing an entire U.S. island to a foreign nation?  What about the National Marine Monument?

Bloomberg also reported that a State Department official at the conference wasn't sure of legal barriers:

U.S. State Department Under Secretary Robert Hormats said at the same conference that he hadn’t heard of such a proposal and didn’t know if there

This proposal may raise the eyebrows of U.S. officials. Perhaps the dispute in the South China Sea between the Philippines and China over the Spratly Islands claim should serve as a reminder of what could result if such a transaction were to be penned.

Morton Memo Applies to CNMI

October 23, 2011

USCIS Public information Officer Lori K. Haley confirmed that the Morton Memo, which addresses the deportation or removal of out of status aliens in the U.S., will be honored in the CNMI. (See these posts, Immigration Reform Moving Forward, DHS to Review 300,000 Deportations Cases)

The discretionary memo was released on June 17, 2011 by ICE Director John Morton.

The memo lists 19 humanitarian criteria that should be considered when deciding whether prosecutorial discretion should be applied:

• the agency’s civil immigration enforcement priorities;
• the person’s length of presence in the United States, with particular consideration given to presence while in lawful status;
• the circumstances of the person’s arrival in the United States and the manner of his or her entry, particularly if the alien came to the United States as a young child;
• the person’s pursuit of education in the United States, with particular consideration given to those who have graduated from a U.S. high school or have successfully pursued or are pursuing a college or advanced degrees at a legitimate institution of higher education in the United States;
• whether the person, or the person’s immediate relative, has served in the U.S. military, reserves, or national guard, with particular consideration given to those who served in combat;
• the person’s criminal history, including arrests, prior convictions, or outstanding arrest warrants;
• the person’s immigration history, including any prior removal, outstanding order of removal, prior denial of status, or evidence of fraud;
• whether the person poses a national security or public safety concern;
• the person’s ties and contributions to the community, including family relationships;
• the person’s ties to the home country and conditions in the country;
• the person’s age, with particular consideration given to minors and the elderly;
• whether the person has a U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse, child, or parent;
• whether the person is the primary caretaker of a person with a mental or physical disability, minor, or seriously ill relative;
• whether the person or the person’s spouse is pregnant or nursing;
• whether the person or the person’s spouse suffers from severe mental or physical illness;
• whether the person’s nationality renders removal unlikely;
• Whether the person is likely to be granted legal status or other relief from removal, including as a relative of a U.S. citizen or permanent resident;
• whether the person is likely to be granted temporary or permanent status or other relief from removal, including as an asylum seeker, or a victim of domestic violence, human trafficking, or other crime; and
• whether the person is currently cooperating or has cooperated with federal, state, or local law-enforcement authorities, such as ICE, the U.S Attorneys or Department of Justice, the Department of Labor, or National Labor Relations Board, among others.

The Morton Memo also lists specific classes of persons who should be given “particular care” when making prosecutorial decisions including:

• veterans and members of the U.S. armed forces;
• long-time lawful permanent residents;
• minors and elderly individuals;
• individuals present in the United States since childhood;
• pregnant or nursing women;
• victims of domestic violence, trafficking, or other serious crimes;
• individuals who suffer from a serious mental or physical disability; and
• individuals with serious health conditions.

If this memo is followed no long-term foreign worker should be removed from the CNMI. However, we also know that the CNMI has been treated differently than the U.S. mainland in regards to alien issues. While 11 million undocumented aliens have been included in Congressional immigration reform legislation, the 16,000 LEGAL aliens of the CNMI have been typically excluded or partially included in inferior legislation.

Haley was quoted in the Saipan Tribune:

“The memo you're referring to, which was issued by ICE Director John Morton in June 2010, provides guidance to ICE personnel agency-wide, including in the CNMI, about the agency's enforcement priorities. Specifically, ICE is focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement that prioritizes efforts to target those who present a risk to public safety or national security, along with criminal aliens and egregious immigration violators,” she said.

Haley also said that rumors of ICe turning an old garment factory into a detention center for overstayers was not true. The Tribune article stated:

Lori K. Haley, public affairs officer with ICE out of California, said ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations Division recently signed a contract to relocate its administrative offices on Saipan to a building that will better facilitate the division's day-to-day operations, but it will not have an overnight detention area.

“Like most law enforcement facilities, the new office will have secure space for interviewing and briefly holding individuals who are taken into custody by ICE. However, it will not have overnight detention space,” she told Saipan Tribune.

Haley said anyone arrested by ICE who is going to remain in the agency's custody for more than 12 hours will be transferred to ICE's existing contract detention center on Saipan. That center is operated by the CNMI Department of Corrections in Susupe.

Congressman Gutierrez: Actions Speak Louder Than Words

October 23, 2011

LEGAL, longterm foreign worker at
OCUPY USCIS RALLY, Saipan CNMI, US
photo by Itos Feliciano ©October 2011

I used to regard Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) as a hero for immigrants. I was one of his ardent supporters, following his speeches and involvement in the movement for immigration reform. He is an outspoken advocate for the DREAM Act and for comprehensive immigration reform.

In April 2011 Rep. Gutierrez even went on record as saying he may not support Obama in his bid for a second term because the President failed to deliver immigration reform during his first term.

But after co-sponsoring H.R. 1466, I no longer see Rep. Gutierrez as an immigration hero or true reformist. Rather, I regard him and the other so-called "immigration reform champions" that co-sponsored H.R. 1466 as hypocrites who cannot be trusted to advance the cause for all foreign workers and immigrants. They appear to be cut from the same cloth as the typical politicians who have taken our country away from the very ideals and principles upon which it was founded. They are no different from the politicians who use sound bites with constituents to ensure their re-elections, but will support their political allies even if the bill or position conflicts with the words that they mouth to the public. True statesmen put their words into actions and stand by their principles every time that they enter the Halls of Congress and every time the sign their name to legislation. True advocates stay true to their causes.

Yesterday Congressman Gutierrez was in Alabama where he spoke to a mass rally "for the basic rights of all people" against Alabama's anti-immigrant law. From the article:

Many speakers drew parallels between the legislation and the struggle for blacks' civil rights in the 1960s. 

Were it not for voices who fought for equality back then, Gutierrez said he and many others in Congress would not have a voice today. "We intend to do justice with that voice," he said.

Yes, he is absolutely right. Many of us also see clear parallels between H.R. 1466 and the post-Civil War Black Codes that proposes restricting travel and maintaining disenfranchisement for only 4,000 of the 16,000 legal, long-term aliens currently in the CNMI. Under the Slave Codes, Black Codes, P.L. 17-1 and H.R.1466 people are viewed as labor units, instruments or tools to fuel the economy, rather than as human beings deserving of human and civil rights. So wrong, so un-American.

Why, if Rep. Gutierrez supports a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented (illegal) aliens does he not support the same for the estimated 16,000 legal aliens in the CNMI? His action is especially hypocritical since he attacked President Obama for what he perceived as his failures to deliver to the undocumented immigrants.

In May 2009 I participated in an Immigration Roundtable with members of the Hispanic, Progressive and Asian Pacific American Caucuses. The central message that continually repeated was, "We must not attach isolated reform measures to bills that would address only one issue in a piece meal fashion. Rather, we need to pass comprehensive immigration reform that embraces all immigration issues including the DREAM Act, visa issues and even CNMI green cards for nonresidents." So how did these members –Gutierrez, Napolitano, Velazquez, Baca, Honda, Grijalva, Gonzalez, Chu, and others– come to betray the legal foreign workers of the CNMI? These immigration champions should be the ones supporting permanent residency for and a pathway to citizenship for the CNMI's 16,000 legal, long-term foreign workers.

In a press release regarding the unjust, un-American Alabama law, the Congressman stated:

"When people are scared to send U.S. citizen kids to school because a state has asserted its alleged right to sow discrimination and division, there is something very wrong in America. When local governments deny access to water unless you can prove your status, when judges say you can only press charges against an abusive husband if you are willing to be deported, when a law turns neighbor against neighbor, we have to shine a spotlight on it and say: this is not America."

I absolutely agree, and I would add this:

When legal foreign workers can live and work on U.S. soil for 5, 10, 20, 30 or more years and then be excluded from any legislation that would provide a pathway to citizenship to illegals aliens, then this is not America. When legal foreign workers are divided and discriminated against for not having a U.S.citizen spouse or child, then this is not America. When legal, long-term foreign workers are disenfranchised even after 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 or more years, then this is not America. When so-called immigration reformists support legislation that would restrict travel for a legal, foreign worker then this is not America. When members of Congress can propose a better status for undocumented aliens than for legal aliens than this is not America.

See also this post and H.R. 1466 Cosponsor Must Explain!