First civil rights conference in NMI kicks off

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Districts of Guam and the NMI kicked off yesterday a two-day civil rights conference in the CNMI at the Saipan Grand Hotel’s Seaside Hall.

Barbara Kay Bosserman, senior legal counsel/professional responsibility officer for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, talked about Matthew Shepard and the James Byrd Jr. Hate Crime Prevention Act and bias motivated or hate crimes. She also talked about civil rights cases and human trafficking.
Today, Friday, the trainers include Tracey Bardorf, special adviser for Mexico and Border Matters of the U.S. Customs and Enforcement; Amy Newman, attorney adviser for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the General Counsel; and David Gulick, DHS U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Honolulu District director.

They will be discussing immigration laws and processes, immigration benefits, and investigation and prosecution of immigration related cases.

U.S. Attorney for the Districts of Guam and NMI Alicia A.G. Limtiaco told Saipan Tribune that not one agency can address these type of issues by itself so they are working as a multi-disciplinary approach. She said they have invited people from law enforcement, victims services groups, social services, the medical community, faith-based organizations, and governmental and non-governmental organizations to take part in the training.

“We are also looking at Pacific regional approach to combating these crimes, including human trafficking. We have very unique challenges and issues given our locations [and] our limited resources,” she said.

Limtiaco said it is very important for the Pacific island neighbors and communities to collaborate, work together and share resources in how to address human trafficking in the region.
With respect to hate crimes, Limtiaco said the conference is of particular importance here as there are tensions in the community between ethnic racial groups.

“It is very important that we get the public awareness raised about federal laws that exist to protect each and everyone of us against threats, assaults, and in most tragic of circumstances, being killed simply because of who a person is,” she said.

Limtiaco said the Hate Crime Prevention Act, which was enacted in 2009, is intended to protect the human dignity of every person, protect them from being harmed or killed simply because of who they are.

“No person deserves being harmed or killed because of their national origin, because of their ethnicity, because of their culture, because of their religious affiliations or because of gender identity or sexual orientations,” she said.
Limtiaco encouraged the community to report any violations or situations that are hate- or bias-motivated.