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HOSTING OF ILLEGAL ALIENS MOA to expedite reimbursement of CNMI expenses
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Posted on Sep 28 1999
The CNMI government will sign a memorandum of agreement with the U.S. Department of Interior to expedite payment for services provided to more than 600 illegal Chinese immigrants the Commonwealth hosted on Tinian, according to Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio.
But he is still reviewing provisions of the MOA that was handed over to CNMI officials during a recent trip to Washington D.C. where they attended congressional hearings.
“We have little concerns about the wording of the MOA,” he told reporters. “We are ready to submit our concerns to the Interior department so that they could expedite the reimbursement on the expenses.”
Tenorio, however, said he had been reassured by federal officials that the “money is forthcoming” to reimburse the first batch of billings and charges turned over to DOI which amounted to $750,000.
These expenditures covered the initial wave of undocumented aliens sent to Tinian by U.S. authorities between April and June. The Commonwealth government has yet to tally other costs incurred when another boatload of 151 Chinese stayed on the island last month.
Expenditures for reimbursement included overtime pay for local personnel stationed on Tinian to assist federal immigration agents and officials, meal provision for the Chinese as well as rental of buses used to transport them to the airport and other charges.
The island government had decided to assist the White House in accommodating the wave of boat people attempting to enter Guam in an effort to deal with the worsening immigration crisis on the neighboring island.
