INS must not condition reimbursement

The US Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) has conditioned how reimbursement of local funds of nearly $1 million could be spent. The condition reportedly states that the reimbursement is a grant and the local government is required to write a letter to the feds acknowledging receipt of grant at the end of the year.

The delay in reimbursement goes to illustrate once more the sterling ineptitude of INS in dealing with insular areas. It wants to call reimbursement of local funds a “grant”, meaning, it is federal funds from the outset being given to the CNMI to defray expenses of anticipated arrival of the Boat People.

INS wasn’t anywhere in sight when the first Boat People were diverted to Tinian. Neither was it equipped with funds and other requisite resources to take control of disposition of the Boat People from the outset. But the CNMI was there spending locally generated revenue and resources despite substantial contraction of its economy.

For the well paid counsels and staff of INS, to “reimburse” as defined by Dr. Webster means “to pay back (an equivalent for something…expended) to someone”: repay. INS wasn’t prepared for these costs when the Boat People were diverted from Guam to Tinian. We had no choice but to abide by the request of President Clinton to assist them with the understanding that we will be repaid for all our expenses.

The CNMI doesn’t deserve such federal bureaucratic snafu and perhaps the arrival of the next Boat People ought to be allowed a happy landing in our southern neighbor. Guam is under the jurisdiction of the INS and must therefore resolve to handle and dispose of the Boat People henceforth. INS’s inability to even comprehend the definition of “reimbursement” tells a lot of why this agency is known nationally as the most “inefficient” and “ineffective” arm of the federal government.

The CNMI isn’t asking for additional federal funds. We only want what’s rightfully ours from the outset free to dispose of it anyway we want to. After all, it’s our money and we sure need every penny of it to muddle through these difficult economic times. Too, we sincerely hope that INS and other federal agencies would demonstrate their agility in future handling of the Boat People. It must deal with the Government of Guam in all future arrivals of the Boat People from the Republic of China. Si Yuus Maase`!