DOLI launches new tracking system BMS aims to curb overstayers, undesirable aliens

Local immigration officials unveiled yesterday a new tracking system at each ports of entry which they said would screen undesirable aliens, including those in the watch list, and trace those who have overstayed on the islands.

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio and members of the media were briefed at the Saipan International Airport on the features of the so-called Border Management Systems (BMS) that is part of the Labor and Immigration Identification System or LIIDS.

The state-of-the-art system is computer software for border and immigration control. It records passport and vital information about arrivals and departures of the people passing through the entry ports, according to officials.

It was designed by Australian company Natural Systems whose principal David Coombe set up the CNMI system. Similar system was put in place by the firm in Laos and is expected to be installed in another Pacific island, Mr. Coombe said.

Mark D. Zachares, secretary of the Department of Labor and Immigration, said the BMS is a final step of the immigration reforms implemented by the Tenorio administration.

The efforts are aimed at convincing the federal government that CNMI can handle its own labor and immigration laws as provided under the Covenant that established the islands as U.S. commonwealth.

“This system will be the envy in the Pacific… and around the world,” the DOLI chief said during a demonstration of how the system works.

Accurate and faster

BMS allows immigration officers to accurately screen visitors and workers coming into the CNMI at a much faster pace, particularly those holding machine-readable passports, said LIIDS coordinator Tommy A. Torres.

Passport of Korean and Japanese citizens, who account for the largest group of tourists on the islands, are compatible with the system, permitting them to quickly clear immigration counter, officials said.

Those from the Philippines, China and some from Hong Kong have yet been equipped with the machine-readable capability, but the immigration officers will manually check the information in the computer before they are allowed entry.

Division of Immigration Director Antonio P. Sablan stressed the manual system that had been eliminated with the implementation of BMS is a “slow and tedious” process.

He said, however, those with questionable information on their passports or who hold a not machine-readable document will be separated from the rest to facilitate clearance of others in the immigration counter.

Watch list

A special feature of BMS is the inclusion of information on the watch list that keeps track of aliens who are wanted for serious crimes, such as drug trafficking, or who are barred from entry.

According to Mr. Zachares, the department will hook up with federal agencies, such as the Immigration and Naturalization Service, as well as Interpol to boost the ability of the CNMI to keep away undesirable aliens.

Because it also records departures, he said aliens who are overstaying can be traced easily and their number can be established much more accurately.

“We will be able to use it as an effective law enforcement tool,” the DOLI secretary added.

Funded through a $1.5 million grant from the Office of Insular Affairs, the computerized tracking system is a component of LIIDS which the CNMI government vouched in 1995 to improve handling of local immigration.

Some U.S. lawmakers and federal officials have cited the archaic system at the ports of entry here as reason to extend federal immigration laws to the islands.

DOLI installed BMS at the Saipan airport last month, while Rota and Tinian are set to have their system set up by December, according to officials. Local immigration officers have undergone extensive training to adapt to the new system.