‘Immigration not confident over SU’s application’

From the very beginning, the CNMI’s Immigration division was doubtful about Saipan University’s application to bring in students from China, said acting immigration director Antonio P. Sablan.

Sablan, a prosecution witness in a federal court case against SU founder Soon Kyung Park, said he knew that no such Saipan University or Tinian University facilities existed in the CNMI.

“It’s not there. Since day one we challenged them to prove to us you’re a legitimate institution… We’re not convinced that Tinian University was there,” he said.

He said that even when the TU provisional license was later transferred to SU, the immigration was not comfortable about issuance of permits for students’ entry to the CNMI.

“We took a tour of the (SU) facility (in As Lito) and there’s nothing there that convinced me it’s ready to accept students – filthy room, rundown kitchen, barracks next to the classroom. There were no books. There’s a shelf with a few books. There were no curriculum materials. Faculty was another concern,” Sablan told the court during a direct examination of U.S. Assistant Attorney Patrick Smith.

Sablan further said that while the State Board of Regents granted the institution a provisional license, he felt that “it’s not good enough.”

He said he was concerned that many foreign nationals would be flooding the CNMI.

He said that when SU, locally represented by its consultant, former Northern Marianas College president Agnes McPhetres, finally received a learning designation status from the Attorney General’s Office, then he began processing its student authorization to board applications.

Sablan said that of 135 ATB applicants, he had rejected 44.

During his testimony, Sablan also said that the immigration had clearly told SU representatives that foreign students cannot work in the CNMI.

Sablan’s testimony boosted the prosecution’s case against Park, who faces fraud charges over his alleged illegal recruitment in China, misrepresentation, among others.

Earlier, former SU president Jullie Ulloa, who resigned from her post due to SU’s unresolved problems, testified that SU was not ready to operate as an academic institution.

She said that SU lacked operational funds, instructional materials, library resources, and other several other basic needs.

This despite the fact that Park had allegedly collected $5,000 to $10,000 each from Chinese students.

Nearly 100 students arrived on Saipan last year. About 80 of them remain on island to pursue their case against Park.

Meantime, Park, who is represented by Saipan lawyers Pedro Atalig and Joseph Arriola, has consistently shown calmness while listening to the testimonies by prosecution witnesses.