Lawmakers slam door on safe haven

The Legislature has shut its doors on the safe haven proposal, despite efforts by the proponents to gain legislative support for the plan.

The House of Representatives yesterday followed the Senate’s lead in adopting a resolution opposing the plan to amend laws and regulations to allow for the implementation of the safe haven program.

The lawmakers adopted the Senate Joint Resolution 15-05 following a revived attempt by the United States International Mission Saipan at getting the program implemented.

USIM Saipan seeks to rescue ethnic Vietnamese children who were sold to prostitution in Cambodia and bring them to the Commonwealth via Thailand. Once the CNMI, the children will undergo rehabilitation in a safe haven established by the organization.

USIM Saipan, led by its president David Sablan Jr., made a presentation before the Legislature on March 8, 2006.

“The United States International Mission Saipan’s proposal, while well-intentioned, is presently unworkable in that it fails to account for many uncertainties,” reads a portion of the resolution authored by Sen. Pete Reyes, the most vocal critic of the plan.

The resolution noted that one of the many problems in the proposal was that it would allow the children to enter the Commonwealth without a passport issued by a recognized government. Rather, the children would be issued so-called “world passports.” Such passports, USIM Saipan reportedly admits in advertising materials, are not recognized by the United States, Vietnam, and Cambodia.

“It would be the height of irresponsibility and a complete abdication of the government’s duty to protect the health, welfare and safety of the people of the CNMI if we were to authorize the entry of persons in the circumstances proposed by the [USIM Saipan] without valid identification and travel documents,” the resolution stated.

It further noted that the people, in the Dec. 29, 2005 hearing, already expressed their resounding opposition to the plan.

“[The] Commonwealth government should accept the publicly stated will of the people and act in accordance of the wishes of the people we were elected to serve,” the resolution said.

USIM maintains that the safe haven plan would be implemented at no cost to the Commonwealth.

As of their presentation at the Legislature, USIM-Saipan has spent $100,000 preparing for the project. The organization has reportedly leased a property in Kagman II that would serve as shelter and school for the Vietnamese children once they had been rescued from Cambodia. The group has also started furnishing the space.