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Illegal aliens worry Teno
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Posted on May 12 1999
Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio yesterday expressed concern over the wave of diversion of hundreds of illegal Chinese immigrants to Tinian, as he underscored the need to weigh future transfer of undocumented aliens to avoid overcrowding at the temporary holding facility.
Eighty-four more Chinese illegals were brought to the San Jose Harbor in the island municipality Saturday by the US Coast Guard after a fishing vessel carrying them was interdicted before it could reach Guam.
This new batch brings to close to 500 the Chinese nationals hosted temporarily by the Commonwealth, or nearly half of the population of Tinian.
Streams of Chinese nationals, believed to be victims of human smuggling, have flooded Hagatna in search for better jobs and greener pastures, but their influx have filled the US Pacific territory’s immigration holding centers that has forced authorities to divert the illegals to Tinian.
“The concern that I raised is whether we can still accommodate those undocumented aliens to be diverted to Tinian,” said the governor, who in the past had called the attention of US authorities for possible health and security risks the presence of these illegal aliens may pose to the community.
Tenorio said the passengers of the last two boats brought to Tinian were sheltered in a warehouse.
He said he hoped that the US Immigration and Naturalization Service would begin repatriation of the first batch of Chinese illegals to avert possible overcrowding problem in Northfield, where a “tent city” was built to house the undocumented aliens.
“We want to make sure that we have enough facility for those people…because there’s so many undocumented aliens now. If they continue to divert (ships) to Tinian, we need a facility that can accommodate them,” he said.
At the same time, Tenorio has tasked Finance Secretary Lucy Nielsen to come up with a financial report detailing the expenses incurred by the local government in housing the Chinese nationals.
CNMI has agreed to accommodate the illegals on condition that the federal government shoulders all the expenses in accommodating the Chinese until they are repatriated.
