Previous Story
Teno backs tighter entry requirements for alien workers
|
Posted on Sep 13 1999
Saying it will comply with the guidelines of the U.S. State Department, Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio has thrown support behind a legislative proposal seeking to establish a Washington-approved list of hospitals and agencies that will screen alien workers entering the Northern Marianas.
But he said he would still review the measure recently passed by the Legislature before signing it into law to determine whether its provisions promote his policy towards nonresident workers on the island.
“We are in support of the measure because we want to make sure that those people who are coming in should not only have communicable diseases, but also have clean criminal records,” Tenorio said in an interview last week before leaving for Washington D.C.
The governor, along with key administration officials, members of the Legislature and business leaders, are attending this week’s scheduled oversight hearings called by the U.S. House Resources Committee as well as its Senate counterpart.
The proposed law on pre-screening requirements on nonresident workers may be brought up during the House hearing as it was one of the recommendations broached by Manase Mansur, chief aide to Committee Chairman Don Young (R-Alaska), during his recent visit to the CNMI.
Patterned after existing policy of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, the legislation is part of the reform measures in a bid by the island government to block attempts in Congress to strip local authority over its labor and immigration standards.
Under Senate Bill 11-153 offered by Senate Floor Leader Pete P. Reyes, the local Department of Labor and Immigration will draw up the list of clinics, hospitals and other agencies to issue health certificate and do character background on contract workers seeking a job here.
This list must include all those already approved by the State Department, the Department of Justice and INS “for comparable purposes” and others that may be sanctioned by federal officials.
It is intended to lessen fraudulent health certificates and criminal background checks being obtained in foreign countries, which has drawn concerns of both federal and local officials.
