Hawaii legislators urge US House to pass takeover bill • Rep. Babauta invites Hawaiian counterparts to see first hand CNMI’s conditions

State legislators in Hawaii have filed a resolution urging the U.S. House of Representatives to act swiftly on legislation that will extend federal immigration laws to the CNMI to correct what they described as continuous abuse on foreign workers here.

At least 15 House members of the 20th Legislature of Hawaii signed the measure when it was introduced on March 15, and is now under review by the Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee, according to CNMI officials.

But a CNMI lawmaker criticized the move, saying it is premised on “sensationalistic media reports of indentured slavery” on the island that has been rectified through reforms and private sector initiatives.

House Floor Leader Oscar M. Babauta said the Hawaii measure runs contrary to the “true sentiments” of the indigenous people and urged the committee to visit the island to see working conditions here.

The resolution noted with alarm recent efforts in the Commonwealth to reform local labor laws, including the lifting of the ban on the hiring of guest workers coming from neighboring Asian countries.

It also cited reports of labor abuses and human rights violations in garment and other industries in the CNMI which its sponsors compared to social and political conditions in South Africa at the height of apartheid policy.

House Resolution 123 described conditions in the CNMI as “encouraging racist psychology in the local indigenous population.”

Noting the passage of a bill in the U.S. Senate seeking federal takeover of local immigration, it criticized the CNMI government for allegedly opening its doors to more foreign workers.

This shows a “total lack of good faith and good intentions,” stated the resolution.

S. 1052, offered by Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Chair Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska), Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) and Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), was passed last month and is now under consideration by the House in Washington.

It will seek full application of U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Act to the CNMI over a nine-year transition period. Under the present system, local immigration is not subject to federal laws as part of its Covenant agreement with the United States government.

In defense

Mr. Babauta, however, defended the island from such accusations, noting the strides made in recent years to improve working conditions of guest workers in the CNMI.

“It would seem prudent though that your committee visit the Northern Marianas to see first hand realistic conditions in our apparel industry and compare them based on hard facts versus sensationalistic articles so written to permanently ruin one of the two major economic sectors in the CNMI,” he said in a letter to Rep. Eric
Hamakawa, chair of Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs.

“It would seem most appropriate too that island leaders in the Pacific work towards mutual goals in advancing the livelihood of their constituencies over hurtful and regressive measures,” added the CNMI representative.

Commonwealth officials and business leaders have opposed S. 1052 because of its devastating impact on the local economy which relies on foreign manpower due to limited resident labor pool.

It is the first legislation that passed one chamber of Congress tackling amendments to the Covenant, the 20-year old accord that guarantees self-governing status for the Northern Marianas.

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio has implemented several reform measures in the last two years, including the labor moratorium, in an effort to appease Washington, but these have largely been ignored by the federal government.