Water sports company, four workers file $1M suit vs immigration officials

A water sports company and its four alien workers have filed a $1 million lawsuit in federal court against Division of Immigration Services acting director Antonio Sablan and immigration investigator Richard T. Lizama over the alleged illegal arrest of the workers.

Auto Marine Inc. and its Filipino employees Rolando Senoran, Benjamin T. Santos, Augosto Santos, and Normandy Santos, asked the U.S. District Court for the NMI to order Sablan and Lizama to pay them damages.

The plaintiffs, through counsel G. Anthony Long, sought for an order declaring as unconstitutional and unenforceable a statute on which the Immigration officials relied on for the arrest of the four.

Auto Marines engages in water sport activities such as parasailing, banana boat rides, and scuba diving.

Senoran has been working for Auto Marine since 2002. Since 2003, he has been employed as a diving manager. In July 2002, Senoran was licensed by the U.S. Coast Guard as a U.S. merchant officer, according to Long.

Long said Senoran’s license, which will expire in 2007, allowed him to operate uninspected and undocumented passenger vessels upon coastal waters.

Benjamin Santos has been employed with the company since 1999. His employment contract expressly allowed him to operate or drive a boat or boats and vehicles as necessary.

Augosto Santos has been employed with the company since 2004. His contract permitted him to operate a boat or boats as necessary.

Nomandy Santos has been working with the company since 2001.

Long stated that on Feb. 14, 2005, the four workers were arrested for allegedly violating a Commonwealth law by operating a boat owned by Auto Marine.

The statute provides that “the Director of Labor shall not approve nonresident worker certificates for the following job classifications; taxi cab driver, secretary, bookkeeper, accounting clerk, messenger, receptionist, surface tour boat operator, bus driver, including tour bus driver, and telephone switchboard operator.”

At the time, Long said, Senoran was employed as a diving manager, Benjamin Santos as manager, Augosto Santos as helper mechanic, and Normandy Santos as transportation engineer.

Deportation proceedings have been instituted against the four on the basis of the alleged violation of the statute.

On Sept. 6, 2005 criminal charges were instituted against Auto Marine’s president, Adonis Santos, for employing the four aliens.

But Long said that between Jan. 3, 2005 and Feb. 14, 2005, the four workers possessed valid employment contracts with Auto Marine approved by the Labor director.

The arrests of four and the criminal charges filed against Adonis Santos has disrupted Auto Marine’s business and has caused it to suffer harm and injury, the lawyer said.

The statute, Long asserted, is unenforceable on its face as it violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

He said DIS had a policy, custom, pattern, and practice of arresting and seeking deportation of aliens who were lawfully in the Commonwealth and lawfully employed in the CNMI but who allegedly were operating a boat as part of their employment or operating a motor vehicle as part of their employment.

Sablan and Lizama authorized, condoned, and acquiesced in this DIS policy, he said.

Long said Lizama, together with others, conspired between and among themselves to directly or indirectly use Lizama’s position to disrupt Auto Marine’s business.

As part of this conspiracy, Lizama would target Auto Marine’s alien employees, he said.

Long cited that Lizama omitted material information in submitting his declaration for the arrest warrant of the four workers.

Upon information and belief, he had ulterior motives in seeking the arrest warrant of the four, he said.