Refugee regs create uproar

The Attorney General’s Office is arranging for an unlimited number of Vietnamese human trafficking victims to stay in the Commonwealth for a possibly indefinite period, it was learned yesterday.

Regulations being promulgated by the AGO would create a Safe Haven Entry Permit to be issued to human trafficking and forced prostitution victims, particularly ethnic Vietnamese living in Cambodia.

The permit would be limited to children between 8 and 16 years old who are sponsored by a non-profit entity dedicated to rescuing victims of human trafficking and sexual slavery.

The application requirements include the name and date of birth of the child (if available); copies of any available travel documents belonging to the child; copies of any other identifying paperwork belonging to the child; and any available health information pertaining to the child.

Also required are an affidavit, sworn to by a senior officer of the sponsoring organization, describing the circumstance of how contact with the child was made, how the child was removed from Cambodia, and any places the child traveled en route from Cambodia to the CNMI; and an affidavit of full financial support from the sponsoring group.

Initial permits would be issued for a 90-day period, but they may be renewed indefinitely at the attorney general’s discretion. A holder of such permit may also eventually transfer to foreign student immigration status.

The proposed regulations do not set a limit for the number of individuals who may avail of the permit.

The AGO published the proposed regulations in the Nov. 25, 2005 edition of the Commonwealth Register. The regulations are now undergoing a 30-day comment period.

At least two senators and one incoming member of the House of Representatives are opposed to the AGO’s plan.

Senators Pete P. Reyes and Joseph M. Mendiola wrote the governor on Wednesday, requesting him to stop the adoption of the regulations.

Reyes and Mendiola said the public had been kept in the dark about the issue. They noted that the proposal had been concealed from elected legislator and the public. It was not even posted on the AGO’s website, they said.

The senators added that the proposal was poorly planned and vague. The regulations, they noted, did not require a birth certificate or passport to ensure compliance with the age restriction.

The regulations state that a holder who violates the terms and conditions of the permit or any CNMI law will be deported. The problem, the senators said, was that no country would accept a deportee if she did not have identity papers.

They also pointed out that the regulations, by not setting a bond amount for the each refugee, would allow the AGO to require the posting of a one-cent bond as security.

The senators asked whether the AGO considered the additional burden that hosting human trafficking victims would cause the Commonwealth Health Center and the Public School System.

Furthermore, the senators said the scheme might be a violation of the Covenant. “While the CNMI controls its own immigration, it seems to us that allowing citizens and/or subjects of foreign nations to take residency in the CNMI in these circumstances may be meddling in foreign affairs,” they said.

In an interview yesterday, Reyes accused Attorney General Pamela S. Brown of having a personal interest in the project. Brown is reportedly eyeing a management-level job with a potential “safe haven” organization.

The United States International Mission, an international non-profit human rights agency, reportedly presented the safe haven concept to the CNMI.

“We are not insensitive to the needs of the exploited children. Our hearts go out them. They deserve a better life. But we have enough problems of our own. We cannot afford to do this until thorough review has been done. [Moreover,] the sneaky manner that the AGO is promulgating these regulations is suspect,” Reyes said.

Incoming Rep. Cinta Kaipat, who was present during the interview, said there was no debate if the AGO’s intention was right or wrong. However, she said, the AGO’s primary obligation should be the welfare of the people of the Commonwealth.

“We can only imagine the problems we can get from this. We should be mindful of what we can handle. It will be harder to repatriate those people once they are here. Before we bring them in, we should think first of the jobless nonresidents workers who are running around the island because employers have closed their businesses. We should think of the local people who do not have jobs. We should think of the state of our education and health care system. As generous as we are as a people, we cannot look away and not examine this,” Kaipat said.

In a statement emailed to the media, Brown denied any attempts at concealing the project from the public.

According to her, the original group that presented the concept to the CNMI had briefed Gov.-elect Benigno R. Fitial, senators, representatives, and Executive Branch officials on the project. “Unfortunately, it appears they forgot to speak to Reyes,” she said.

She added that the proposal had the approval of the State Department, the John Hopkins Protection Project, and the Helsinki Commission, which is the leading agency in the global project to stop human trafficking.

“I support this safe haven project because of the humanitarian needs for it, because it opens up avenues for federal grant funding to properly implement the CNMI’s anti-trafficking laws, and because it will prove to the federal government and other critics of the CNMI control of its own immigration that we can serve an extremely valuable role that is presently unmet,” Brown explained.

On Reyes’ accusation regarding a potential job for her with a safe haven group, Brown said, “I hesitate to even offer a comment since he [Reyes] has made a career of attacking me personally,” Brown said.

Nevertheless, she added, “As for any government employment with refugee protection or any other type of immigration job as a payoff for helping victims of human trafficking, he is dead wrong and suffers from an overactive imagination.”

According to Brown, the importance of the project and Reyes’ attacks on all her efforts have compelled her to assign all review, adoption, and implementation of the regulations regarding safe haven to her deputy, Clyde Lemons.

“I do not want this project mired in the mud slinging that typifies Sen. Reyes’ hatred of me, personally,” the attorney general said.

In a phone interview, Brown said Reyes should submit comments on the regulations if he had any concerns regarding their legality.

“The regulations are out for comments. It is a proposal. If someone has a problem with taking care of victims of human trafficking, then they should put their comments in. If Sen. Reyes thinks something is being done illegally or inappropriately, he should submit his comments,” she said.

Reyes has started a signature drive against the safe haven regulations. He said he would submit his comments, along with the signatures, as soon as he got the support of at least 100 individuals.

People interested in signing the petition may contact his office at 664-8887, he said.