Pula: Still much work to be done

The lead official for Washington’s relationships with insular areas says the Commonwealth should not lose sight of pressing economic issues while the new immigration system is being implemented.

Nikolao Pula, the acting deputy assistant secretary for insular affairs, said that after the passage of the “federalization” bill, there is still a lot of work ahead for the federal agencies and the local government to implement the legislation.

Meantime, he said, “we must keep in mind the CNMI’s pressing need for basic essential services like power, water, energy, health, education, law enforcement, including critical incentives to help its economy.”

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday took the final legislative step in applying federal immigration law to the Northern Marianas and granting the CNMI non-voting delegate to the U.S. House.

The bill now heads to the White House, where the president is expected to act on the bill within 10 days of receiving it.

Pula, in an e-mail to the Saipan Tribune, recalled that the Bush administration testified before Congress in support of the original legislation.

While the bill has been controversial, Pula said he believes everyone would back the opportunity to have a delegate in Congress.

“The Department of the Interior has been a strong advocate of a CNMI delegate. It would have been a wonderful opportunity if the CNMI have had a delegate to the U.S. Congress in the wake of the recent hearings dealing with issues that were of critical importance to its development. Thus, establishing the delegate position by the U.S. Congress is a monumental and historic step for the Commonwealth,” he said.

But he also acknowledged that not all segments of the CNMI community might feel the same way about different provisions of the bill. He implied that those concerns might be addressed through the regulations that are still to be drafted.

“It is important to note that after this significant action by the Congress, there is still much work to be done by federal agencies and the CNMI to implement this legislation,” said Pula.

The CNMI’s economic problems will be taken into consideration, he added.

The CNMI government and local businesses have opposed the bill. Employers fear that Washington would be restrictive in allowing guest workers into the Commonwealth. They say the loss of foreign skilled, but cheap labor could threaten their businesses, which are now struggling because of the economic crisis on the islands.