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Benedetto: Homeland Security is prepared to get the job done
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Posted on May 22 2008
Based on his recent meetings with various federal agencies in Washington D.C., Federal Ombudsman Jim Benedetto said he is convinced that the Department of Homeland Security is prepared to get the job done with respect to extending federal control of NMI’s immigration.
In an e-mail to Saipan Tribune, Benedetto said the people that he met with at the Department of Homeland Security are very motivated and sensitive to the vulnerability of the CNMI’s economy.
“They seem to have a good sense of what they need to accomplish in the next 12 months,” said the official, who is currently in D.C.
He said he is in Washington D.C. for meetings with various federal agencies on their plans to implement Public Law 110-229 or the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008—the law that extends the Immigration and Nationality Act to the islands.
Benedetto said he went to D.C. to offer the Office of Insular Affairs’ assistance to other agencies in meeting their challenges in the year to come.
He said he conveyed the message from several members of the NMI Legislature that the people of the Commonwealth are eager to assist them in the drafting of regulations and to have maximum input in the discussions about how to implement the new law.
The Department of Homeland Security personnel were very supportive of the idea, the ombudsman said.
Included in their discussions was the need for NMI employers to have access to alien workers in segments of the economy that continue to utilize alien workers to supplement the resident workforce.
Benedetto said also discussed how critical it is for the CNMI to have the ability to hang on to the Chinese and Russian tourist markets.
He said there was a discussion on the surveying of current Division of Immigration employees who may wish to be recruited for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Benedetto said he had the privilege early this week of briefing Gov. Benigno Fitial and OIA Director Nikolao Pula about the meetings with Homeland Security.
“They were very interested in the progress that has been made thus far,” he said.
