Federalization task force meets to draft proposals

The Legislature’s federalization task force is crafting recommendations to the U.S. government to address the so-called “unintended consequences” of the CNMI’s new immigration law.

The recently created task force, made up of members from the Senate and House of Representatives, met with Delegate-elect Gregorio Kilili Sablan, Immigration Director Melvin Grey, and attorneys Bruce Mailman and Maya Kara to discuss the potential impact of immigration federalization to the Commonwealth’s workforce and individual community members.

Some of the key issues raised during the meeting are the consequences that the new rules might have for the immediate alien relatives of U.S. and Freely Associated States citizens, for the guest workers who must meet certain income criteria to secure temporary work visas, and for the permanent foreign residents and retirees.

Rep. Diego T. Benavente, chairman of the House Committee on Federal and Foreign Relations, said the task force will draft several resolutions proposing ways the U.S. Department of Homeland Security could address these issues. The DHS is currently writing the regulations to implement the immigration law.

“We acknowledge the fact that we can only do so much as members of the Legislature to influence the regulations. However, we also cannot just sit back and wait for the federal government to release the regulations. We need to be proactive,” said Benavente.

He added that the task force is encouraged by the U.S. government’s seeming acceptance of the CNMI’s request for special consideration for foreign investors in the Commonwealth. The DHS recently disclosed its intent to create a new visa classification to help foreign investors in the CNMI as they prepare to convert from the local system to the federalized system.

Yet, Benavente also noted that the task force must get its work done fast, as the new immigration policy goes into effect in six months.

The task force was created through a joint Senate and House resolution, which expresses the Legislature’s desire “to be an informed participant, in collaboration with concerned public and private entities, in the development of [U.S. Public Law] 110-229 regulations at they pertain to the CNMI.”

The job of the task force is to conduct public hearings, make official inquiries on federalization, and keep the Legislature informed of any development on the drafting of the regulations.