{"id":11162,"date":"2011-11-12T06:46:18","date_gmt":"2011-11-12T06:46:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newspaper.ctsi-logistics.com\/?p=11162"},"modified":"2011-11-12T06:46:18","modified_gmt":"2011-11-12T06:46:18","slug":"hr-1466-now-has-better-chance-to-pass-this-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/hr-1466-now-has-better-chance-to-pass-this-year\/","title":{"rendered":"HR 1466 now has ‘better chance’ to pass this year"},"content":{"rendered":"
Fitial concerned about IRs of US citizens who could lose status<\/div>\n
By Haidee V. Eugenio
\nReporter<\/div>\n

Delegate Gregorio Kilili Sablan (Ind-MP) said yesterday his bill seeking a grant of \u201cCNMI-only\u201d resident status to four groups of aliens \u201cnow has a better chance\u201d of passing-at least in the U.S. House of Representatives-compared to a month or so ago because of growing understanding about the bill’s intent, welcome news to those covered by the measure.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Gov. Benigno R. Fitial said yesterday he is also concerned about the immediate relatives of U.S. citizens who have yet to apply for a change of status because of financial difficulties and who could lose status after Nov. 27.<\/p>\n

Fitial said this is one \u201cgray\u201d area he wants clarification.<\/p>\n

He said one of the main objectives of the federalization law is to help develop and train the local workforce \u201cso in order to do this, we need to weed out all illegal nonresidents, illegal employees.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sablan, the CNMI’s nonvoting delegate to U.S. Congress, said \u201cthere’s movement\u201d on his H.R. 1466.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re working on it. The chance of the bill passing today is much better than it was a month ago,\u201d Sablan said in an interview at the 2011 Veterans Day ceremony at American Memorial Park yesterday.<\/p>\n

Sablan introduced H.R. 1466 in April with four original co-sponsors, a number that has since grown to 48 \u201cbecause people are beginning to understand the issue involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am trying to help American citizens who happen to have families who are foreign country nationals. So what’s wrong with me helping United States citizens?\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Even before the U.S. House could pass his bill, Sablan said he has already been communicating with U.S. senators and urging them to act favorably on the measure once it reaches the Senate.<\/p>\n

Once HR 1466 hurdles the U.S. House, it will have to pass the U.S. Senate before going to the president’s desk for enactment.
\nPrecy Villafuerte, a 40-year-old nonresident mother of a 5-year-old U.S. citizen child, hopes that Sablan’s HR 1466 will be passed and signed into law soon so she won’t lose her status.<\/p>\n

Villafuerte’s umbrella permit expires on Nov. 27, and she has yet to find an employer to petition her for a transitional worker permit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I don’t find an employer by then, I could lose my status. I don’t want to leave my daughter here. She’s only 5 and this is her home, not the Philippines,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Violy Bawana, also a mother to a 15-year-old U.S. citizen child, prays every day that Sablan’s HR 1466 will be passed and signed soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy son wants to finish high school here. If I lose my status and I have to leave, then I will have to leave my son here with his grandparents,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Villafuerte and Bawana are among the hundreds if not thousands of individuals who are covered by Sablan’s HR 1466.<\/p>\n

Sablan’s HR 1466 proposes a \u201cCNMI-only resident status\u201d for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens as of May 8, 2008, CNMI permanent residents, those born in the CNMI between Jan. 1, 1974 and Jan. 9, 1978, and the spouses or children, \u201cas defined in section 101(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)), of an alien described in subclauses (I) or (II).\u201d<\/p>\n

Fitial has long been opposed to the bill because of its provision to extend status to alien workers with U.S. citizen children, regardless of age.<\/p>\n

Rene Reyes, president of Marianas Advocates for Humanitarian Affairs Ltd., said yesterday that Sablan’s statement is \u201cencouraging news for many\u201d in the community.<\/p>\n

But Reyes said it may be too late for others who could benefit from HR 1466 but who could lose status after Nov. 27 if they fail to find jobs.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have been applying for humanitarian parole,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fitial concerned about IRs of US citizens who could lose status By Haidee V. Eugenio…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11162"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11162\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}