For Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP), the passage of comprehensive immigration reform is a foregone conclusion in the United States and the Republican Party will have to compromise one way or another if they ever hope to see another GOP presidency.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not a question of if it\u2019s going to happen; it\u2019s a question of when. If Speaker [John] Boehner were to put S. 744 on the floor right now it will pass. Comprehensive immigration reform changes the immigration laws of the U.S. and that change will be progressive and liberal. \u2026If comprehensive immigration reform should come to the floor right now it will pass, go to the President, and he will sign it,\u201d he told reporters last week at his office in Susupe.<\/p>\n
Sablan said this is a foregone conclusion if the Republicans want to take the White House.<\/p>\n
\u201cRepublicans can kiss the White House goodbye for the next 16 years. Don\u2019t forget, everyday 2,000 Latinos are turning 18\u2014just Latinos alone\u2014and with comprehensive immigration reform it involves Asians, Europeans, and other people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Legalizing about 12 million immigrants living in the U.S. illegally has united every spectrum of the country\u2019s society.<\/p>\n
\u201cComprehensive immigration reform has brought together law enforcement, the business community, evangelicals, even [conservative talk show host] Bill O\u2019Reilly supports comprehensive immigration reform. The GOP establishment supports comprehensive immigration reform, the American Chamber of Commerce completely, labor, the faith community\u2014from Muslims, to Roman Catholics, to all kinds of Christians\u2014support comprehensive immigration reform. It is just a handful of Republicans from these red districts that couldn\u2019t care less what happens,\u201d said Sablan.<\/p>\n
CNMI language<\/strong><\/p>\n The CNMI delegate also clarified that even if comprehensive immigration reform is to pass, no one is going to get anything automatic. This also applies to the CNMI\u2019s legal long-term nonresident workers.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to apply and if there\u2019s any reason there for you to be ineligible, you won\u2019t get it. The Marianas language will be a very conservative piece of that legislation. But those who disagree with me have their facts flipped and say something entirely different from what the Marianas language does. They have to read the entire bill. The Marianas language has taken this huge program, this huge open door, and reduced it to something that fits this small community. Supposedly, say, we have 11,000 third-country nationals here, under the Marianas language much less will become eligible for that. This is a policy matter and not a political matter.\u201d<\/p>\n Sablan also hit back at critics who oppose the CW program, which Labor Secretary Thomas Perez extended for another five years earlier this month.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere do you train a physician and engineer for three years? Will you go and see a doctor that has been trained for only three years? It\u2019s obvious when they make these kinds of statements, they have absolutely no idea what they\u2019re talking about. It just serves political purposes. This is not a political issue; this is a matter of policy that is good for the Northern Marianas and is good for the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018No time soon\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Former Rota teacher and activist Wendy Doromal, who is now based in Florida, said that Sablan may be correct that comprehensive immigration reform will pass if put to a House vote now.<\/p>\n \u201cI talked to a Senate staffer Thursday. I asked if there was hope for the workers to get permanent residency and he said no time soon. Delegate Sablan may be correct that an immigration bill would pass if it were put on the floor, but the Republican leadership is not about to let that happen. They are obstructionists. As far as his remark that they won\u2019t take back the White House if they do not support immigration reform, that may or may not be the deciding factor in the next election.\u201d<\/p>\n She said the only hope right now for CNMI nonresident workers would be for Sablan or another member of Congress to push a standalone legislation to grant the CNMI legal, long-term (five or more years) nonresident workers permanent residency status. <\/p>\n \u201cThat should have been the action taken, rather than pushing the five-year extension. Congress never acted on the recommendations of the 2010 Department of the Interior report that was mandated under the [Consolidated Natural Resources Act]. CNMI leaders pushed for a five-year extension of a flawed program instead of long-deserved freedom and untethered status for the CNMI nonresidents and a secure and stable workforce,\u201d said Doromal.<\/p>\n \u201cOver and over we have seen CNMI-only bills pass. Even Congressman Miller, a huge supporter of raising the federal minimum wage, made a floor speech in favor of delaying the CNMI minimum wage increase. If asked, I am certain he would do the same for a standalone CNMI-only bill to grant permanent residency status to the CNMI\u2019s legal, long-term nonresidents. The CNRA could be amended to include a status provision. Bills have already been introduced that would extend exemptions for amnesty and nonresident investors. Every major national poll shows that the majority of Americans support a pathway to citizenship for undocumented aliens. What more for legal, long-term aliens! A standalone bill is the way to go,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Old problem with easy fix<\/strong><\/p>\n Kelvin Rodeo, an alumnus of Marianas High School who runs a social media page dedicated to helping nonresidents get improved status, said all of these long-term nonresident workers in the CNMI absolutely deserve improved status.<\/p>\n \u201cI find myself in disbelief whenever someone disagrees with that, considering the history of these foreign workers on our islands and their countless contributions to our community. If one reads the text of Public Law 03-66 (alien worker program), one can clearly see that the language used in that law set up what would become a system of indentured servitude, the very system that we have today. From the very beginning, it was clear to see that the people who drafted that law wanted to set up an exploitable voiceless working class, with a section stating that none of the time they spend in the CNMI will count toward any form of permanent residency or citizenship.\u201d<\/p>\n Rodeo said that improved status for long-term nonresident workers in the CNMI should\u2019ve been dealt with years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cThese people could have had their situation taken cared of way back in the 1990s, but our government and the businesses enjoying the fruits of the exploited laborers prevented that from happening. Instead of doing the right thing, our very own elected officials took it upon themselves to work toward prolonging such an evil system.\u201d<\/p>\n Rodeo is disappointed in the recent decision to extend the CW program by another five years.<\/p>\n \u201cThe simple truth is, the quickest and most efficient solution for this so-called problem (which could have been avoided a long time ago if we had been doing the right thing all along) would be for the government of the CNMI to take on an official stance of advocating for U.S. permanent residency and a pathway to citizenship for all of our long-term nonresident workers currently in the CNMI. Turn all of our long-term nonresident workers into U.S. permanent residents with a pathway to U.S. citizenship, and our little local hiring problem will be taken care of. But, the sad truth is, our elected officials will never do that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. 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