What’s in it for foreign workers and Guam

Haidee V. Eugenio
When Artemio Cacho, 67, arrived in the US Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) in 1980 to work as a carpenter, he was paid $1.50 an hour.  After 28 years, his salary had been only 10 cents higher than the current hourly minimum wage of $3.55.

“I should be earning more because I’ve been with them for almost three decades. But I kept quiet because I could lose my job for complaining,” he told ISLANDS BUSINESS.

And because of inadequate job security for long-term foreign workers in the CNMI, Cacho, who worked for the same private construction company for 28 years as a carpenter then as a forklift operator, a mechanic, a warehouse employee and as a janitor, is now forced to depart the CNMI because his yearly contract was not renewed when it expired on March 30.

What also makes Cacho’s story more interesting is the fact that since he set foot on the CNMI’s main island of Saipan on Oct. 11, 1980, he has never once left “not even for a brief vacation to his home province of Zambales in the Philippines.

Despite his sad tales, Cacho is hoping the CNMI government will allow him to remain longer on Saipan which he now calls “home”, owing to his dedication to his work and the sacrifices he made. And like the thousands of long-term foreign workers in CNMI, Cacho hopes he will be given a longer-term immigration status in the CNMI whether through the CNMI government or the US government.

A few days later, Cacho’s wish for a federal takeover of CNMI immigration and an opportunity to be given a longer term residency in the islands was partly granted.

At 3:50 p.m. on April 10 in Washington, D.C. (About 5:50 a.m. on March 11, CNMI time), the US Senate passed S. 2739 or the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008.

The omnibus bill has a provision that requires the federal government to take control of the CNMI’s guest worker program in a year, although the start date can be delayed by up to six months.

Under Title VII of S. 2739, the federal government would not only assume authority over CNMI immigration but would also give the commonwealth a delegate with  limited voting powers to the US House of Representatives. Only Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia have a delegate in the House.

The CNMI was administered by the United States under a United Nations Trusteeship following World War II. In 1975, the people of the 14-island chain voted for a political union with the US. A year later, the Covenant enacted by Congress gave US citizenship to CNMI residents and extended most US laws to the CNMI,  except immigration.  As a result of the CNMI’s policies, the population has increased five-fold, from 16,000 to about 80,000 today.  This growth has made both U.S. citizens and the indigenous people of the islands minorities on their own islands.

Within two years after the bill’s enactment, S. 2739 requires the secretary of the US Department of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the governor of the CNMI, to provide US Congress with a report that should include the secretary of the Interior’s recommendations on whether guest workers should be permitted to apply for long-term status under US law. 

This provision has been giving hope to the estimated 19,000 documented foreign workers in the CNMI who want permanent residency or a path to US citizenship.  Many of these alien workers have been in the CNMI for at least five years or up to decades, just like Cacho.

Permanent residency allows eligible longtime guest workers and their immediate family to freely travel, work and study in the US and its territories, including Guam. S. 2739 passed by a vote of 91-4.  US presidential candidates Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) were among the five senators who did not vote on the bill.

The omnibus bill now heads to the US House of Representatives, where it has strong bipartisan support.

The House is expected to concur shortly. Once S. 2739 clears the House, it will be sent to President George Bush for his signature, and will then become law. 

Title VII of S. 2739 is identical to the US House of Representatives’ version, H.R. 3079, which the House passed in December 2007.

MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE

The passage of S. 2739, introduced by US Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) on March 10, was hailed by workers, human rights activists and supporters.

“Today was a good day for the Senate, and for the protection of our public lands. |When measures such as these are so broadly supported on a bipartisan basis, members on both sides of the aisle deserve to be able to have the Senate act on them expeditiously,” said Bingaman in a statement.

One of the main supporters of the bill is US-based human rights activist Wendy Doromal who said that the bill’s passage is a “significant victory” for those who have fought to end labor and human rights abuses in the 14-island chain.

Doromal and Human Dignity Movement president Jerry Custodio, who has been working on Saipan for 10 years, however, said other things have yet to be done, including an ongoing signature campaign petitioning the US Congress to grant long-term alien workers in the CNMI a permanent immigration status.

“Our work is not done. We still need to address the issue of federal permanent status for the long-term guest workers.  I will be carrying the petition from the guest workers to Washington, D.C. that requests green card status for the legal CNMI long-term guest
workers,” Doromal said.

The workers, in the petition, said they are not claiming a right but are making an appeal for fairness and justice.

“When we entered the CNMI, we also did not anticipate that we would be staying for so long. But the CNMI needed us, and CNMI lawmakers allowed us to stay. We have paid our dues and deserve a better status than we have had all these many years. US immigration law recognises that temporary workers can become permanent; CNMI law does not. It is up to the US Congress to remedy this inequity,”stated the workers’ petition, to be sent to the US Congress,  the US Department of the Interior, and the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, among other entities. 

CNMI Governor Benigno R. Fitial expressed disappointment over the federalization billâ€(tm)s passage, saying it would negatively impact the already hurting CNMI economy.  The Saipan Chamber of Commerce,  the largest business group in the CNMI, is also “disappointedâ€? that S. 2739 was passed in its current form.

Chamber of Commerce president Jim Arenovski, however, hoped that once the measure is enacted, the regulations will address CNMI business concerns, which include offering potential investors and existing businesses a greater sense of stability than the bill does.  They raised concerns that a federalized system will pose uncertainty to the China and Russian tourist markets.  Under federal control, tourists from these countries will be required to apply at US embassies, making it harder for these visitors to visit the islands.