News Release May 28, 2014 For Immediate Distribution Immigration transition extended for five years Washington, D.C. – U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez has extended the immigration transition period in the Northern Mariana Islands for another five years. The Secretary’s decision means the phase-out of the current foreign worker program in the islands will end in 2019 rather than this year. The phase-out has already cut the number of non-U.S. workers in the Northern Marianas from 22,417 in fiscal year 2011 at the start of the transition period to 10,017 in 2013. Secretary Perez made the announcement in letters to Northern Marianas Governor Eloy S. Inos and Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan delivered today. Both officials have been actively lobbying for the five year extension, which is allowed by the 2008 law that brought the Northern Marianas into the federal immigration system. That law required the Secretary to make a decision on whether or not to extend by this July 4. The Governor and the Congressman, however, had urged for a decision as early as last year to minimize uncertainties for businesses and workers and to avoid stalling economic growth.“I think that Secretary Perez has now made the correct decision and I thank him,” said Congressman Sablan. “Obviously, this was not an easy decision for the Secretary. It took more time than I wanted. “But now we have to look forward. We have to use this extra five years to build the economic recovery in our islands and redouble efforts to replace foreign workers with U.S. workers.” Economic recovery and worker training were clearly on Perez’s mind, as well. In his letter, he justified the decision saying it would “enable CNMI’s legitimate businesses to meet their current and near-term future workforce needs.” At the same time, he asked the Commonwealth to provide yearly updates, starting in April 2015, “documenting your good faith efforts to locate, educate, train, or otherwise prepare U.S. citizens and other lawful permanent residents for jobs.” The Secretary’s request mirrors language contained in Congressman Sablan’s legislation, H.R. 2200, and its Senate counterpart, S. 1237. Both bills require the Commonwealth to be more accountable for the use of an annual $150 fee paid by employers for each non-U.S. transitional worker they hire. The funds are required to be used for training replacement U.S. workers. In fiscal year 2013 the Commonwealth received $1.4 million in fees, which it distributed to local education institutions. H.R. 2200 and S. 1237 call for the Commonwealth to provide a plan of use for these training funds before the fees are handed over by U.S. immigration authorities. The plan must include a projection of the how many U.S. workers will be employed as a result of the spending. H.R. 2200 requires the General Accounting Office to report to Congress every two years with an assessment of the effectiveness of the training. But S. 1237, which has been amended by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and is currently on the agenda for approval by the full Senate, shifts responsibility for overseeing the use of the training funds to the Secretary of Labor. “The Labor Department technical staff has already become very involved in analyzing workforce needs in the Northern Marianas in order to advise the Secretary on whether to extend the transition period,” Congressman Sablan said. “It makes sense to build on that new expertise and get the Labor Department even more involved in tracking the transition to an all U.S. workforce over the next five years. “I also want to see the Department actively engaged in assisting the Commonwealth, using the experience and resources that Labor has in the areas of vocational training,” the Congressman added. “Five years may seem like a long time. But it will not be easy to whittle away the remaining 10,000 foreign employees in the Northern Marianas. Many have specialized skills and decades of experience in their fields and with their current employers. And with the economy growing the demand for labor will increase. “The Commonwealth government, local businesses, and U.S. workers who are looking for jobs all have their work cut out for them in the five years ahead.” The decision of the Secretary of Labor to extend the transition period is expected to be officially noticed in the Federal Register within the next few days.
Posted on: Thu, 29 May 2014 01:28:50 +0000
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