Stuck in the middle

I'm not talking about 'federalization' of minimum wage and immigration control. To me at least, that's been inevitable for a long, long time. All of this noise about whether it 'should' happen is just a distraction (That's still not the best word, but it's better than demagoguery). In the end, like a small animal chasing its tail, you end up in the same place.

No. It's here, and where do we go from here?

Oversimplifying (my specialty), I've read and seen that there are too many 'guest workers'. There likely won't be enough when the CW* workers are phased out in five years.

Boonie Workers

The idea of CNMI-only H-2 workers has been floated. What would that accomplish? The CNMI, and Guam, are not subject to the quota: we can hire as many H-2 workers as we need. There's the rub; the H-2 classification is for skilled workers, while the Commonwealth will probably be short of semi-skilled workers. That proposal sounds like misdirection; an attempt to squeeze CW skills into the H-2 rules. Better we use something like, say, BW (boonie worker).

Any system that attempts to fill permanent positions with an underclass of temporary workers will be abused, and it doesn't matter whether it is administered locally or federally.

The shining path

Guest workers and their advocates argue that the solution is residency and a pathway to citizenship. They also say it is only fair to people who have worked and lived here for 10, 20 or more years.

Some opponents argue that they will be overwhelmed by the sheer number of aliens, losing control. That's already happened, except politically, but we'll set that aside.

Others like the BW system. "What if these people get status and then run to Guam?" they ask.

So here I am, stuck in the middle. Yes, citizenship, out of fairness and equity (though, despite the urban legends, you knew the rules). Yes, don't dilute the culture (but where were you 20 years ago?). Yes, there might not be enough workers when the transition ends (why, after all of these years, aren't our wages closer to Guam's?).

Just the facts, ma'am

Jack Webb got it right, but there aren't many facts to go by. That's another chase-your-own-tail blame game. The economy will change during the transition. How much, and in what ways is anybody's guess.

So far, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services people have been asking for help in getting from here to there. Some see that as a failing on their part. I don't. Rather it's something refreshing, coming as it does from the federal government.

Of course, the Secretary of the Interior is supposed to come out with a report by May 8, 2010 including "the number of aliens in the CNMI, their legal status, the length of the aliens’ stays in the CNMI, the CNMI economy’s need for foreign workers, and recommendations, if deemed appropriate, whether or not legal foreign workers in the CNMI on May 8, 2008, should be able to apply for long-term status under United States law."

Not so fast, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior Nikolao I. Pula testified in May. He asked for another year, arguing that there wasn't enough time to see the trends with DHS delaying its takeover for 180 days.

Here we go again.

* The CW, or unskilled CNMI-only, category is on hold until Immigration goes back and issues its regulations following the Administrative Procedures Act.

Up in the air

I'd tip my hat, if I wore one, to Saipan Tribune reporter Moneth Deposa for yesterday's Air Saipan owner denies allegations of 'fake' deals.

The CNMI has seen enough fly-by-night airlines* to justify a little caution. I even had the unworthy suspicion that, like the Air Saipan proposal before the last election, it would never get off of the ground.

The Tribune ran across the site http://deanmillsconman.com, or were contacted by someone connected with the site, since it references their articles. It is chock-full of anecdotal aspersions on Mr. Mills character. They asked Mr. Mills about them-- standard practice I know, but often more honored in the breach than the observance here.

Reasonably enough, in his email response, Mills asked "Is there any evidence of these reports such as proof of warrants and other comments?"

Domainsbyproxy.com in Scottsdale, Arizona registered the domain name with GoDaddy.com. That, and the website IP, tell you exactly nothing. We don't know who is making these accusations.

Mills signals he might, with the comments "Many of these rumors were sent by people who don't understand that business sometimes doesn't work despite the best efforts of those concerned. Sometimes it is better to close a business.than to run at a deficit."

Sounds like his ex-partners in Air Andaman to me. There's little else on the internet, and I pecked about a bit using the countries mentioned as key words.

Cautionary tale or sour grapes? I wouldn't know. But, "The threat level in the airline sector is High or Orange," says the Department of Homeland Security-- one up from the level for other sectors.


* Though I suppose the planes they abandon are useful to fire rescue for training.

Feeding the fish

Feeding the fish

The link said lawsuit over fish pedicure. "You must be kidding," I thought.

Nope. What do you get for someone who has everything?

According to the Phoenix East Valley Tribune, the Arizona Board of Cosmetology ordered salon owner Cindy Vong to lay off her fish, forcing her to also lay off three employees.

Ah, but this is Goldwater country, and the institute bearing his name has stepped in.

"The board's action is more about protecting cosmetologists from competition than it is about protecting consumers against anything except wet feet and smooth skin," says director of litigation Clint Bolick.

Grooming instruments need to be sterilized, says the board. That seems like it would be a one-time deal for a fish.

I'm having fun with this, but Vong says she's out $50,000 to $60,000. I'd hate to see her have to eat that investment.

Disclaimer: My feet are incredibly ticklish, so I'm probably not a proper advocate.

Please release me

The Saipan Immigration Court will open Monday, according to a Media Advisory.

It will be one of 58 around the U.S. by my count, the nearest previously being in Honolulu. They must be expecting enough business to keep an office open.

To begin, Associate Judge David Wiseman said there were more than 200 cases pending when he closed down the CNMI immigration docket.

FALLS CHURCH, Va. – The Executive Office for Immigration Review will open the Saipan Immigration Court in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, on November 30, 2009. The Saipan Immigration Court will conduct immigration court proceedings for respondents in the Northern Mariana Islands. The Saipan Immigration Court will be an administrative control court and will receive filings and establish appropriate dockets.

The address for the Saipan Immigration Court is:

Marina Heights II Building, Suite 301
Marina Heights Business Park
Saipan, MP 96950
Hours of Operation:
8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Monday - Friday

The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) is an agency within the Department of Justice. Under delegated authority from the Attorney General, immigration judges and the Board of Immigration Appeals interpret and adjudicate immigration cases according to United States immigration laws. EOIR’s immigration judges conduct administrative court proceedings in immigration courts located throughout the nation. They determine whether foreign-born individuals—who are charged by the Department of Homeland Security with violating immigration law—should be ordered removed from the United States or should be granted relief from removal and be permitted to remain in this country. The Board of Immigration Appeals primarily reviews appeals of decisions by immigration judges. EOIR’s Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer adjudicates immigration-related employment cases. EOIR is committed to ensuring fairness in all of the cases it adjudicates.

A koan to pick

"The CNMI maintains that the Commonwealth’s guest worker population currently is experiencing high rates of unemployment, and that employers are consequently unlikely to require permits for new guest workers in the near future." -- District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman

Yes, I'm still walking that dog. Come on along for the exercise.

How can a member of the "guest worker population" be unemployed? Either you're still under contract, or you're in the process of being repatriated. I meditated on that paradox all night.

But never mind, we'll deal with that when the "Transition Conditional" (240K or "umbrella") permits run out in two years-- or maybe the first time someone tries to use one.

The next lawsuit, or
If it's an umbrella why am I left holding the bag?

Enter the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 CNMI, used "to verify the identity and employment authorization of each new employee (both citizen and noncitizen) hired in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) after November 27, 2009."

The I-9 used in the rest of the U.S. has a list of acceptable documents in a format something like a Chinese menu: you can use one from List A or one from List B and one from List C. For CNMI use only, the following documents are acceptable in List A:

All documents must be unexpired

1. A foreign passport and Alien Entry Permit with red band issued to an alien by the CNMI Office of the Attorney General, Division of Immigration before November 28, 2009, as long as the period of employment authorization has not yet expired.

2. A foreign passport and an unexpired Permanent Resident Card issued by the CNMI.

3. A foreign passport and a temporary work authorization letter issued by the CNMI Department of Labor before November 28, 2009, containing the name and photograph of the individual, if the period of employment authorization has not yet expired and the proposed employment is not in conflict with any restrictions or limitations identified on the temporary work authorization letter.

That's it. There's nothing about "an approved employment contract as provided in Department of Labor regulations"-- the language of the 240K I saw.

Maybe that will change. The umbrella permits were rushed, and the I-9 CNMI was rushed, sloppy or both. The current I-9 is Rev. 11/12/09, it replaces Rev. 10/21/09, which said the Alien Entry Permit was issued by the Department of Labor.

The sticking point is "lawfully present and authorized to be employed in the Commonwealth pursuant to the immigration laws", the language of P.L. 110-229. That is echoed by "authorizes the holder to be employed" in the umbrella permit, but that's a Labor document (policy?) and the CNMI immigration laws were superceded as of Nov. 28. I don't want to argue, that's one for the lawyers. I also don't want to get caught in the middle.

I'm up in the air until the I-9 is revised, and so are prospective employees with unbrella permits. I can only accept, and they must provide, the documents listed on the I-9. It has no provisions for CNMI documents generated after Nov. 27.

Lawfully present? Sounds good, the "Umbrella Permits", though issued by CNMI Labor instead of Immigration, may cover that.* Again, go for it, lawyers. It's not up to me. But I won't give you a job, and I can't give a job to Transition Conditional workers until somebody else volunteers to be the test case.

The "CW" classification under the transitional rules might have solved that problem, but the Restraining Order has set them back for at least two or three months. Umbrella permits definitely need to be addressed when they are revised.

* I'm not sure about the students and investors who got temporary (Rain Check?) permits from the Department of Commerce. "Holders are scheduled to return to Commerce on March 1, 2010, to claim their permanent umbrella permit."

Chamorro Savings Time*

I really wasn't going to write about the lawsuit. (Saipan Tribune and Marianas Variety) The Department of Homeland Security still takes over 'after midnight' tonight. Most of the contract workers will still have to be gone in five years. So, what's changed by District Court Judge Paul Friedman's preliminary injunction?

There are no interim rules. We just get the full U.S. immigration package. The CNMI argued, persuasively to me, that DHS didn't follow the Administrative Procedures Act. Okay, the judge said, follow them: propose regulations, give an adequate comment period, consider the comments and then promulgate final rules.

It's like Daylight Savings Time: we can push time back, but only for a few months.

"The commonwealth will continue to operate under its existing labor system except for entry and exit," volunteered part-time attorney Deanne Siemer. Umm. No. We just won't have interim rules to soften the transition yet.

In one of this lawsuit's strange twists, Friedman writes that "The CNMI maintains that the Commonwealth’s guest worker population currently is experiencing high rates of unemployment, and that employers are consequently unlikely to require permits for new guest workers in the near future. Reply at 20-21. Consequently, the United States cannot argue with any degree of certainty that CNMI employers will be harmed by the issuance of a preliminary injunction in this matter."

Got that? Everybody's in limbo. If there are problems, Friedman writes, "To assist either foreign workers seeking to leave and return to the CNMI or employers desperately in need of workers from outside the Commonwealth, DHS may, if necessary, promulgate a narrowly focused and temporary emergency regulation that addresses only the problem at hand."

That's a far cry from Siemer's formulation that "Friedman also virtually commanded DHS to come up with an emergency regulation allowing aliens in the commonwealth to travel in and out."

Rhetorical question: what substantive changes do you expect to see when we get the final regulations?

("The CNMI maintains that the Commonwealth’s guest worker population currently is experiencing high rates of unemployment.")

* I'm not forgetting my Carolinian friends. It's just that I couldn't pass up the word play on Chamorro Standard Time.