Kilili's DOI Report Stand

Motorcade for Aid

Dubbed to be the "Final leg in their journey for reform" the foreign workers and supporters will once again hold a "Unity March" to "seek support for the U.S. Department of Interior's recommendation for improved immigration status for all long-term guest workers in the CNM."

Are you up for it?

Full story on Saipan Tribune....

A Minority Report....

That's just the title I could think of. Perhaps Tom Cruise's film [of the same title] was on my mind...

Oh well, what do you think of the counter report that the CNMI government is now scrambling to produce in order to provide a separate report on the veracity and credibility of the Federal Ombudsman's Office Report on the 20,000 migrant workers present in the islands?

Saipan Tribune reports:

"The Fitial administration has concerns about the data gathered by the Federal Labor Ombudsman, as well as the survey of only 10 Saipan Chamber of Commerce members to decide the fate of the CNMI economy, among other things.

“There are two main issues here-Interior's failure to meet the consultation requirement, and the credibility of data used to determine the future of the Commonwealth. One of the major tasks is to identify the potential impacts on the economy of these decisions...."

While the 20,000 legal aliens in the CNMI firmly clasp their hands in utter hope that they will finally be given permanent status in the CNMI or US citizenship, the rest of us can't help but think that this will be once again an uphill battle.

As the old adage goes appropriate for the islands, "Patience is indeed a vir-chew..."

D'Sissy Ey! Reports....

Just to react on this report:

Saipan Tribune--DCCA: Improved status for nonresident workers will adversely impact programs

The Department of Community and Cultural Affairs believes that its federally funded programs will be adversely affected if the islands' nonresident workers are granted improved immigration status. Because of this, the department opposes the Interior Department's recommendations to Congress to consider granting improved immigration status to long-term alien workers in the Commonwealth, said DCCA Secretary Melvin Faisao. DCCA administers a number of need-based programs such as the Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamp program; low-income housing energy assistance program; and child care development fund to assist poor children and families on the islands. In his report to Gov. Benigno R. Fitial yesterday, Faisao said that about half of the CNMI population lives below the U.S. poverty guidelines and the number is expected to jump because of the current economic state of the islands. “The overwhelming majority of the eligible alien workers in the CNMI also live below the U.S. poverty guidelines and thus would be eligible for participation in these need- based programs. This would create the result of substantially more people competing for a limited amount of money,” Faisao said. Any increase in the number of participants in these programs would be further exacerbated by foreign workers now being able to bring to the CNMI their family members, who also would be eligible for most of the benefits, he said. Faisao said granting U.S. citizenship to alien workers would have a devastating effect on the effectiveness of the aid provided by DCCA programs.

Don't you think the federal grant will double if the population of needy community members also increase? In time of the "approval" of the statuses of these foreign workers, I believe it's the department's responsibility that this need should be addressed accordingly to the Feds, right?

Ahhh....Issues. Issues. Issues....