By Gemma Q. Casas
Variety News StaffTHE U.S. Congress’ investigative arm, the General Accountability Office, says all CNMI immigration law and some labor statutes will be superseded once the islands’ immigration system is federalized through the enactment into law of S. 2739. S.2739 is the omnibus package bill which contains the provisions extending federal immigration law to the islands and creating a nonvoting CNMI delegate seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. This measure, which is just waiting for the concurrence of the U.S. House of Representatives, will soon be on the desk of President Bush, who is expected to sign it. “Under the pending legislation, federal immigration law will supersede all CNMI immigration law. In addition, federal law would pre-empt some CNMI labor laws if the CNMI laws are determined to relate to the admission or removal of aliens,” GAO said in its 111-page report released this week. The CNMI government asked the U.S. Congress to conduct a study on the impact of the federalization before its members vote on the legislation. According to GAO, the intent of federalization is to supersede all existing immigration rules so that the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act will apply to the commonwealth. “The CNMI’s Office of the Governor concluded that the proposed federal legislation would preempt most of the CNMI laws establishing new immigration and labor rules that took effect on Jan. 1, 2008,” it said. The CNMI government implemented its latest Commonwealth Labor Act this year which requires foreign workers to exit the islands after working here for three and a half years. GAO said this provision no longer be applicable when the federal government takes over the local immigration. “The CNMI’s bond requirement would presumably be preempted by any bond requirements already present in federal immigration law. Additionally, CNMI requirements to pay repatriation funds for foreign workers would be preempted by federal law requirements to pay repatriation for nonimmigrant workers,” it added.
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