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Tenorio Pushes for Interagency Agreements
(Washington, DC) August 13, 2008. In recent letters sent to the
Secretaries of Homeland Security, Labor and Interior, CNMI Resident
Representative Pedro A. Tenorio requested that agreements mandated by Public Law
110-229 and emphasized by the recent GAO study on the law be developed as soon
as possible.
Tenorio stated in the letters that “after carefully reviewing the GAO study
(GAO-08-791) “Managing Potential Economic Impact of Applying U.S. Immigration
Law Requires Coordinated Federal Decisions and Additional Data” it is evident
that an interagency process to coordinate decisions relating to the
implementation of Public Law 110-229 must be established by the Departments of
Homeland Security, Labor, and Interior.”
“The law is very clear. Not only are the agreements mandatory but they are
to be utilized to develop procedures to ensure that “Commonwealth employers have
access to adequate labor, and that tourists, students, retirees, and other
visitors have access to the Commonwealth without unnecessary delay or
impediment,” explained Tenorio.
“Poor coordination, inflexible regulations, or hasty decisions could adversely
impact the economy of the CNMI in clear contradiction with the intent of
Congress which instructed that the Commonwealth be “given as much flexibility as
possible in maintaining existing businesses and other revenue sources, and
developing new economic opportunities,” continued Tenorio in the letter.
Tenorio went on to point out that
“with the
upcoming Presidential election, a change of upper level policy makers is
guaranteed. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary that the interagency
agreement called for in the law be created now, otherwise the process will be
starting from scratch, and will be delayed until new Departmental Secretaries
and their subordinates are confirmed by the Senate next year. If the
agreements are not in place prior to this transitional period, career employees
may not be able to make progress or may lose sight of the intent of the law,”
explained Tenorio.
Tenorio also suggested that the Governor be provided a significant role in the
agreements since the law requires the various agencies to consult with the
Governor on many of the important decisions that will need to be made. “It
is important that the Governor play a vital role in the implementation of this
law, and not just during the development of the regulations but also during the
entire transition period and all of its extensions,” concluded Tenorio.
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