Press Releases
April 29, 2010
U.S. Department of the Interior Releases Report on State of CNMI Guest Workers
Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo today issued the following statement on the report issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior on the state of guest workers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-229), required that the Secretary of the Interior in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Governor of the CNMI submit a report on the guest worker population the CNMI. The report must be submitted to Congress before May 5, 2010, two years after the enactment of Public Law 110-229.
The report contains the following items:
• The number of aliens residing in the CNMI;
• A description of the legal status of such aliens;
• The number of years each alien has been residing in the CNMI;
• The current and future requirements of the CNMI economy for an alien workforce; and
• Such recommendations to the Congress from the Secretary of the Interior;
“The report issued today by the U.S. Department of the Interior fulfills an important requirement of Public Law 110-229,” Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo said today. “The Department of the Interior recommends that the Congress provide a process for guest workers in the CNMI who have resided in the Commonwealth for longer than five years to legally remain in the CNMI. As Chairwoman of the Subcommittee with jurisdiction over federal policy in the U.S. territories, I will carefully examine all options presented. It is important that we weigh the implications of any action to be taken, and I will continue to work with my colleagues and federal officials on this issue. I thank Assistant Secretary Babauta for his work on this report.”