Congress must rely upon press reports to assess conditions in the islands. Nevertheless. the information contained in the Departments narrowly scoped report still leads to the conclusion that conditions have not fundamentally changed with respect to the protection of guest workers. and Federal legislative action is still needed. Any one of these five reasonslack of institutional capacity. border control. law enforcement. unsustainable economics. and inadequate worker protectionis sufficient cause for Federal action. All five reasons make an overwhelming case. Certain fundamental facts that existed in 2001 when the administration first announced its support for legislation remain unchanged. For example. the CNMI still lacks the capacity to properly operate immigration and guest worker programs. Other facts are new and provide further justification for the administration to reaffirm its support. For example. after 9/11 the United States is at greater risk of attack and must secure its borders and protect the U.S. citizens of the Marianas as we protect all communities on American soil. Border security and immigration control are inherent functions of national sovereignty that were intended to be extended to the CNMI following international recognition of the extension of U.S. sovereignty over the islands. That recognition occurred in 1986. As predicted by the Reagan administration 20 years ago. the failure of Congress to extend these laws has resulted in unacceptable social and cultural problems.
Keywords matched
border control Border security immigration