Speech #1100124190

It was the first time a congressional committee convened officially in the U.S. territory. H.R. 3079 responds to a number of outstanding issues that have been a concern of this Congress. the people of the CNMI as well. and successive administrations beginning with President Reagan. It is no secret that beginning in the 1990s. the CNMI came under great criticism for its immigration policies which left the territory with a nationwide. if not also an international. reputation. Undercover investigations by national media. reports by human rights organizations. complaints received from foreign governments. and a report issued by the former chairman and ranking member. GEORGE MILLER. detailed a miscarriage of CNMI immigration policy which left foreign guest workers open to abuse by their employers. Though congressional efforts to reform local immigration control throughout the 1990s were unsuccessful. Congress was able to establish a Federal ombudsman office in the islands to educate foreign guest workers of their rights under both Federal and local laws and to liaison between such populations and the CNMI government. Today. national security is prominent to the argument to extend Federal immigration laws to the CNMI. Located just 40 miles to the south of the CNMI is Guam. her sister territory. As we know. since the end of World War II.