THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN
MARIANA ISLANDS (CNMI)
A PERIOD OF TRANSITION
Where we were before WTO (2005)
and US PL 110-229
•
•
•
•
Local immigration control 1978-2009
The CNMI had 34 garment factories
$80M direct revenue from the garment industry
40,420 were employed in 2004
The 1976 Covenant Agreement
• CNMI
– Self governance
– US citizenship
– Exemption from federal immigration laws and certain
federal minimum wage provisions
• US
– Foreign Affairs and Defense
– Right to apply federal law in exempted areas without consent
US PL 110-229 CNRA
Consolidated Natural Resources Act
• Came into effect 2009
• CNMI umbrella permits issued 2009-2011 to
allow legal status of foreign workers in the
CNMI
• Calls for the transition of foreign workers by
December 2014
• Pending 5 year extension request approval
from US Secretary of Labor or July 5, 2014
• 5 year extension if approved will end 2019
Approved CWs for CNMI
A Gradual Reduction
DHS CNMI Only Non-Immigrant CWs
25,000
22,417
22,416
20,000
15,000
14,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
FY 2011
FY 2012
FY 2013
Fiscal Year
FY 2014
Number of CWs Issued to Date
• 10, 655 - As of December 24, 2013
• FY 12 – 7054 approved beneficiaries (FOIA)
• FY 13 - 9617 approve beneficiaries (FOIA)
– Total FY 12/FY 13 Combined – 16,671 (FOIA)
Number of Foreign Workers in CNMI
•
•
•
•
Year 2012
Year 2011
Year 2010
Year 2009
14,199
17,073
16,743
18,053
Unified Concerns
• 5 year extension request – CNRA requires US
Secretary of Labor (Tom Perez) to decide 180
days prior to December 31, 2014 or July 5,
2014
• US Immigration Reform
– House version (Gang of Seven)
– Senate version S.744
• 500 E2-C Investor Visas
• Minimum wage – S.256
Transition Time Clocks
• December 2014
December 2019
We have to be Bullish
Pre/During/Post Transition
Our Strategies
• Governor’s Target 2014 Task Force was formed
• CNMI Labor law amended to require all JVAs to
be posted on the CNMI DOL Job Bank (Jan, 31,
2014 effective)
• Sector trainings on-going
• CNMI DOL transformation initiatives on-going
• CNMI DOL Enforcement Activities Increased
• Job Fairs conducted on Saipan, Rota and Tinian
• Invoked Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
Saipan Job Fair Results (Nov. 2013)
Not Registered with
DOL, 105
Registered with DOL, 175
Blank, 30
No NAP, 249
Working , 48
Blank ,
177
Not Working
, 404
High School
Graduate, 319
NAP Recipient, 178
Non High School Graduate,
125
US Citizen, 338
Blank, 383
Greencard, 9
FAS Citizen, 14
Both, 28
SHEFA, 15
CNMI Scholarship Recipient,
31
Blank Age, 182
Female, 267
Not A
Veteran, 432
Veteran, 17
65+
,3
Non US Citizen, 85
Male,
182
16-19 Yrs, 50
60-64, 3
40-44,17
24 30-34, 24
55- 45-49,
50-54, 10 35-39, 20
59,
8
20-24, 88
25-29, 24
Rota and Tinian Job Fair (Jan. 2014)
Thank You