[Senate Report 106-204]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 360
106th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                    106-204

======================================================================



 
          NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS COVENANT IMPLEMENTATION ACT

                                _______
                                

                November 1, 1999.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1052]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 1052) to implement further the Act 
(Public Law 94-241) approving the Covenant to Establish a 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union 
with the United States of America, and for other purposes, 
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an 
amendment and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
    Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
thereof the following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND PURPOSE.

    (a) This Act may be cited as the ``Northern Mariana Islands 
Covenant Implementation Act''.
    (b) Statement of Purpose. In recognition of the need to ensure 
uniform adherence to long-standing fundamental immigration policies of 
the United States, it is the intention of Congress in enacting this 
legislation:
          (1) to ensure effective immigration control by extending the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended (8 U.S.C. 1101) et 
        seq.), in full to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
        Islands, with special provisions to allow for the orderly 
        phasing-out of the non-resident contract worker program of the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the orderly 
        phasing-in of Federal responsibilities over immigration in the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands;
          (2) to minimize, to the greatest extent possible, potential 
        adverse effects this orderly phase-out might have on the 
        economy of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands by:
                  (A) encouraging diversification and growth of the 
                economy of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
                Islands consistent with fundamental values underlying 
                Federal immigration policy;
                  (B) recognizing local self-government, as provided 
                for in the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the 
                Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the 
                United States of America through consultation with the 
                Governor and other elected officials of the government 
                of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands by 
                federal agencies and by considering the views and 
                recommendations of such officials in the implementation 
                and enforcement of federal law by federal agencies;
                  (C) assisting the Commonwealth of the Northern 
                Mariana Islands to achieve a progressively higher 
                standard of living for its citizens through the 
                provision of technical and other assistance;
                  (D) providing opportunities for persons authorized to 
                work in the United States, including lawfully 
                admissible freely associated state citizen labor; and
                  (E) ensuring the ability of the locally elected 
                officials of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
                Islands to make fundamental policy decisions regarding 
                the direction and pace of the economic development and 
                growth of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
                Islands, consistent with the fundamental national 
                values underlying Federal immigration policy.

SEC. 2. IMMIGRATION REFORM FOR THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA 
                    ISLANDS.

    (a) Amendments to Act Approving the Covenant to Establish a 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union With 
the United States of America.--Public Law 94-241 (90 Stat. 263), as 
amended, is further amended by adding at the end thereof the following:

``SEC. 6. IMMIGRATION AND TRANSITION.

    ``(a) Application of the Immigration and Nationality Act and 
Establishment of a Transition Program.--Effective on the first day of 
the first full month commencing one year after the date of enactment of 
the Northern Mariana Islands Covenant Implementation Act (hereafter the 
``transition program effective date''), the provisions of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) 
shall apply to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands: 
Provided, That there shall be a transition period ending December 31, 
2009 (except for subsection (d)(2)(I)) following the transition program 
effective date, during which the Attorney General of the United States 
(hereafter ``Attorney General''), in consultation with the United 
States Secretaries of State, Labor, and the Interior, shall establish, 
administer, and enforce a transition program for immigration to the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands provided in subsections 
(b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g) and (j) of this section (hereafter the 
``transition program''). The transition program shall be implemented 
pursuant to regulations to be promulgated as appropriate by each agency 
having responsibilities under the transition program.
    ``(b) Exemption from Numerical Limitations for H-2B Temporary 
Workers.--An alien, if otherwise qualified, may seek admission to the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands as a temporary worker 
under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(B)) without regard to the numerical 
limitations set forth in section 214(g) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(g)).
    ``(c) Temporary Alien Workers.--The transition program shall 
conform to the following requirements with respect to temporary alien 
workers who would otherwise not be eligible for nonimmigrant 
classification under the Immigration and Nationality Act:
          ``(1) Aliens admitted under this subsection shall be treated 
        as nonimmigrants under section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration 
        and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)), including the 
        ability to apply, if otherwise eligible, for a change of 
        nonimmigrant classification under section 248 of such Act (8 
        U.S.C. 1258), or adjustment of status, if eligible therefor, 
        under this section and section 245 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1255).
          ``(2)(A) The United States Secretary of Labor shall 
        establish, administer, and enforce a system for allocating and 
        determining the number, terms, and conditions of permits to be 
        issued to prospective employers for each temporary alien worker 
        who would not otherwise be eligible for admission under the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act. This system shall provide for 
        a reduction in the allocation of permits for such workers on an 
        annual basis, to zero, over a period not to extend beyond 
        December 31, 2009 and shall take into account the number of 
        petitions granted under subsection (j). In no event shall a 
        permit be valid beyond the expiration of the transition period. 
        This system may be based on any reasonable method and criteria 
        determined by the United States Secretary of Labor to promote 
        the maximum use of, and to prevent adverse effects on wages and 
        working conditions of, persons authorized to work in the United 
        States, including lawfully admissible freely associated state 
        citizen labor, taking into consideration the objective of 
        providing as smooth a transition as possible to the full 
        application of federal laws.
          ``(B) The United States Secretary of Labor is authorized to 
        establish and collect appropriate user fees for the purpose of 
        this section. Amounts collected pursuant to this section shall 
        be deposited in a special fund to the Treasury. Such amounts 
        shall be available, to the extent and in the amounts as 
        provided in advance in appropriations acts, for the purposes of 
        administering this section. Such amounts are authorized to be 
        appropriated to remain available until expended.
          ``(3) The Attorney General shall set the conditions for 
        admission of nonimmigrant temporary alien workers under the 
        transition program, and the United States Secretary of State 
        shall authorize the issuance of nonimmigrant visas for aliens 
        to engage in employment only as authorized in this subsection: 
        Provided, That such visas shall no be valid for admission to 
        the United States, as defined in section 101(a)(38) of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 (a)(38)), except 
        the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. An alien 
        admitted to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands on 
        the basis of such a nonimmigrant visa shall be permitted to 
        engage in employment only as authorized pursuant to the 
        transition program. No alien shall be granted nonimmigrant 
        classification or a visa under this subsection unless the 
        permit requirements established under paragraph (2) have been 
        met.
          ``(4) An alien admitted as a nonimmigrant pursuant to this 
        subsection shall be permitted to transfer between employers in 
        the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands during the 
        period of such alien's authorized stay therein, without advance 
        permission of the employee's current or prior employer, to the 
        extent that such transfer is authorized by the Attorney General 
        in accordance with criteria established by the Attorney General 
        and the United States Secretary of Labor.
    ``(d) Immigrants.--With the exception of immediate relatives (as 
defined in section 201(b)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1151(b)(2)) and persons granted an immigrant visa as provided in 
paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection, no alien shall be granted 
initial admission as a lawful permanent resident of the United States 
at a port-of-entry in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 

        ``(1) Family-Sponsored Immigrant Visas.--For any fiscal year 
        during which the transition program will be in effect, the 
        Attorney General, after consultation with the governor and the 
        leadership of the Legislature of the Commonwealth of the 
        Northern Mariana Islands, and in consultation with appropriate 
        federal agencies, may establish a specific number of additional 
        initial admissions as a family-sponsored immigrant at a port-
        of-entry in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 
        or at a port-of-entry in Guam for the purpose of immigrating to 
        the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, pursuant to 
        sections 202 and 203(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
        (8 U.S.C. 1152 and 1153(a)).
        ``(2) Employment-Based Immigrant Visas.--
                  ``(A) If the Attorney General, after consultation 
                with the United States Secretary of Labor and the 
                governor and the leadership of the Legislature of the 
                Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, finds 
                that exceptional circumstances exist with respect to 
                the inability of employers in the Commonwealth of the 
                Northern Mariana Islands to obtain sufficient work-
                authorized labor, the Attorney General may establish a 
                specific number of employment-based immigrant visas to 
                be made available during the following fiscal year 
                under section 203(b) of the Immigration and Nationality 
                Act, (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)). The labor certification 
                requirements of sections 212(a)(5) of the Immigration 
                and Nationality Act, as amended (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(5)) 
                shall not apply to an alien seeking immigration 
                benefits under this subsection.
                  ``(B) Upon notification by the Attorney General that 
                a number has been established pursuant to subparagraph 
                (A), the United States Secretary of State may allocate 
                up to that number of visas without regard to the 
                numerical limitations set forth in sections 202 and 
                203(b)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
                U.S.C. 1152 and 1153(b)(3)(B)). Visa numbers allocated 
                under this subparagraph shall be allocated first from 
                the number of visas available under section 203(b)(3) 
                of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(3)) or, if such visa 
                numbers are not available, from the number of visas 
                available under section 203(b)(5) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 
                1153(b)(5).
                  ``(C) Persons granted employment-based immigrant 
                visas under the transition program may be admitted 
                initially at a port-of-entry in the Commonwealth of the 
                Northern Mariana Islands, or at a port of entry in Guam 
                for the purpose of immigrating to the Commonwealth of 
                the Northern Mariana Islands, as lawfully permanent 
                residents of the United States. Persons who would 
                otherwise be eligible for lawful permanent residence 
                under the transition program, and who would otherwise 
                be eligible for an adjustment of status, may have their 
                status adjusted within the Commonwealth of the Northern 
                Mariana Islands to that of an alien lawfully admitted 
                for permanent residence.
                  ``(D) Any immigrant visa issued pursuant to this 
                paragraph shall be valid only for application for 
                initial admission to the Commonwealth of the Northern 
                Mariana Islands. The admission of an alien pursuant to 
                such an immigrant visa shall be an admission for lawful 
                permanent residence and employment only in the 
                Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands during the 
                first five years after such admission. Such admission 
                shall not authorize residence or employment in any 
                other part of the United States during such five-year 
                period. An alien admitted for permanent residence 
                pursuant to this paragraph shall be issued appropriate 
                documentation identifying the person as having been 
                admitted pursuant to the terms and conditions of this 
                transition program, and shall be required to comply 
                with a system for the registration and reporting of 
                aliens admitted for permanent residence under the 
                transition program, to be established by the Attorney 
                General, by regulation, consistent with the Attorney 
                General's authority under chapter 7 of Title II of the 
                Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1301-1306).
                  ``(E) Nothing in this paragraph shall preclude an 
                alien who has obtained lawful permanent resident status 
                pursuant to this paragraph from applying, if otherwise 
                eligible, under this section and under the Immigration 
                and Nationality Act for an immigrant visa or admission 
                as a lawful permanent resident under the Immigration 
                and Nationality Act.
                  ``(F) Any alien admitted under this subsection, who 
                violates the provisions of this paragraph, or who is 
                found removable or inadmissible under the section 
                237(a) 8 U.S.C. 1227(a), or paragraphs (1), (2), (3), 
                (4)(A), (4)(B), (6), (7), (8), (9) or (10) of section 
                212(a) (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)), shall be removed from the 
                United States pursuant to sections 235, 238, 239, 240, 
                or 241 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as 
                appropriate (8 U.S.C. 1225, 1228, 1229, 1230, and 
                1231).
                  ``(G) The Attorney General may establish by 
                regulation a procedure by which an alien who has 
                obtained lawful permanent resident status pursuant to 
                this paragraph may apply for a waiver of the limiting 
                terms and conditions of such status. The Attorney 
                General may grant the application for waiver, in the 
                discretion of the Attorney General, if--
                          ``(i) the alien is not in removal 
                        proceedings;
                          ``(ii) the alien has been a person of good 
                        moral character for the preceding five years;
                          ``(iii) the alien has not violated the terms 
                        and conditions of the alien's permanent 
                        resident status; and
                          ``(iv) the alien would suffer exceptional and 
                        extremely unusual hardship were such limiting 
                        terms and conditions not waived.
                  ``(H) The limiting terms and conditions of an alien's 
                permanent residence set forth in this paragraph shall 
                expire at the end of five years after the alien's 
                admission to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
                Islands as a permanent resident. Following the 
                expiration of such limiting terms and conditions, the 
                permanent resident alien may engage in any lawful 
                activity, including employment, anywhere in the United 
                States. Such an alien, if otherwise eligible for 
                naturalization, may count the five-year period in the 
                Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands toward 
                time in the United States for purposes of meeting the 
                residence requirement of Title III of the Immigration 
                and Nationality Act.
                  ``(I) Special provision to ensure adequate employment 
                in the tourism industry after the transition period 
                ends.--
                          ``(i) During 2008, and in 2014 if a five year 
                        extension was granted, the Attorney General and 
                        the United States Secretary of Labor shall 
                        consult with the Governor of the Commonwealth 
                        of the Northern Mariana Islands and tourism 
                        business in the Commonwealth of the Northern 
                        Mariana Islands to ascertain the current and 
                        future labor needs of the tourism industry in 
                        the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
                        Islands, and to determine whether a five-year 
                        extension of the provisions of this paragraph 
                        (d)(2) would be necessary to ensure an adequate 
                        number of workers for legitimate businesses in 
                        the tourism industry. For the purpose of this 
                        section, a business shall not be considered 
                        legitimate if it engages directly or indirectly 
                        in prostitution or any activity that is illegal 
                        under federal or local law. The determination 
                        of whether a business is legitimate and whether 
                        it is sufficiently related to the tourism 
                        industry shall be made by the Attorney General 
                        in his sole discretion and shall not be 
                        reviewable. If the Attorney General after 
                        consultation with the United States Secretary 
                        of Labor determines, in the Attorney General's 
                        sole and unreviewable discretion, that such an 
                        extension is necessary to ensure an adequate 
                        number of workers for legitimate businesses in 
                        the tourism industry, the Attorney General 
                        shall provide notice by publication in the 
                        Federal Register that the provisions of this 
                        paragraph will be extended for a five-year 
                        period with respect to the tourism industry 
                        only. The Attorney General may authorize one 
                        further extension of this paragraph with 
                        respect to the tourism industry in the 
                        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 
                        if, after the Attorney General consults with 
                        the United States Secretary of Labor and the 
                        Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern 
                        Mariana Islands, and local tourism businesses, 
                        the Attorney General determines, in the 
                        Attorney General's sole discretion, that a 
                        further extension is required to ensure an 
                        adequate number of workers for legitimate 
                        businesses in the tourism industry in the 
                        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 
                        The determination as to whether a further 
                        extension is required shall not be reviewable.
                          ``(ii) The Attorney General, after 
                        consultation with the Governor of the 
                        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 
                        and the United States Secretary of Labor and 
                        the United States Secretary of Commerce, may 
                        extend the provisions of this paragraph (d)(2) 
                        to legitimate businesses in industries outside 
                        the tourism industry for a single five year 
                        period if the Attorney General, in the Attorney 
                        General's sole discretion, concludes that such 
                        extension is necessary to ensure an adequate 
                        number of workers in that industry and that the 
                        industry is important to growth or 
                        diversification of the local economy. The 
                        decision by the Attorney General shall not be 
                        reviewable.
                          ``(iii) In making his determination for the 
                        tourism industry or for industries outside the 
                        tourism industry, the Attorney General shall 
                        take into consideration the extent to which a 
                        training and recruitment program has been 
                        implemented to hire persons authorized to work 
                        in the United States, including lawfully 
                        admissible freely associated state citizen 
                        labor to work in such industry. The 
                        determination by the Attorney General shall not 
                        be reviewable. No additional extension beyond 
                        the initial five year period may be granted for 
                        any industry outside the tourism industry or 
                        for the tourism industry beyond a second 
                        extension. If an extension is granted, the 
                        Attorney General shall submit a report to the 
                        Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of 
                        the Senate and the Committee on Resources of 
                        the House of Representatives setting forth the 
                        reasons for the extension and whether he 
                        believes authority for additional extensions 
                        should be enacted.
    ``(e) Nonimmigrant Investor Visas.--
          ``(1) Notwithstanding the treaty requirements in section 
        101(a)(15)(E) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
        1101(a)(15)(E)), the Attorney General may, upon the application 
        of the alien, classify an alien as a nonimmigrant under section 
        101(a)(15)(E)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
        U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(E)(ii)) if the alien--
                  ``(A) has been admitted to the Commonwealth of the 
                Northern Mariana Islands in long-term investor status 
                under the immigration laws of the Commonwealth of the 
                Northern Mariana Islands before the transition program 
                effective date;
                  ``(B) has continuously maintained residence in the 
                Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands under 
                long-term investor status;
                  ``(C) is otherwise admissible; and
                  ``(D) maintains the investment or investments that 
                formed the basis for such long-term investor status.
          ``(2) Within 180 days after the transition program effective 
        date, the Attorney General and the United States Secretary of 
        State shall jointly publish regulations in the Federal Register 
        to implement this subsection.
          ``(3) The Attorney General shall treat an alien who meets the 
        requirements of paragraph (1) as a nonimmigrant under section 
        (101(a)(15)(E)(ii)) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
        U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(E)(ii) until the regulations implementing 
        this subsection are published.
    ``(f) Persons Lawfully Admitted Under the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands Immigration Law.--
          ``(1) No alien who is lawfully present in the Commonwealth of 
        the Northern Mariana Islands pursuant to the immigration laws 
        of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands on the 
        transition program effective date shall be removed from the 
        United States on the ground that such alien's presence in the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is in violation of 
        subparagraph 212(a)(6)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality 
        Act, as amended, until completion of the period of the alien's 
        admission under the immigration laws of the Commonwealth of the 
        Northern Mariana Islands, or the second anniversary of the 
        transition program effective date, whichever comes fist. 
        Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prevent or 
        limit the removal under subparagraph 212(a)(6)(A) of such an 
        alien at any time, if the alien entered the Commonwealth of the 
        Northern Mariana Islands after the date of enactment of the 
        Northern Mariana Islands Covenant Implementation Act, and the 
        Attorney General has determined that the Government of the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands violated 
        subsection (f) of such Act.
          ``(2) Any alien who is lawfully present and authorized to be 
        employed in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 
        pursuant to the immigration laws of the Commonwealth of the 
        Northern Mariana Islands on the transition program effective 
        date shall be considered authorized by the Attorney General to 
        be employed in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 
        until the expiration of the alien's employment authorization 
        under the immigration laws of the Commonwealth of the Northern 
        Mariana Islands, or the second anniversary of the transition 
        program effective date, whichever comes first.
    ``(g) Travel Restrictions for Certain Applicants for Asylum.--Any 
alien admitted to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 
pursuant to the immigration laws of the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands or pursuant to subsections (c) or (d) of this section 
who files an application seeking asylum or withholding of removal in 
the United States shall be required to remain in the Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands during the period of time the application 
is being adjudicated or during any appeals filed subsequent to such 
adjudication. An applicant for asylum or withholding of removal who, 
during the time his application is being adjudicated or during any 
appeals filed subsequent to such adjudication, leaves the Commonwealth 
of the Northern Mariana Islands of his own will without prior 
authorization by the Attorney General thereby abandons the application, 
unless the Attorney General, in the exercise of the Attorney General's 
sole discretion determines that the unauthorized departure was for 
emergency reasons and prior authorization was not practicable.
    ``(h) Effect on Other Laws.--The provisions of this section and the 
Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by the Northern Mariana 
Islands Covenant Implementation Act, shall, on the transition program 
effective date, supersede and replace all laws, provisions, or programs 
of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands relating to the 
admission of aliens and the removal of aliens from the Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands.
    ``(i) Accrual of Time for Purposes of Section 212(a)(9)(B) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act, as Amended.--No time that an alien is 
present in violation of the immigration laws of the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands shall by reason of such violation be counted 
for purposes of the ground of inadmissibility in section 212(a)(9)(B) 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(9)(B)).
    ``(j) One-Time Grandfather Provision for Certain Long-Term 
Employees.--
          ``(1) An alien may be granted an immigrant visa, or have his 
        or her status adjusted in the Commonwealth of the Northern 
        Mariana Islands to that of an alien lawfully admitted for 
        permanent residence, without regard to the numerical 
        limitations set forth in sections 202 and 203(b) of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, (8 U.S.C. 1152, 
        1153(b)) and subject to the limiting terms and conditions of an 
        alien's permanent residence set forth in paragraphs (C) through 
        (H) of subsection (d)(2), if:
                  ``(A) the alien is employed directly by an employer 
                in a business that theAttorney General has determined 
is legitimate;
                  ``(B) the employer has filed a petition for 
                classification of the alien as an employment-based 
                immigrant with the Attorney General pursuant to section 
                204 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, 
                not later than 180 days following the transition 
                program effective date;
                  ``(C) the alien has been lawfully present in the 
                Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and 
                authorized to be employed in the Commonwealth of the 
                Northern Mariana Islands for the five-year period 
                immediately preceding the filing of the petition;
                  ``(D) the alien has been employed continuously in 
                that business by the petitioning employer for the 5-
                year period immediately preceding the filing of the 
                petition;
                  ``(E) the alien continues to be employed in that 
                business by the petitioning employer at the time the 
                immigrant visa is granted or the alien's status is 
                adjusted to permanent resident;
                  ``(G) the petitioner's business has a reasonable 
                expectation of generating sufficient revenue to 
                continue to employ the alien in that business for the 
                succeeding five years, and
                  ``(H) the alien is otherwise eligible for admission 
                to the United States under the provisions of the 
                Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended (8 U.S.C. 
                1101, et seq.).
          ``(2) Visa numbers allocated under this subsection shall be 
        allocated first from the number of visas available under 
        paragraph 203(b)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as 
        amended (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(3)), or, if such visa numbers are not 
        available, from the number of visas available under paragraph 
        203(b)(5) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)).
          ``(3) The labor certification requirements of section 
        212(a)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended (8 
        U.S.C. 1182(a)(5)) shall not apply to an alien seeking 
        immigration benefits under this subsection.
          ``(4) The fact that an alien is the beneficiary of an 
        application for a preference status that was filed with the 
        Attorney General under section 204 of the Immigration and 
        Nationality Act, as amended (8 U.S.C. 1154) for the purpose of 
        obtaining benefits under this subsection, or has otherwise 
        sought permanent residence pursuant to this subsection, shall 
        not render the alien ineligible to obtain or maintain the 
        status of a nonimmigrant under this Act or the Immigration and 
        Nationality Act, as amended, if the alien is otherwise eligible 
        for such nonimmigrant status.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--(1) Section 101(a) of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)) is amended:
          (A) in paragraph (36), by deleting ``and the Virgin Islands 
        of the United States.'' and substituting ``the Virgin Islands 
        of the United States, and the Commonwealth of the Northern 
        Mariana Islands.'', and;
          (B) in paragraph (38), by deleting ``and the Virgin Islands 
        of the United States'' and substituting ``the Virgin Islands of 
        the United States, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
        Islands.''.
    (2) Section 212(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1182(1)) is amended--
          (A) in paragraph (1)--
                  (i) by striking ``stay on Guam'', and inserting 
                ``stay on Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern 
                Mariana Islands'',
                  (ii) by inserting ``a total of'' after ``exceed'', 
                and,
                  (iii) by striking the words ``after consultation with 
                the Governor of Guam,'' and inserting ``after 
                respective consultation with the Governor of Guam or 
                the Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern 
                Mariana Islands,'';
          (B) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``on Guam'', and 
        inserting ``on Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
        Islands, respectively,'';
          (C) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ``into Guam'', and 
        inserting ``into Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern 
        Mariana Islands, respectively,'';
          (D) in paragraph (3), by striking ``Government of Guam'' and 
        inserting ``Government of Guam or the Government of the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands''.
    (3) The amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act made by 
this subsection shall take effect on the first day of the first full 
month commencing one year after the date of enactment of the Northern 
Mariana Islands Covenant Implementation Act.
    (c) Technical Assistance Program.--The United States Secretaries of 
Interior and Labor, in consultation with the Governor of the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, shall develop a program 
of technical assistance, including recruitment and training, toaid 
employers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in 
securing employees from among United States authorized labor, including 
lawfully admissible freely associated state citizen labor. In addition, 
for the first five fiscal years following the fiscal years when this 
section is enacted, $500,000 shall be made available from funds 
appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to Public Law 
104-134 for the Federal-CNMI Immigration, Labor and Law Enforcement 
Initiative for the following activities:
          (1) $200,000 shall be available to reimburse the United 
        States Secretary of Commerce for providing additional technical 
        assistance and other support to the Commonwealth of the 
        Northern Mariana Islands to identify opportunities for and 
        encourage diversification and growth of the Commonwealth 
        economy. The United States Secretary of Commerce shall consult 
        with the Government of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
        Islands, local businesses, the United States Secretary of the 
        Interior, regional banks, and other experts in the local 
        economy and shall assist in the development and implementation 
        of a process to identify opportunities for and encourage 
        diversification and growth of the Commonwealth economy. All 
        expenditures, other than for the costs of federal personnel, 
        shall require a non-federal matching contribution of 50 percent 
        and the United States Secretary of Commerce shall provide a 
        report on activities to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
        Resources and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and 
        the Committee on Resources and the Committee on Appropriations 
        of the House of Representatives by March 1 of each year. The 
        United States Secretary of Commerce may supplement the funds 
        provided under this section with other funds and resources 
        available to him and shall undertake such other activities, 
        pursuant to existing authorities of the Department, as he 
        decides will encourage diversification and growth of the 
        Commonwealth economy. If the United States Secretary of 
        Commerce concludes that additional workers may be needed to 
        achieve diversification and growth of the Commonwealth economy, 
        the Secretary shall promptly notify the Attorney General and 
        the United States Secretary of Labor and shall also notify the 
        Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the 
        Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives of his 
        conclusion with an explanation of how many workers may be 
        needed, over what period of time such workers will be needed, 
        and what efforts are being undertaken to train and actively 
        recruit and hire persons authorized to work in the United 
        States, including lawfully admissible freely associated state 
        citizen labor to work in such businesses.
          (2) $300,000 shall be available to reimburse the United 
        States Secretary of Labor for providing additional technical 
        and other support to the Northern Mariana Islands to train and 
        actively recruit and hire persons authorized to work in the 
        United States, including lawfully admissible freely associated 
        state citizen labor, to fill employment vacancies in the 
        Northern Mariana Islands. The United States Secretary of Labor 
        shall consult with the Governor of the Northern Mariana 
        Islands, local businesses, the College of the Northern 
        Marianas, the United States Secretary of the Interior and the 
        United States Secretary of Commerce and shall assist in the 
        development and implementation of such a training program. All 
        expenditures, other than for the costs of federal personnel, 
        shall require a non-federal matching contribution of 50 percent 
        and the United States Secretary of Labor shall provide a report 
        on activities to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
        and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the 
        Committee on Resources and the Committee on Appropriations of 
        the House of Representatives by March 1 of each year. The 
        United States Secretary of Labor may supplement the funds 
        provided under this section with other funds and resources 
        available to him and shall undertake such other activities, 
        pursuant to existing authorities of the Department, as he 
        decides will assist in such a training program in the Northern 
        Mariana Islands.
    (d) Department of Justice and Department of Labor Operations.--The 
Attorney General and the United States Secretary of Labor are 
authorized to establish and maintain Immigration and Naturalization 
Service, Executive Office for Immigration Review, and United States 
Department of Labor operations in the Northern Mariana Islands for the 
purpose of performing their responsibilities under the Immigration and 
Nationality Act, as amended, and under the transition program. To the 
extent practicable consistent with the satisfactory performance of 
their assigned responsibilities under applicable law, the United States 
Departments of Justice and Labor shall recruit and hire from among 
qualified applicant resident in the Northern Mariana Islands for 
staffing such operations.
    (e) Report to the Congress.--The President shall report to the 
Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and the House 
Committee on Resources, within six months after the fifth anniversary 
of the enactment of this Act, evaluating the overall effect of the 
transition program and the Immigration and Nationality Act on the 
Northern Mariana Islands, and at other times as the President deems 
appropriate. The report shall describe what efforts have been 
undertaken to diversify and strengthen the local economy, including, 
but not limited to, efforts to promote the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands as a tourist destination.
    (f) Limitation on Number of Alien Workers Prior to Application of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act, as Amended, and Establishment of 
the Transition Program.--During the period between enactment of this 
Act and the effective date of the transition program established under 
section 6 of Public Law 94-241, as amended by this Act, the Government 
of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands shall not permit an 
increase in the total number of alien workers who are present in the 
Northern Mariana Islands on the date of enactment of this Act.
    (g) Appropriations.--There are authorized to be appropriated such 
sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this section and 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act with respect to the Commonwealth 
of the Northern Mariana Islands.

                         Purpose of the Measure

    S. 1052, as introduced, amends the legislation approving 
the Covenant for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands (CNMI) to extend Federal immigration laws to the CNMI 
if the Attorney General finds either that the CNMI does not 
have the institutional capability to administer an effective 
system of immigration control or has not demonstrated a genuine 
commitment to enforce such a system. The legislation includes a 
transition period of not more than ten years with provisions 
during that period for issuance of nonimmigrant temporary alien 
worker visas and imposition of user fees and permits those 
aliens previously admitted under the temporary worker program 
of the CNMI to remain for the remainder of their contract or 
two years, whichever is less. The legislation contains specific 
provisions to ensure access to workers in construction and the 
hotel industries. The legislation also prohibits the CNMI from 
increasing the number of temporary alien workers between the 
date of enactment and the date on which the Attorney General 
makes the required findings.
    The Committee amendment: (1) extends Federal immigration 
law to the Marianas; (2) provides a transition period ending 
December 31, 2009: (3) permits the Attorney General to extend 
the transition period for legitimate businesses in the tourist 
industry for not more than two successive five year period for 
legitimate businesses in other industries; (4) provides a one-
time grandfather for individuals who have worked in legitimate 
businesses for the past five years; and (5) requires the 
Secretary of Commerce to provide technical and financial 
assistance to encourage growth and diversification of the local 
economy and the Secretary of Labor to provide technical and 
financial assistance to recruit, train, and hire local 
residents and residents of the freely associated states 
(persons authorized to work in the United States).

                          Background and Need


                            summary and need

    The issue of when and how to extend Federal immigration 
laws to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands has 
been before the Committee since 1973, when the Committee was 
consulted on the issue during the negotiations that led to the 
Covenant. The Covenant provided that Federal immigration laws 
would not apply until after the Trusteeship terminated and 
formal U.S. sovereignty was extended over the area. Immigration 
and naturalization are an essential aspect of U.S. sovereignty 
and immediate extension of those laws upon approval of the 
Covenant would have been inconsistent with the legal status of 
the Marianas, which would remain a part of the United Nations 
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands until termination of the 
Trusteeship.
    In addition, there were concerns over how Federal 
immigration laws would operate and whether changes to Federal 
immigration laws might be needed to protect the islands from 
being overrun and to ensure adequate access to workers. At the 
time, a study on immigration was underway, and the Committee 
noted in its report is expectation that ``[i]t may well be that 
these problems will have been solved by the time of the 
termination of the Trusteeship Agreement and that the 
Immigration and Nationality Act containing adequate protective 
provisions can then be introduced to the Northern Marianas 
Islands.'' (S. Rept. 94-433, p. 78) At the time of termination 
of the Trusteeship for the Commonwealth in 1986, however, 
Congress did not take action to extend Federal immigration 
laws. A result of that inaction was the development of an 
economy based in large part on imported labor using short-them 
contracts. Over the years increasing reports of worker abuse 
and other problems led Congress in 1994 to earmark funds for 
enhanced Federal agency presence, specifically from the 
Departments of Justice, Labor, and Treasury, in the 
Commonwealth.
    While there has been a genuine commitment by the present 
governor to deal with worker abuse problems of the past and the 
problems associated with the limited local resources and 
capabilities in running a full scale immigration system, the 
economy of the Commonwealth remains dominated by an alien 
workforce who can not participate in the community while 
unemployment among U.S. citizen residents remains about 15 
percent. Furthermore, the record demonstrates that even with 
good faith and an honest commitment, there are substantive and 
procedural problems that the local government simply cannot 
handle. For example, procedurally, the Commonwealth cannot 
replicate the resources of the Federal Government in issuing 
visas, screening individuals, and applying a double-check on 
persons seeking to enter the United States to prevent the entry 
of criminals or others who should be excluded, such as persons 
with communicable diseases. The Commonwealth also has problems 
tracking individuals. The recent amnesty program produced about 
3,000 persons who were on the island illegally.
    On a substantive basis, aspects of the Commonwealth 
immigration system are also simply inconsistent with federal 
policy. Among those is the policy that persons admitted into 
the United States to fill permanent jobs do so as immigrants 
with the ability to become U.S. citizens. Also, the 
Commonwealth cannot enforce federal requirements under 
international agreements, such as the treatment of persons 
seeking amnesty. As a general matter, federal laws should apply 
and be enforced in the territories as in the rest of the United 
States with such changes and modifications as are justified to 
take into account the individual situation of each of the 
territories. That was the Committee expectation when it first 
considered the Covenant, as stated in its report to accompany 
the Joint Resolution, approving the Covenant. The Commonwealth 
is not a foreign country and should not be treated as such. 
Federal immigration laws should apply to the Commonwealth but 
should be extended in an orderly manner with a commitment by 
Federal agencies to mitigate any potential adverse effects and 
encourage diversification and growth of the local economy.

                               background

    The Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands is a 
three hundred mile archipelago consisting of fourteen islands 
stretching north of Guam. The largest inhabited islands are 
Saipan, Rota, and Tinian. Magellan landed at Saipan in 1521 and 
the area was controlled by Spain until the end of the Spanish-
American War. Guam, the southernmost of the Marianas, was ceded 
to the United States following the Spanish-American War and the 
balance sold to Germany together with the remainder of 
Germany's possessions in the Caroline and Marshall Islands.
    Japan seized the area during World War I and became the 
mandatory power under a League of Nations Mandate for Germany's 
possessions north of the equator on December 17, 1920. By the 
1930's Japan had developed major portions of the area and began 
to fortify the islands. Guam was invaded by Japanese forces 
from Saipan in 1941. The Marianas were secured after heavy 
fighting in1994 and the bases on Tinian were used for the 
invasion of Okinawa and for raids on Japan, including the nuclear 
missions on Hiroshima and Nagaski. In 1947, the Mandated islands were 
placed under the United Nations trusteeship system as the Trust 
Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) and the United States was 
appointed as the Administering Authority. The area was divided into six 
administrative districts with the headquarters located in Hawaii and 
then in Guam. The TTPI was the only ``strategic'' trusteeship with 
review by the Security Council rather than the General Assembly of the 
United Nations. The Navy administered the Trusteeship, together with 
Guam, until 1951, when administrative jurisdiction was transferred to 
the Department of the Interior. The Northern Marianas, however, were 
returned to Navy jurisdiction from 1952-1962. In 1963, administrative 
headquarters were moved to Saipan.
    With the establishment of the Congress of Micronesia in 
1965, efforts to reach an agreement on the future political 
status of the area began. Attempts to maintain a political 
unity within the TTPI were unsuccessful, and each of the 
administrative district (Kosrae eventually separated from 
Pohnpei District in the Carolines) sought to retain its 
separate identity. Four of the districts became the Federated 
States of Micronesia, the Marshalls became the Republic of the 
Marshall Islands, and Palau became the Republic of Palau, all 
sovereign countries in free association with the United States 
under Compacts of Free Association. The Marianas had sought 
reunification with Guam and United States territorial status 
from the beginning of the Trusteeship. Separate negotiations 
with the Marianas began in December 1972 and concluded in 1975.
    In 1976, Congress approved a Covenant to Establish a 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union 
with the United States (PL 94-241). The Covenant had been 
approved in a United Nations observed plebiscite in the 
Northern Mariana Islands and formed the basis for the 
termination of the United Nations Trusteeship with respect to 
the Northern Mariana Islands. Termination occurred in 1986 for 
the CNMI and for the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the 
Federated States of Micronesia. Prior to termination, those 
provisions of the Covenant that Authority. Other provisions 
(such as the extension of U.S. sovereignty) were not made 
applicable. Section 503 of the covenant provides in pertinent 
part that:

          The following laws of the United States, presently 
        inapplicable to the Trust Territory of the Pacific 
        Islands, will not apply to the Northern Mariana Islands 
        except in the manner and to the extent made applicable 
        to them by the Congress by law after termination of the 
        Trusteeship Agreement:
          (a) except as otherwise provided in Section 506 
        [which dealt with certain children born abroad and 
        immediate relatives], the immigration and 
        naturalization laws of the United States; * * *
          (c) the minimum wage provisions of Section 6, Act of 
        June 25, 1938, 52 Stat. 1062, as amended.

    The Covenant permitted a unique system in the CNMI under 
which the local government controlled immigration and minimum 
wage levels until Congress decided to extend federal 
legislation and also had the benefit of duty and quota free 
entry of manufactured goods under the provisions of General 
Note 3(a) of the Harmonized Tariff Schedules. Although certain 
provisions of the Covenant, such as the provisions on 
citizenship, are explicitly made subject to mutual consent, 
these provisions can be modified or repealed by the Congress. 
The Section by Section analysis of the Committee Report on the 
Covenant provides in part:

          Section 503.--This section deals with certain laws of 
        the United States which are not now applicable to the 
        Northern Mariana Islands and provides that they will 
        remain inapplicable except in the manner and to the 
        extent that they are made applicable by specific 
        legislation enacted after the termination of the 
        Trusteeship. These laws are:
          The Immigration and Naturalization Laws (subsection 
        (a)). The reason this provision is included is to cope 
        with the problems which unrestricted immigration may 
        impose upon small island communities. Congress is aware 
        of those problems. * * * It may well be that these 
        problems will have been solved by the time of the 
        termination of the Trusteeship Agreement and that the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act containing adequate 
        protective provisions can then be introduced to the 
        Northern Mariana Islands. * * *
          The same consideration applies to the introduction of 
        the Minimum Wage Laws. (Subsection (c)). Congress 
        realizes that the special conditions prevailing in the 
        various territories require different treatment. * * * 
        In these circumstances, it would be inappropriate to 
        introduce the Act to the Northern Mariana Islands 
        without preliminary studies. There is nothing which 
        would prevent the Northern Mariana Islands from 
        enacting their own Minimum Wage Legislation. Moreover, 
        as set forth in section 502(b), the activities of the 
        United States and its contractors in the Northern 
        Mariana Islands will be subject to existing pertinent 
        Federal Wages and Hours Legislation. (S. Rept. 94-433, 
        pp. 77-78)

    The Committee anticipated that by the termination of the 
Trusteeship, the Federal Government would have addressed the 
potential problems, and that Federal legislation would then be 
extended. The primary need for alien workers was likely to be 
in construction, temporary jobs that could be accommodated 
under Federal immigration laws. At the time the Covenant was 
negotiated, prospects for economic development focused on 
tourism and anticipated Department of Defense use of Tinian.
    Upon termination of the Trusteeship, the CNMI became a 
territory of the United States and its residents became United 
States citizens. Although the population of the CNMI was only 
15,000 people in 1976 when the Covenant was approved, the 
population (as of July 1999) is now estimated at 79,429. The 
rapid increase in population coincides with the assumption 
ofimmigration control by the CNMI. According to the most recent 
statistical survey by the CNMI, 78 percent of the CNMI population were 
United States citizens in 1980. That figure had declined to less than 
47 percent by 1990 and to 42 percent by 1991. In 1980, total non-U.S. 
citizen residents totaled only 3,753 of whom 1,593 were citizens of the 
freely associated states and only 2,160 came from outside Micronesia.
    Short after the Covenant went into effect, the CNMI began 
to experience a growth in tourism and a need for workers in 
both the tourist and construction industries. Interest also 
began to grow in the possibility of textile production in both 
the CNMI and Guam. Initial interest was in production of 
sweaters made of cotton, wool and synthetic fibers. The CNMI, 
like the other territories except for Puerto Rico, is outside 
the U.S. customs territory but can import products manufactured 
in the territory duty free provided that the products meet a 
certain value added amount under General Note 3(a) of the 
Tariff Schedules (then called Headnote 3(a)). The first company 
began operation in October, 1983 and within a year was joined 
by two other companies. Total employment for the three firms 
was 250 of which 100 were local residents. At the time, Guam 
had a single firm, Sigallo-Pac, also engaged in sweater 
manufacture with 275 workers, all of whom, however, were U.S. 
citizens.
    Attempts by territories to develop textile or apparel 
industries have traditionally met resistance from Stateside 
industries. The use of alien labor in the CNMI intensified that 
concern, and efforts began in 1984 to sharply cut back or 
eliminate the availability of duty free treatment for the 
territories. The concerns also complicated Senate consideration 
of the Compacts of Free Association in 1985 and led to a delay 
of several months in floor consideration when some Members 
sought to attach textile legislation to the Compact 
legislation. The response from the CNMI was that they would 
look to limitations on immigration and increased requirements 
for use of local labor.
    The labor force (all persons 16+ years including temporary 
alien labor) grew from 9,599 in 1980 to 32,522 in 1990. 
Manufacturing grew from 1.9 percent of the workforce in 1980 to 
21.9 percent in 1990, only slightly behind construction which 
goes from 16.8 percent to 22.2 percent in the same time frame. 
The construction numbers track a major increase in hotel 
construction. At the same time, increases in the local minimum 
wage were halted, as the CNMI began to increasingly rely on 
imported temporary workers.
    The majority of the population resides on Saipan, which is 
the economic and government center of the CNMI. The most recent 
statistics (March 1999) from the CNMI estimate the population 
of Saipan at 71,790. U.S. citizens are estimated at 30,154 of 
whom 24,710 are CNMI born. There are 41,636 aliens of whom 
about 4,000 are from the freely associated states.
    There is also a significant population of illegal aliens 
with estimates ranging from 3,000 to as high as 7,000 persons. 
The April 1999 CNMI report on the joint Federal-CNMI initiative 
on Labor, Immigration, and Law Enforcement noted that a limited 
immunity program enacted in September 1998 had resulted in 
almost 2,000 illegal aliens registering by March of 1999. The 
CNMI relies on its Central Statistics Division to estimate the 
illegal alien population at less than 3,000. The 1998 report 
from the Administration on the law enforcement initiative 
(fourth report) estimated the number of unauthorized aliens at 
7,000.
    The 1995 census statistics from the Commonwealth lists 
total unemployment at 7.1 percent with CNMI born at 14.2 
percent and Asia born at 4.5 percent. The draft 1999 second 
quarter report from the CNMI Central Statistics Division lists 
unemployment among CNMI-born U.S. citizens at 15.3 percent with 
nonresident non-citizen unemployment at 3.1 percent. Of the 
15,251 U.S. residents above 16 years in the CNMI, 10,438 are in 
the labor force with employment of 9,039. The local U.S. 
citizen unemployment rate suggests that guest workers are 
taking jobs from local residents.
    The percentage of non-U.S. citizens in the labor force has 
increased from 27.5 percent in 1973 to 37.8 percent in 1980 to 
74.9 percent in 1990 with a decline to 73.3 percent in 1995. 
Recent statics indicate that non-U.S. citizens represent 77.4 
percent of the labor force on Saipan in the first quarter of 
1999. The comparable figure for Saipan for 1995 was 74.9 
percent. The figures, however, are more striking when the 
composition of the public versus private sector is examined. 
For the first quarter of 1999, the public sector on Saipan had 
a workforce of 2,463 of whom only 9 percent were non-U.S. 
citizens. For the private sector on Saipan during the same 
period, 84 percent of the workforce were non-U.S. citizens.
    While jobs in the garment industry are unattractive to 
local residents, local businesses are using the guest worker 
program and the willingness of alien workers to work for lower 
wages to fill skilled managerial and professional positions 
(including plumbers and electricians, as well as accountants) 
with foreign workers. For example, the June 14, 1999 Marianas 
Variety lists a variety of job offers, including: Plumber--
$3.25/hr; Accountant--$3.05/hr; Carpenter--$3.05/hr; and 
Electrician--$4.14/hr.
    One result of this situation is that the public sector, 
where average wages exceed both the local and Federal minimum 
wage, has become a primary employer for local residents. What 
job creation exists in the private sector goes to foreign 
workers. The ability to obtain skilled foreign workers at low 
wages effectively forecloses opportunities for U.S. residents 
in both entry and skilled positions. The private sector job 
market for recent CNMI graduates is better in Guam than in the 
CNMI. Another consequence is that there is little incentive for 
specialized or graduate training since companies can readily 
obtain experienced workers from foreign countries at wage 
levels that are unattractive to CNMI residents. A by-product of 
this situation has been increased pressure on the public sector 
to expand solely to provide jobs. The average wage rate for the 
public sector for the first quarter of 1999 was reported by the 
CNMI Department of Commerce as $12.89/hr. For the CNMI, the 
lack of private sector jobs for local residents has frustrated 
efforts to trim the public sector budget. As the CNMI becomes 
more dependent on local revenues to pay the wages of public 
sector employees, it also becomes more dependent on a system of 
imported labor at the expense of local jobs in the private 
sector. This situation was neither intended nor contemplated by 
either side in the negotiations that led to the Covenant.
    Repeated allegations of violations of applicable federal 
laws relating to worker health and safety, concerns with 
respect to immigration problems, including the admission of 
undesirable aliens, and reports of worker abuse, especially in 
the domestic and garment worker sectors, led tothe inclusion of 
a $7 million set aside in appropriations in 1994 to the Department of 
the Interior to support Federal agency presence in the CNMI. The 
Department of the Interior reported to the Committee on April 24, 1995 
that:
          (1) $3 million would be used by the CNMI for a 
        computerized immigration identification and tracking 
        system and for local projects;
          (2) $2.2 million would be used by the Department of 
        Justice to strengthen law enforcement, including the 
        hiring of an additional FBI agent and Assistant U.S. 
        Attorney;
          (3) $1.6 million would be used by Labor for two 
        senior investigators as well as training; and
          (4) $200,000 would be used by Treasury for assistance 
        in investigating violations of Federal law with respect 
        to firearms, organized crime, and counterfeiting.
    In addition, the report recommended that Federal law be 
enacted to phase in the current CNMI minimum wage rates to the 
Federal minimum wage level in 30 cent increments as then 
provided by CNMI legislation, end mandatory assistance to the 
CNMI when the current agreement was fulfilled, continue annual 
support of Federal agencies at a $3 million/year level (which 
would include funding for a detention facility that meets 
Federal standards), and possible extension of Federal 
immigration laws.
    During the 104th Congress, the Senate passed S. 638, 
legislation supported by the Administration. Concern over the 
effectiveness of the CNMI immigration laws and reports of the 
entry of organized criminal elements from Japan and China led 
the Committee to include a provision to require the 
Commonwealth ``to cooperate in the identification and, if 
necessary, exclusion or deportation from the Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands of persons who represent security 
or law enforcement risks to the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands or the United States.'' (Sec. 4 of S. 638) No 
action was taken by the House.
    In February, 1996, Members of the Committee visited the 
CNMI and met with local and federal officials. In addition, the 
Members inspected a garment factory and met with Bangladesh 
security guards who had not been paid and who were living in 
substandard conditions. As a result of the meetings and 
continued expressions of concern over conditions, the Committee 
held an oversight hearing on June 26, 1996, to review the 
situation in the CNMI. At the hearing, the acting Attorney 
General of the Commonwealth requested that the Committee delay 
any action on legislation until the Commonwealth completed a 
study on minimum wage and promised that the study would be 
completed by January. That timing would have enabled the 
Committee to revisit the issue in the April-May 1997 period 
after the Administration had transmitted its annual report on 
the law enforcement initiative. While the CNMI Study was not 
finally transmitted until April, the Administration did not 
transmit its annual report, which was due in April, until July. 
On May 30, 1997, the President wrote the Governor of the 
Northern Marianas that he was concerned over activities in the 
Commonwealth and had concluded that federal immigration, 
naturalization, and minimum wage laws should apply.
    Given the reaction that followed the President's letter, 
the Chairman of the Committee asked the Administration to 
provide a drafting service to the language needed to implement 
the recommendations in the annual report and informed the 
Governor of the Commonwealth of the request and that the 
Committee intended to consider the legislation after the 
Commonwealth had an opportunity to review it. The drafting 
service was not provided until October 6, 1997 and was 
introduced on October 8, 1997, as S. 1275, shortly before the 
elections in the CNMI. The Committee deferred hearings so as 
not to intrude unnecessarily into local politics and to allow 
the CNMI an opportunity to review and comment on the 
legislation after the local elections.
    The U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform conducted a site 
visit to the Northern Marianas in July 1997 and issued a report 
which in general supported extension of immigration laws. The 
report, however, also raised some concerns with the extension 
of U.S. immigration laws. The report found problems in the CNMI 
``ranging from bureaucratic inefficiencies to labor abuses to 
an unsustainable economic, social and political system that is 
antithetical to most American values'' but ``a willingness on 
the part of some CNMI officials and business leaders to address 
the various problems''.
    The Report found that:
    --The CNMI Department of Labor and Immigration ``does not 
have the capacity, nor is it likely to develop one, to 
prescreen applicants for entry prior to their arrival on CNMI 
territory.'' This leads to the situation of the Bangladesh 
workers who arrive and find there is no work as well as the 
entry of those with criminal or other disqualifying records. 
Federal law enforcement officials are mentioned as not 
providing information to the CNMI due to concerns over security 
and corruption.
    --The levels of immigration led to dependence on government 
employment or benefits for U.S. residents unable to find work 
and younger residents having to leave to find work. The Report 
also noted that those on welfare could still hire domestics.
    --The economy is unsustainable because there will be no 
advantage for the garment industry when the multi-fibre 
agreement comes into force in 2005. Others also share the view 
that the garment industry presence in the CNMI is temporary. In 
September 1997, the Bank of Hawaii concluded that the presence 
of the garment industry was a result of ``a unique and 
temporary comparative economic advantage'' and that the CNMI 
should begin to plan for a ``transition to an exclusively 
tourism-driven economy''.
    --Foreign workers are exploited with retaliation against 
protesters, failure of the CNMI government to prosecute, 
unreliable bonding companies, exorbitant recruitment fees, 
suppression of basic freedoms, and flagrant abuses of household 
workers, agricultural workers, and bar girls.
    --The CNMI has entered into agreements dealing with trade 
and immigration with the Philippines and China over U.S. State 
Department objections.
    --The CNMI has no asylum policy or procedure placing the 
United States in violation of international obligations.
    --The temporary guest worker for permanent jobs creates 
major policy problems as well as creating a two class system 
where the majority of workers are denied political and social 
rights. In the U.S. proper, such workers would be admitted for 
residence and could become citizens. Worse, the children of 
these workers are U.S. citizens. The children of foreign 
mothers now account for 16 percent of U.S. citizens.
    The Report, however, also raised some concerns over an 
immediate imposition of U.S. immigration laws:
    --Absent a transition, few workers would be eligible for a 
visa and there would be an impact on the economy.
    --The Federal Government is not positioned to take over and 
enforce immigration laws. The Report cited INS officials 
indicating a need for 60 positions and the general disinterest 
of Federal agencies such as INS, OSHA, and Labor in enforcing 
Federal laws unless Interior underwrote the cost.
    --The relationship between INS and the local Department was 
very bad and the U.S. Department of State has no operational 
relations with CNMI immigration. Without local cooperation, 
federal enforcement would be more difficult.
    The Report noted that the CNMI was not likely to take any 
corrective action absent a threat of Federal takeover. The 
Report recommended that the United States and CNMI negotiate an 
agreement to eliminate abuses, backed by the threat of U.S. 
takeover. Specifically, the Report recommended:
          --phase out (3-5 years) foreign contract workers in 
        exploitive industries (garment workers, domestics, bar 
        girls);
          --adopt specific provisions for professionals and 
        executives (mainly wages);
          --limited provisions for temporary workers in 
        permanent construction, hotel, and restaurant jobs with 
        phase in of wages to Guam levels and decreasing slots 
        for foreign workers;
          --guaranteed access to asylum procedures;
          --legal permanent resident status to contract workers 
        who would be eligible for such status elsewhere in the 
        U.S.;
          --effective prescreening of foreign contract workers 
        as is done elsewhere in the U.S.;
          --control of recruitment fees;
          --vigorous enforcement of local laws, especially on 
        payment of wages and working conditions;
          --increase inspections; and
          --increased Federal training.
    The Committee conducted a hearing on March 31, 1998, on S. 
1275 and S. 1100, similar legislation introduced by Senator 
Akaka and others. The Committee heard from the Administration, 
the government of the CNMI, workers and representatives of the 
local industry, as well as public witnesses.
    On May 20, 1998, the Committee ordered S. 1275 favorably 
reported with amendments. The Committee amendments deleted 
provisions altering General Note 3(a) of the tariff schedules 
and provisions dealing with the ``Made in the USA'' label. The 
Committee also deleted the provision that directly phased in 
minimum wage rates to the Federal rate in favor of an industry 
committee as had been the practice in other territories. The 
Committee adopted the provisions for extension of Federal 
immigration laws with several changes. In response to the 
Governor's request that he be given an opportunity to prove 
that the CNMI could implement an effective immigration program, 
the Committee made extension contingent upon a finding by the 
Attorney General that the CNMI had either not adopted an 
effective immigration system or had not demonstrated a 
commitment to enforce it.
    On October 6, 1998, the Secretaries of Labor, Commerce, the 
Interior, and the Attorney General wrote a letter to the 
Committee urging action on the Administration's proposal, but 
the Senate was not able to consider the legislation prior to 
adjournment. On May 13, 1999, Senator Murkowski, for himself 
and Senators Akaka and Bingaman, introduced S. 1052, 
incorporating the Committee reported immigration provisions 
from last Congress, with a minor amendment.
    The presence of a large alien population in the CNMI is not 
simply a matter or local concern. Although temporary workers 
admitted into the CNMI may not enter elsewhere in the United 
States and their presence in the CNMI does not constitute 
residence for the purpose of obtaining U.S. citizenship, that 
limitation does not apply to their children. Persons born in 
the CNMI obtain U.S. citizenship by birth and eventually will 
be able to bring their immediate families into the United 
States. There is an increasing number of births to non-citizen 
mothers, In 1985, of 675 births, 260 were to non-citizen 
mothers. While the number of U.S. citizen mothers remained 
relatively constant, the number of non-citizen mothers 
increased to 581 by 1990, 701 in 1991, 859 in 1992, and 
continued around 900-1000 with the exception of 1,409 in 1996. 
For that year, total births, 1,890 with the percentage of U.S. 
citizen mothers at 25 percent. While some of the presumed non-
citizen mothers are likely to be married toCNMI resident, 
others are not, and all entered outside of Federal immigration laws. 
The result is that there is an increasing number of persons obtaining 
U.S. citizenship outside the boundaries of U.S. immigration and 
naturalization laws. There are also incidental effects on various 
Federal programs, such as education, that the children and their 
immediate relatives will be eligible for. To the extent that the 
current CNMI immigration and wage system results in structural 
unemployment among resident U.S. citizens, there are also effects on 
Federal programs providing assistance to the poor.
    The Commission on Immigration Reform noted most of the 
elements that have been mentioned in various reports. The use 
of temporary workers to fill permanent jobs is a direct policy 
issue for the Federal Government. The CNMI does not have an 
asylum policy, which is a Federal obligation. Earlier this 
year, an organized operation from China attempted to smuggle 
individuals into Guam. Eventually, the Federal Government 
adopted a policy of intercepting boats at sea and diverting 
them to the Northern Marianas prior to repatriating the 
individuals and prosecuting the smugglers. Although Federal 
immigration laws did not apply, federal agencies did consider 
any requests for asylum, but the absence of Federal law 
complicated consideration.
    Concerns have also arisen over the use of the Northern 
Marianas for importation and transshipment of drugs. The June 
17 Marianas Variety reported the Finance Department's Division 
of Customs to have confiscated over $2.5 million of crystal 
metamphetamine in 1998 with an increasing number of drug 
arrests. A related concern raised by the Administration has 
been the ability of the CNMI to exclude individuals, especially 
members of organized crime from Japan and China. The CNMI does 
not have a data base to screen immigrants, and accomplishes 
most of its screening on arrival. The Federal Government, 
however, for those countries that require visas, does its 
screening in the foreign country. Federal law enforcement 
agencies have cited security concerns as a major impediment to 
sharing information with the CNMI government.
    Another concern has been the increase in the level of 
communicable diseases, especially tuberculosis. The April 1999 
CNMI report on Law Enforcement noted that the CNMI has 
committed to require screening of all workers and that under 
current regulations, ``if a worker is diagnosed with a 
communicable disease within ninety days of entry into the CNMI, 
they are deported back to their country of origin.'' The report 
did note that they were attempting to deal with individuals who 
``once diagnosed would become illegal and disappear rather than 
come in for treatment.'' The report also states that most cases 
are reactivation disease. ``That is they are infected with TB 
but have no signs of TB upon entry into the CNMI. After being 
in the CNMI for 2-5 years, their TB reactivates and they become 
contagious.'' (p.49) Both Guam and the CNMI have rates of 
active TB well in excess of the North American average of 9 
cases per 100,000. The 1995 Division of Public Health assessed 
the mean for the CNMI from 1991-1995 at 77.9 cases per 100,000 
population, the majority among the non-resident contract 
workers.

                               conclusion

    As a result of these concerns, the Committee has concluded 
that Federal immigration laws should be extended to the 
Commonwealth at this time. The Covenant contemplated that the 
laws would be extended at some point after termination of the 
Trusteeship, and further delay can only serve to exacerbate 
current problems and the burden on local government in trying 
to replicate Federal capacities and conform to Federal 
policies. The Committee is sensitive to the concerns raised by 
the government of the Commonwealth and from various individuals 
and firms in the Commonwealth over the potential effects of 
this extension. The amendment addresses those concerns and 
significantly expands the provisions contained in the measure 
reported during the last Congress. The amendment also 
specifically addresses the need for Federal agencies, notably 
the Departments of Commerce and Labor, to take a more active 
and aggressive role in helping the local government diversity 
and strengthen the local economy and recruit, train, and hire 
local residents and residents of the freely associated states. 
A transition to full application of federal immigration laws 
can be accomplished in an orderly manner with limited 
disruption to the local economy, especially if Federal agencies 
consult closely with local elected officials in the 
implementation and enforcement of federal laws.

                          Legislative History

    S. 1052 was introduced on May 13, 1999. The legislation is 
similar to sections 1 and 2 of S. 1275 as reported by the 
Committee during the 105th Congress. A hearing was held on the 
legislation on September 14, 1999.
    At the business meeting on October 20, 1999, the Committee 
on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 1052, as amended, 
favorably reported.

           Committee Recommendations and Tabulation of Votes

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on October 20, 1999, by a unanimous voice vote 
of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1052, 
if amended as described herein.

                          Committee Amendments

    During the consideration of S. 1052, the Committee adopted 
an amendment in the nature of a substitute.
    The Committee amendment makes several changes to the 
legislation as introduced. The most significant is the 
elimination of provisions recommended by the Committee last 
Congress that would have conditioned extension of federal 
immigrant laws on a finding by the Attorney General that the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) did not 
have the institutional capability to meet immigration standards 
or had not demonstrated a genuinecommitment to do so. The 
Representatives of the CNMI testified that they did not trust the 
Administration to promulgate reasonable standards or do a fair 
evaluation. The CNMI believed that since the Administration supported 
extension of Federal law, the Attorney General's conclusion was 
predetermined. On the other side, the Administration opposed the 
provision because they believed that the CNMI would only use the 
promulgation of standards and the finding as excuses to litigate and 
delay extension of Federal law. While here is a limited possibility 
that a local immigration system could be implemented in a manner 
consistent with federal policies there does not appear to be a way to 
reach that result. As a result, the Committee amendment deletes the 
contingency and provides that Federal immigration laws will apply to 
the CNMI.
    The Committee has adopted a series of additional amendments 
to provide for a smooth transition to address some of the 
concerns expressed by the CNMI. The Committee has adopted a 
Statement of Purpose to guide federal agencies in implementing 
the legislation. The Statement makes clear that the Committee 
expects the transition to be orderly and that federal agencies 
should seek to minimize potential adverse effects. Some impact 
is unavoidable, but the CNMI has a considerable economic 
potential. A commitment by Federal agencies to support local 
legitimate businesses in tourism and encourage diversification 
will not only limit adverse effects but may also serve to bring 
more of the local residents into the work-force.
    The legislation as introduced provided for transition 
period of not more than ten years. The CNMI expressed concern 
that Federal agencies would use the flexibility to sacrifice 
the local economy to a precipitous implementation. The 
Committee amendment eliminates that uncertainty by specifying 
that the transition period will extend to December 31, 2009. 
The amendment provides that each agency having responsibilities 
during the transition shall promulgate regulation. In adopting 
such regulations, the agency should be guided by the Statement 
of Purpose and not solely by administrative convenience.
    During the transition period, the Secretary of Labor will 
provide for a system to allocate permits for temporary labor 
that will be reduced to zero by the end of the transition 
period. The amendment does not require the Secretary to adopt 
any particular system, but the Secretary should adopt a system 
that in the Secretary's estimation is most consistent with the 
Statement of Purpose. The Secretary is not required to use the 
entire transaction period nor to adopt an even percentage 
reduction over the period, however the Secretary should work 
closely with other Federal agencies and the CNMI to coordinate 
the annual allocation with efforts to recruit, train, and hire 
persons authorize to work in the United States. To the extent 
the Secretary of Labor is successful in using the technical 
assistance language in the Committee amendment (sec. 2(c)) and 
other authorities to obtain such workers, the Secretary will be 
able to reduce the need for temporary alien workers. The 
objective remains an orderly and smooth transition to the full 
application of Federal laws.
    The legislation, as introduced, contained a provision that 
would extend the transition provisions for the hotel industry 
for five year periods if the Attorney General determined that 
there was a continuing need for such workers. The 
Administration requested that the provision be limited to a 
single period of five years or less. The CNMI, on the other 
hand, noted that if the Committee intended to protect the 
tourism industry, that industry was broader than just hotels. 
The CNMI also expressed concern that such a provision might be 
necessary for any new industries that might be developed. The 
Committee amendment broadens the provision to include 
legitimate businesses in the tourism industry and provides that 
no more than two five years extensions may be granted. The 
Attorney General should provide an expansive definition to the 
term ``tourism'' to include not only those businesses 
exclusively engaged in tourist activities, but also those 
businesses that support or depend or such activities such as 
laundries. The Attorney General should construe the term 
``legitimate'' narrowly and exclude any business that engages 
``directly or indirectly'' in prostitution or any activity that 
is illegal under Federal or local law. Operations that are 
merely fronts for other activities should also be excluded. The 
determination by the Attorney General is within the Attorney 
General's sole discretion and is not reviewable. This provision 
provides a safety net for those firms and employers who are 
engaged in legitimate businesses in tourism. The Committee 
amendment also provides for a one-time five year extension for 
other industries if the Secretary of Commerce concludes that 
such an extension is necessary for growth or diversification. 
Effective implementation of federal local agency authority 
during the transition should obviate the need for any 
extension. The Committee amendment also requires the Attorney 
General to report to the Committee if any extension is granted 
on the reasons for the extension, and whether further authority 
should be enacted for an additional extension. At this time the 
Committee cannot estimate that the needs will be for workers in 
the CNMI by 2015, but hopes that both Federal and local 
authorities will use the transition period wisely.
    On criticism of the CNMI was that certain aliens were hired 
and remained in the CNMI for extended periods with the 
political and civic rights normally extended to aliens admitted 
into the United States under Federal laws. The CNMI sought to 
deal with that concern by enacting legislation to limit the 
time an alien could remain in the CNMI to three years. That 
provision, however, frustrates legitimate businesses who seek 
to retain workers who they have hired and trained. While the 
overall objective of the legislation is to eventually replace 
the present temporary contract workers with persons admitted on 
a permanent basis under Federal law, there are equities for 
both workers and employers where individuals have been working 
continuously in legitimate businesses in the CNMI. Accordingly, 
the Committee amendment provides a one-time grandfather 
provision that would allow an employer to petition for any 
employee who has been employed in that business for the past 
five years to have the employee classified as an employment-
based immigrant under federal law. The Committee amendment 
provides for certain checks on the authority. The businesses 
must be legitimate, using the same narrow definition applicable 
for the transition extension provisions. The employee must have 
been employed by that business for five years and the business 
must have a reasonable expectation of making sufficient 
revenues to continue to employ the alien. This provision 
applies only to individuals employed in a business, and would 
therefore exclude individuals employed as domestics by a family 
or individual (unless the individual were an employee of a 
business that provided cleaning or domestics and have been 
employed directly by that business for the prior five years and 
not by individuals). The provision also excludes individuals 
who may be on the payroll of a business, but who in fact do not 
work in the business, such as a domestic whose salary is paid 
from a business owned or operated by the family with the 
domestic. This provision will assist legitimate businesses in 
the transition. To the extent that legitimatebusinesses can 
retain current workers, the need for additional alien temporary workers 
during the transition period will be reduced.
    The Committee has expanded the technical assistance 
provisions contained in the legislation to specifically charge 
the Secretary of Commerce to provide assistance to encourage 
growth and diversification of the local economy and the 
Secretary of Labor to provide assistance to recruit, train, and 
hire persons authorized to work in the United States. There is 
concern over the level of unemployment among local residents in 
the CNMI. Specific action should be taken to provide employment 
opportunities. The transition period also offers a chance to 
provide employment opportunities for residents of the freely 
associated states. The CNMI also expressed concern that the 
United States was not promoting the CNMI as a tourist 
destination. The Committee amendment requires the 
Administration to submit a report to Congress within five years 
after the date of enactment of the Act to review progress in 
implementing this legislation and state what efforts have been 
made to diversify and strengthen the local economy, including 
promoting the CNMI as a tourist destination.
    There are important reasons that require that the United 
States control entry into its territory in the CNMI. If Federal 
agencies charged with responsibilities under this legislation 
for extending those laws do so with sensitivity to local 
economic needs, a commitment to diversifying the local economy, 
and with dedication to recruiting, training, and hiring local 
residents and citizens of the freely associated states, the end 
result will be a stronger local economy and local government.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis


Section 1. Short title and purpose

    This section is self-explanatory. The statement of purpose, 
while not referenced directly in the amendments to Public Law 
94-241, is intended to guide and direct Federal agencies in 
implementing the provisions of this Act.

Section 2. Immigration reform for the commonwealth of the Northern 
        Mariana Islands

    Subsection (a) amends Public Law 94-241 (90 Stat. 263, 48 
U.S.C. 1801) (the ``Covenant Act'') which approved the Covenant 
to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in 
Political Union with the United States of America (the 
``Covenant'') by adding a new section 6 at the end.
    The new section 6 provides for the orderly extension of 
Federal immigration laws to the CNMI under a transition program 
designed to minimize adverse effects on the economy. Specific 
provisions are made to ensure access to workers in legitimate 
businesses after the end of the transition and for the 
adjustment of those foreign workers who are presently in the 
CNMI and who have been continuously employed in a legitimate 
business for the past five years.
    Subsection (a) provides, except for any extensions that may 
be provided by the Attorney General to specific industries in 
accordance with the provisions of subsection (d), for a 
transition program ending on December 31, 2009 to provide for 
the issuance of: nonimmigrant temporary alien worker; family-
sponsored, and employment-based immigrant visas.
    Subsection (b) addresses the special problems faced by 
employers in the CNMI due to the Commonwealth's unique 
geographic and labor circumstances by providing an exemption 
from the normal numerical limitations on the admission of H-2B 
temporary workers found in the INA. This subsection enables 
CNMI employers to obtain sufficient temporary workers, if 
United States labor and lawfully admissible freely associated 
state citizen labor are unavailable, for labor sensitive 
industries such as the construction industry.
    Subsection (c) sets forth several requirements during the 
transition program which must be met with respect to temporary 
alien workers who would otherwise not be eligible for 
nonimmigrant classification under the INA. The intent of this 
subsection is to provide a smooth transition from the CNMI's 
current system. The Secretary of Labor will be guided by the 
Act, including the Statement of Purpose and the explanation in 
the Committee Amendments section of this Report in establishing 
the system for the allocating and determining the number of 
permits. Subsection (j) provides for petitions to adjust the 
status of certain long-term employees. If any petitions are 
granted under subsection (j), the number of permits are to be 
reduced accordingly to the extent that the system adopted by 
the Secretary of Labor assumed an allocation of permits for the 
positions held by persons whose status is adjusted under 
subsection (j).
    Subsection (d) provides general limitations on the initial 
admission of most family-sponsored and employment-based 
immigrants to the CNMI, as well as a mechanism for exemptions 
to these general limitations. This subsection is intended to 
address the concerns expressed by this Committee, in approving 
the Covenant in 1976, regarding the effect that uncontrolled 
immigration may have on small island communities. This 
subsection further provides for a ``fail-safe'' mechanism to 
permit, in cases of labor shortages, that certain unskilled 
immigrant worker visas intended for the CNMI be exempted from 
the normal worldwide and per-country limitations found in the 
INA for such unskilled workers. This subsection does not 
increase the overall number of aliens who may immigrate to the 
United States each year.
    Paragraph (1) of this subsection authorizes the Attorney 
General, after consultation with the governor and the 
leadership of the Legislature of the CNMI and in consultation 
with other Federal Government agencies, to exempt certain 
family-sponsored immigrants who intend to reside in the CNMI 
from the general limitations on initial admission at a port-of-
entry in the CNMI or in Guam. For example, unless the CNMI 
recommends otherwise, most aliens seeking to immigrate to the 
CNMI on the basis of a family-relationship with a United States 
citizen or lawful permanent resident would be required to be 
admitted as a lawful permanent resident at a port-of-entry 
other than the CNMI or in Guam, such as Honolulu.
    Paragraph (2) generally provides the Attorney General with 
the authority to admit, under certain exceptional circumstances 
and after consultation with federal and local officials, a 
limited number of employment-based immigrants without regard to 
the normal numerical limitationsunder the INA. The purpose of 
this provision is to provide a ``fail-safe'' mechanism during the 
transition program in the event the CNMI is unable to obtain sufficient 
workers who are otherwise authorized to work under U.S. law. This 
paragraph would also provide a mechanism for extending the ``fail-
safe'' mechanism beyond the end of the transition program, for a 
specified period of time, with respect to legitimate businesses in the 
CNMI.
    Subparagraph (A) provides that the Attorney General, after 
consultation with the Secretary of Labor and the Governor and 
leadership of the Legislature of the CNMI, may find that 
exceptional circumstances exist which preclude employers in the 
CNMI from obtaining sufficient work-authorized labor. If such a 
finding is made, the Attorney General may establish a specific 
number of employment-based immigrant visas to be made available 
under section 203(b) of the INA during the following fiscal 
year. The labor certification requirements of section 212(a)(5) 
will not apply to an alien seeking benefits under this 
subsection.
    Subparagraph (B) permits the Secretary of State to allocate 
up to the number of visas requested by the Attorney General 
without regard to the normal per-country or ``other worker'' 
employment-based third preference numerical limitations on visa 
issuance. These visas would be allocated first from unused 
employment-based third preference visa numbers, and then, if 
necessary, from unused alien entrepreneur visa numbers.
    Subparagraph (C) deals with entry of persons with 
employment-based immigrant visas and is self-explanatory. 
Persons who are otherwise eligible for lawful permanent 
residence under the transition program may have their status 
adjusted in the CNMI.
    Subparagraph (D) provides that any immigrant visa issued 
pursuant to this paragraph shall be valid only to apply for 
initial admission to the CNMI. Any employment-based immigrant 
visas issued on the basis of a finding of ``exceptional 
circumstances'' as described in subparagraph (A) above, would 
be valid for admission for lawful permanent residence and 
employment only in the CNMI during the first five years after 
initial admission. Such visas would not authorize permanent 
residence or employment in any other part of the United States 
during this five-year period. The subparagraph also provides 
for the issuance of appropriate documentation of such 
admission, and, consistent with the INA, requires an alien to 
register and report to the Attorney General during the five-
year period. This five-year condition is intended to prevent an 
alien from using the CNMI-only transition program as a loophole 
to gain employment in another part of the United States. 
Without this condition, such an alien, as a lawful permanent 
resident, would be eligible to work anywhere in the United 
States, thereby avoiding the lengthy (seven years or longer) 
waiting period currently faced by other aliens seeking 
unskilled immigrant worker visas.
    Subparagraph (E) provides that an alien who is subject to 
the five-year limitation under this paragraph may, if he or she 
is otherwise eligible, apply for an immigrant visa or admission 
as a lawful permanent resident on another basis under the INA.
    Subparagraph (F) provides for the removal from the United 
States, of any alien subject to the five-year limitation if the 
alien violates the provisions of this paragraph, or if the 
alien is found to be removable or inadmissible under applicable 
provisions of the INA.
    Subparagraph (G) provides the Attorney General with the 
authority to grant a waiver of the five-year limitation in 
certain extraordinary situations where the Attorney General 
finds that the alien would suffer exceptional and extremely 
unusual hardship were such conditions not waived. The benefits 
of this provision would be unavailable to a person who has 
violated the terms and conditions of his or her permanent 
resident status, such as an alien who has engaged in the 
unauthorized employment.
    Subparagraph (H) provides for the expiration of limitations 
after five years.
    Subparagraph (I) provides for not more than two five-year 
extensions, as necessary, of the employment-based immigrant 
visa programs of this paragraph, with respect to workers in 
legitimate businesses in the tourism industry. This provision 
is designed to ensure that there be a sufficient number of 
workers available to fill positions in the tourism industry 
after the transition period ends. The subparagraph also permits 
a single five-year extension for legitimate businesses in other 
industries. The provisions are explained more fully under the 
discussion of Committee Amendments.
    Subsection (e) deals with nonimmigrant investor visas and 
is self-explanatory.
    Subsection (f) deals with persons lawfully admitted into 
the CNMI under local law and is self-explanatory.
    Subsection (g) provides travel restrictions for certain 
applicants for asylum and is self-explanatory.
    Subsection (h) deals with the effect of these provisions on 
other law and is self-explanatory.
    Subsection (i) provides that no time spent by an alien in 
the CNMI in violation of CNMI law would count toward admission 
and is self-explanatory.
    Subsection (j) provides a one-time grandfather for certain 
long-term employees and is more fully discussed in the section 
of the Report describing the Committee Amendment.
    Section 2, subsection (b) provides for three conforming 
amendments to the INA.
    Section 2, subsection (c) provides for technical assistance 
and is discussed more fully in the section of the Report 
describing the Committee Amendment.
    Section 2, subsection (d) provides administrative authority 
for the Departments of Justice and Labor to implement the 
statute and is self-explanatory. The requirement that all 
expenditures require a non-federal matching contribution of 50 
percent applies only to expenditures involving the additional 
incremental funding and is to be read to require that those 
expenditures be at least 50 percent non-federal. The provision 
should not be read to cap non-federal contributions, but to 
require that, at a minimum, each federal dollar of the 
additional funding be matched by a dollar of non-federal funds.
    Section 2, subsection (e) provides for a report to 
Congress, is discussed in the section of the Report on 
Committee Amendments and is self-explanatory.
    Section 2, subsection (f) limits the number of alien 
workers present in the CNMI prior to the transition program 
effective date and is self-explanatory.
    Section 2, subsection (g) authorizes appropriations and is 
self-explanatory.

                   Cost and Budgetary Considerations

    The Congressional Budget Office cost estimate report had 
not been received at the time the report was filed. When the 
report becomes available, the Chairman will request that it be 
printed in the Congressional Record for the advice of the 
Senate. During the 105th Congress, CBO estimated that the costs 
of similar provisions of S. 1275 would be less than $500,000 in 
the first year and between $7 million and $8 million over a 
five year period. CBO also determined that the provisions 
contained both intergovernmental and private sector mandates.

                      Regulatory Impact Evaluation

    In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following 
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in 
carrying out S. 1052. The bill is not a regulatory measure in 
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or 
significant economic responsibilities on private individuals 
and businesses.
    The legislation contemplates the possibility of extension 
of the Federal immigration laws. To the extent that personal 
information is obtained as part of the normal administration of 
the program elsewhere in the United States, the same provisions 
would apply in the Northern Mariana Islands. If the 
Commonwealth administers and enforces an effective immigration 
system under current law and Federal law is not extended, it is 
likely that the same information would be obtained. Therefore, 
there would be no additional impact on personal privacy.
    Some additional paperwork would result from the enactment 
of S. 1052, as ordered reported, but the Committee does not 
believe that it would be significant.

                        Executive Communications

    On June 28, 1999, the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of 
S. 1052 and the Office of Management and Budget setting forth 
Executive agency recommendations on S. 1052. These reports had 
not been received at the time the report on S. 1052 was filed. 
When the reports become available, the Chairman will request 
that they be printed in the Congressional Record for the advice 
of the Senate. The testimony provided by the Immigration and 
Naturalization Service as the Committee hearing follows:

Statement of Bo Cooper, General Counsel, Immigration and Naturalization 
                     Service, Department of Justice

    Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, good morning. My 
name is Bo Cooper and I am the General Counsel of the 
Immigration and Naturalization Service of the Department of 
Justice (INS). I am appearing on behalf of the Administration. 
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to 
discuss immigration reform for the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands (CNMI). We appreciate the Committee's interest 
in our views.
    Through its favorable report in the last Congress of S. 
1275, the introduction by Chairman Murkowski and Senators 
Bingaman and Akaka of S. 1052 (the Northern Mariana Islands 
Covenant Implementation Act) in the 106th Congress, and its 
hearings on the urgent immigration, labor and other problems 
that exist in the CNMI, this Committee has demonstrated a 
strong bipartisan commitment to improving conditions in this 
United States territory. The Administration shares this goal, 
and is committed to working with Congress for the enactment of 
federal immigration law for the newest member of the American 
political family.
    As you know, S. 1052 is essentially the same bill as the 
CNMI legislation reported by this Committee in the last 
Congress as S. 1275, with respect to immigration. A significant 
difference, of course, is that S. 1052 does not include S. 
1275's provision regarding the minimum wage. Although 
immigration issues are the subject of my testimony today, I 
should note that the Administration continues to believe that 
federal minimum wage law needs to be enacted for this new part 
of our country. The Administration also supports provisions 
that would condition duty free access to the United States for 
apparel produced in the islands, and use of the ``Made in the 
USA'' label, on the employment of a specified amount of U.S. 
citizen labor, consistent with the original purposes of the 
underlying policies.
    The Administration expects soon to submit to the Congress 
its comprehensive legislative proposal addressing the important 
non-immigration issues not included in S. 1052, as well as 
immigration reform. We do not expect the immigration provisions 
in this forthcoming proposal to be substantially different from 
S. 1052, except for the necessary modifications to S. 1052 
discussed in my statement today.
    As former S. 1275 was originally drafted by the 
Administration at the request of Senator Murkowski, that 
legislation as introduced was entirely consistent with 
Administration policy toward the CNMI. There is one important 
difference between the Administration's original immigration 
proposal for the CNMI and the current S. 1052--the preliminary 
requirements of standards, findings, and provision for judicial 
review before the INA may take effect--that causes us serious 
concern. With the exception of those preliminary requirements, 
and several other necessary modifications to S. 1052 that the 
passage of time since 1997 and continued Administration review 
have revealed, I am pleased on behalf of the Administration 
today to support S. 1052 if amended, and urge its rapid 
approval by the Congress.
The CNMI's immigration policy is not consistent with American 
        principles
    The very serious problems I am here to discuss are not new. 
They have been worsening for some years. They were not, 
however, envisioned when the Covenant which united the islands 
and the United States was negotiated, and went into effect 
through the free choice of the people of the CNMI, as well as 
federal approval. In approving the Covenant, the people of the 
CNMI firmly stated their desire to assume membership in the 
community of shared values represented by the American flag, 
including the fundamental values of respect for law, equality, 
democracy and human rights. Among many other benefits, they 
were accorded the privilege of U.S. citizenship. With that 
privilege come responsibilities to uphold the values the 
American people hold dear.
    The Covenant under which the islands became part of the 
United States provided for the application of U.S. law in the 
CNMI. Some laws were to take effect immediately, others later, 
and yet others as determined by subsequent federal law. The 
immigration and nationality laws of the United States come 
within the last category.
    To not apply immediately the sovereign power of the United 
States to control its borders to a local jurisdiction within 
the United States was an extraordinary step. Congress has 
established a federal immigration system to serve the interests 
of the Nation as a whole. The States, territories and other 
non-federal authorities within the United States normally enjoy 
no power with respect to the classification of aliens. Federal 
authority over immigration serves vital national interests, 
including uniformity of treatment of nonresident foreign 
visitors, establishing one national policy on immigration to 
this country, protecting the national security, and ensuring 
that the Nation speaks with one voice in matters of foreign 
policy.
    Federal immigration authority was not immediately extended 
to the islands for several reasons. First, the islands were 
still to be of a territory that the United States administered 
as trustee for the United Nations until the trusteeship ended, 
and the Covenant entered into full force, in November, 1986. 
Extending U.S. immigration and nationality law before the 
trusteeship over the islands ended, and the termination 
accepted by the United Nations, could have given rise to 
charges from adversary nations that we had divided the 
territory and annexed part of it.
    Second, the CNMI negotiators wished to ensure that their 
small islands would not be overwhelmed by large-scale 
immigration from nearby Asian nations, and feared that this 
would happen if the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) were 
immediately extended to the CNMI. The Ford Administration and 
Congress agreed to accommodate this concern, for the time 
being, reserving the right to enact immigration and nationality 
laws after the end of the U.N. trusteeship at the sole 
discretion of the national government.
    A third reason for nor immediately applying the INA was the 
possibility that a national immigration policy review being 
conducted at the time might lead to special provisions in 
federal immigration law to address unique needs of our 
territories. This did not occur.
    It is our strong view, Mr. Chairman, that the time has come 
to enact Federal immigration law for the CNMI. The CNMI has 
used the lack of such law for exactly the opposite purpose than 
it originally intended for having the INA not apply, at least 
temporarily, to the CNMI. Rather than limit immigration, the 
CNMI has engaged in the massive importation of low-paid 
temporary alien workers. Alien workers now comprise a majority 
of the population. The CNMI has attempted to fulfill its 
original purpose in not having the INA apply, however, by not 
letting individual workers stay more than a few years, then 
replacing them with new workers, and not letting most of its 
labor force become permanent members of the community. Under 
this system, a majority of the population never have the 
ability to help determine the public policies under which they 
live. Moreover, these workers are admitted into the CNMI under 
indenture contracts that give their employers virtually total 
control over the terms and conditions of their stay. This in 
turn makes them unacceptably vulnerable to exploitation and 
abuse.
    A few statistics from the most recent annual report on the 
Federal-CNMI Initiative on Labor, Immigration and Law 
Enforcement in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands, issued late in 1998, and from other recent sources, 
illustrate the magnitude of the problem. The CNMI has 
experienced explosive, self-imposed population growth during 
this decade. The population, which was 14,000 in 1975, grew to 
about 17,000 by 1990, but then exploded to nearly 60,000 by 
1995. More than half of the current population are foreign 
workers. In addition to the large population of indentured 
alien workers present under authority of CNMI immigration law, 
an estimated 7,000 undocumented aliens reside in the CNMI.
    Nor do the figures for aliens alone suffice to show the 
impact of the CNMI's immigration policies not just on the 
archipelago's population, but on the rest of the United States. 
An increasing percentage of the U.S. citizen population 
consists of children born in the CNMI to female aliens who 
would likely be inadmissible to the United States under the 
INA, but who have been able freely to enter the CNMI. These 
children are U.S. citizens by birth. They have, of course, all 
rights pertaining to U.S. citizenship, including the right to 
live in any part of the United States and, when they come of 
age, to sponsor their parents for immigration to the United 
States under the INA. They are also eligible for welfare and 
other government benefits on the same terms as other citizens.
    On Saipan (by far the most populous island), there were, 
according to CNMI statistics, 32,822 Asian-born aliens in the 
labor force in February 1999--an increase of nearly 10,000 from 
the 1995 census, demonstrating continuing growth in the alien 
worker population. These indentured alien workers account for 
over 90 percent of the private sector workforce. With a 
virtually unrestricted supply of alien labor, and a resulting 
de facto wage ceiling at or near the CNMI's low minimum wage of 
$3.05 per hour, economic growth in the CNMI has not resulted in 
good private sector jobs for the vast majority of the islands' 
citizens.
    In the CNMI's upside-down economy built on unrestricted 
importation of low-skilled alien workers to fill permanent 
positions, few U.S. citizens will work for the CNMI's low 
minimum wage. It is far below what is required for a living 
wage, or what would be the prevailing market wage absent the 
CNMI's immigration policies. Poverty and unemployment rates 
among locally-born U.S. citizens are high. As last tabulated by 
the CNMI, the poverty rate for this group was 35 percent and 
unemployment rate 16 percent. The exception is U.S. citizens 
who have obtained positions in the public sector. The public 
sector employs 56 percent of locally-born U.S. citizen workers 
at wages several times higher than those available in private 
industry.
    Despite the large CNMI bureaucracy and substantial federal 
financial assistance, CNMI infrastructure and services such as 
public health care, water, sewers, electricity and garbage 
disposal are increasingly inadequate to deal with the 
consequences of such massive immigration. Although the CNMI 
government has attempted to improve health screening of 
documented alien guest workers present in the CNMI, 
communicable diseases, particularly tuberculosis, remain a 
serious threat.
    Symptomatic of this economic and social system is the 
domestic service situation. According to the 1995 census, the 
5,337 households headed by U.S. citizens employed 2,089 alien 
domestic workers, a rate of domestic service unheard of in the 
United States, at least in modern times. This domestic service 
situation did not develop because U.S. citizens in the CNMI 
were wealthy, but because of their nearly unrestricted access 
to exploitable low-wage alien labor. In fact, the U.S. 
Commission on Immigration Reform reported in 1997 that the CNMI 
government had found it necessary to enact a rule barring Food 
Stamp recipients from importing guest workers to work as their 
domestic servants. Needless to say, we are aware of no other 
U.S. jurisdiction that has had to address such a problem.
    I want to emphasize that the Administration does not 
contend that the clock in the CNMI should be turned back to the 
1970s, or that economic or population growth should not occur 
there. However, economic growth cannot justify abuse. The CNMI 
has gone down the wrong road with respect to its immigration 
policy, and that policy must change.
    The developments I have outlined are the result of a CNMI 
immigration system that is inconsistent with the American 
values that underlie the INA. Our immigration system favors the 
controlled and responsible immigration of aliens for permanent 
residence, leading to eventual full and complete inclusion in 
the American community through the granting of U.S. 
citizenship. A central principle of the INA also is the 
unification of families.
    The INA reflects the American tradition of employing U.S. 
workers in private sector jobs that promote the growth of a 
middle class, rather than importing and exploiting a rolling 
stream of alien workers, without permanent immigrant status or 
family ties, in low-paid permanent positions, most to be kept 
almost all the time on their employers' premises. The INA's 
provisions authorizing the employment of nonimmigrant aliens 
under certain circumstances are designed to ensure that such 
employment will not adversely affect the wages and working 
conditions of similarly situated U.S. workers.
    The INA also incorporates our obligations under 
international law--consistent with the value we place upon 
human rights--to give aliens arriving in, or present in the 
United States the opportunity to obtain protection from 
torture, or persecution on account of race, religion, 
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or 
political opinion.
    The CNMI immigration system is fundamentally at odds with 
all of these features of U.S. immigration law. The CNMI has no 
procedure in place under which aliens physically present may 
make a claim for asylum or withholding of removal on the ground 
of persecution. Nor does the CNMI have any procedure under 
which an alien may make a claim under the U.N. Convention 
against Torture that the alien should not be returned to a 
place where he or she will be tortured. The lack of refugee and 
torture protection means that nothing prevents an alien from 
being removed from the CNMI to a place where he or she will 
face persecution or torture. This situation in a place that 
flies the U.S. flag places us at serious risk of violating our 
international law obligations under the 1967 Refugee Protocol 
and the Convention against Torture--obligations which extend to 
the territory of the CNMI.
    In contrast to the INA's prohibition of the importation of 
temporary nonprofessional alien workers to fill permanent jobs, 
the CNMI policy has led to the creation of a large, exploitable 
underclass of aliens (both documented and undocumented) present 
without family ties, and with no prospect of lawful social and 
political integration into the community in which they reside.
    These fundamental inconsistencies between the CNMI's 
immigration policy and U.S. interests are further exacerbated 
by the practical problems faced by a group of small islands 
that is not a sovereign nation when it tries to exercise the 
sovereign power to control its borders. First, since the CNMI 
as a United States territory of course maintains no embassies 
or consulates abroad, and does not have the interaction a 
sovereign nation may have with others, it cannot screen 
applicants prior to their entry. The INS' experience over many 
years of immigration enforcement has convinced us that a 
``double-check'' system is essential. A double-check system is 
one in which (except for temporary visitors from certain 
nations that the light of experience has shown present a low 
risk of violation) arriving aliens are screened twice, first by 
a consular officer overseas and then by an immigration 
inspector at a port of entry.
    The CNMI cannot operate a double-check system. As a result 
of this structural deficiency, the CNMI is especially 
vulnerable to the operations of international organized crime, 
particularly since the CNMI does not have a law enforcement 
agency that federal authorities have deemed sufficiently secure 
to be granted access to federal ``lookout'' information. The 
vulnerability is not just speculative. The CNMI has been 
entered by organized crime rings from several countries.
    Second, when a local jurisdiction within the United States 
such as the CNMI attempts to operate its own immigration 
system, it is virtually impossible for it to avoid entangling 
itself in foreign relations, since immigration is an 
international matter that requires frequent consultations and 
cooperation between national governments. Moreover, the CNMI's 
negotiation, or attempted negotiation, of ``Memoranda of 
Understanding'' with the Philippines and China has intruded 
into the responsibility of the United States government to 
conduct the foreign affairs of the Nation. Additionally, the 
treatment of alien workers in the CNMI has caused irritations 
in the foreign relations of the United States with Nepal, 
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines.
    Third, the CNMI does not adequately document the entry of 
aliens. Despite substantial federal assistance devoted to 
helping the CNMI try to develop an immigration tracking system 
(the Labor and Immigration Identification and Document System 
(LIIDS)) compatible with federal systems, that goal seems as 
far away as ever. All that has been achieved is the issuance of 
labor identity cards, without any tie-in to immigration entry 
and exit.
    The response of the CNMI government has been to concede 
that serious problems and abuses exist while making repeated 
promises of improvement. These promises have not resulted in 
meaningful reform, but only a few largely cosmetic changes that 
address symptoms rather than the underlying problem, and which 
are underfunded or contains loopholes and exceptions. The 
persistent and increasingly severe problems caused by the 
CNMI's economic and immigration policies, and the lack of any 
meaningful CNMI response to address then, led President Clinton 
to conclude in May of 1997 that federal immigration, 
naturalization and minimum wage laws should be applied to the 
CNMI, on a reasonable and appropriate phase-in schedule, and 
with special provisions necessary to avoid disruption to the 
islands.
    Nothing has happened since then that warrants any change in 
the President's conclusion. The CNMI's indentured alien labor 
force has continued to increase, despite an ineffectual 
``moratorium'' on their recruitment and importation. No 
significant improvements have been made in CNMI entry and exit 
tracking and processing. Mistreatment of indentured alien 
workers has continued. The system of relying on a large pool of 
exploited alien labor comprising more than half the population 
has not changed for the better. As Chairman Murkowski aptly 
said in his statement introducing S. 1052, the additional year 
gained by the CNMI as a result of S. 1275 not having been 
enacted into law in 1998 has expired. It is time for action 
now.
S. 1052, with improvements would bring the CNMI into conformity with 
        U.S. immigration policy while providing safeguards against 
        economic or social disruption
    Enacting S. 1052--with the few changes we believe are 
needed to the bill--would be real immigration reform. It would 
begin the essential process of returning the CNMI to an 
immigration system that reflects American values and 
principles. The bill, with the changes we recommend, provides a 
generous implementation and transition period in which to phase 
out the CNMI's alien worker program. The Administration's 
original 1997 proposal, and S. 1052, provide up to a ten-year 
transition period following the one-year implementation period, 
but we recommend in light of the passage of time since the 
original proposal--time that the CNMI has not used to improve 
this urgent situation--that an eight-year transition period 
would be more appropriate and entirely adequate.
    Once the preliminary requirements of S. 1052 involving 
standards and findings regarding the immigration situation in 
the CNMI are satisfied, the INA can apply, with special 
modifications, in the CNMI. Under this bill, the preliminary 
requirements would take a minimum of 18 months, and (dependent 
on the findings) could lead to continued local control of 
immigration rather than the application of federal immigration 
law. If and when the INA applies, immigrant and nonimmigrant 
aliens generally will be visaed, inspected and admitted to the 
CNMI in the manner applicable in the rest of the United States. 
CNMI employers will be able to sponsor immigrants in the same 
way a mainland employer may do. The available nonimmigrant 
categories include--among others--business visitors and 
tourists, intracompany transferees in managerial positions, 
persons of exceptional professional or artistic merit and 
ability, and H-2B temporary workers (especially important for 
construction and other industries).
    The transition provisions include numerous special 
provisions designed to ease, during the transition period 
following application of the INA, any potential burden on the 
CNMI that might result from this change. The INS and the U.S. 
Department of Labor would administer a reasonable system for 
the annual allocation of permits to employers who wish to 
employ temporary alien workers who would not otherwise be 
eligible for admission under the INA, and for the entrance of 
those workers into the CNMI only. This system would ensure that 
CNMI employers are able to fill their positions, but with much 
less risk of the exploitation and mistreatment of indentured 
labor that is characteristic of the current CNMI immigration 
system.
    Other provisions designed to ensure reasonable access by 
CNMI employers to needed labor include exemption of H-2B 
temporary workers coming to the CNMI from the overall numerical 
limitations applicable to H-2B admissions, and authority 
granted to the Secretary of State and the Attorney General to 
grant visas to, and to admit into the CNMI, a limited number of 
employment-based immigrants without regard to normal numerical 
limitations. This exception for employment-based immigrants 
would be triggered by a finding by the Secretary of Labor, upon 
receipt of a recommendation from the CNMI government, that 
exceptional circumstances exist with respect to the inability 
of CNMI employers to obtain sufficient work-authorized labor. 
In order to ensure the continued health of the CNMI hotel 
industry, this provision may be extended even beyond the end of 
the transition period for that industry. To prevent abuse of 
the CNMI immigrant exception by those who have no bona fide 
intention to reside and work in the CNMI, admissions under this 
provision will not be valid for permanent residence and 
employment in the United States, other than the CNMI, for a 
period of five years.
    S. 1052 contains other transition provisions designed to 
protect the CNMI from potentially adverse consequences that 
might occur absent such provisions. Aliens lawfully present in 
the CNMI under authority of CNMI law may remain in the CNMI for 
their period of admission, or for 2 years, whichever is less. 
An alien present in the CNMI under authority of CMNI law, or 
admitted to the CNMI under the transition program's provisions 
for special admission of employment-based immigrants or 
temporary workers, who files an application for asylum will 
have his or her application deemed abandoned if the alien 
leaves the CNMI at any time during which it is pending. Except 
for immediate relatives and the immigrants who may be admitted 
into the CNMI under the special transition period employment 
provisions, aliens may not be granted initial admission as a 
lawful permanent resident of the United States at a port-of-
entry in the CNMI, or at a port-of-entry in Guam for the 
purpose of immigrating to the CNMI.
    In short, we believe that S. 1052 in most respects is a 
fair bill that appropriately addresses the urgent need for 
immigration reform in the CNMI with the proper flexibility to 
ensure that the economy and society of the CNMI are not 
disrupted by the necessary reform. There are, however, several 
improvements that need to be made to the bill, in addition to 
adjusting the transition period from ten to eight years.
S. 1052 can be made even better
    As I previously mentioned, the Department of Justice is 
very concerned about S. 1052's complex, multistep process for 
extending the INA to the CNMI. First, the Attorney General 
would, within 90 days after enactment of S. 1052, publish the 
minimum standards that she deemed necessary to ensure an 
effective system of immigration control for the CNMI. The 
determination of the minimum standards would rest within the 
sole discretion of the Attorney General, and would not be 
subject to the rulemaking requirements of the Administrative 
Procedure Act. The Attorney General's determination of 
standards would, however, be subject to review by the U.S. 
Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upon the filing of a 
timely complaint by the government of the CNMI in that court, 
with subsequent opportunity to petition the U.S. Supreme Court 
for its discretionary review. The defendant in the CNMI's 
lawsuit presumably would be the Attorney General of the United 
States.
    One year after the date of enactment of S. 1052, or 90 days 
after the resolution of litigation over the minimum standards 
(whichever is later), the Attorney General, after consultation 
with the government of the CNMI, would make findings whether 
the CNMI possesses the institutional capability to administer 
an effective system of immigration control consistent with the 
minimum standards, and whether, if so, the CNMI government has 
demonstrated a genuine commitment to enforce such a system. 
Once again, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, 
followed by the U.S. Supreme Court, is designated as the forum 
for a lawsuit by the CNMI government seeking review of the 
findings. Once that litigation is finally resolved, up to a 
ten-year transition program to full INA application would take 
effect 180 days after the final resolution, if the Attorney 
General determined that the CNMI government does not have the 
requisite institutional capability and genuine commitment.
    The CNMI government has consistently demonstrated over a 
period of many years that it has neither the institutional 
capability nor a genuine commitment to ensure an effective 
system of immigration control. The INS made detailed findings 
of fact in the July 1997 Third Annual Report of the Federal-
CNMI Initiative on Labor, Immigration & Law Enforcement 
supporting its conclusion that the CNMI's immigration control 
system is ineffective, and that conclusion is as accurate today 
as it was two years ago. The Department of Justice therefore 
believes that the provisions of S. 1052 that require first the 
promulgation of standards, and then a delay of at least one 
year before findings even can be made that could lead to 
extension of the INA to the CNMI, are unnecessary, and would 
lead to unwarranted delay and uncertainty. Congress should 
resolve this issue now, based on the CNMI's proven record over 
the last decade.
    The judicial review provision within the unnecessary 
preliminary requirements in S. 1052 would allow the CNMI 
government to tie up in litigation the application of 
reasonable federal immigration provisions not only once, but 
twice, first when the Attorney General issues the minimum 
standards, and second, when the Attorney General issues her 
findings. Although S. 1052 urges expedited judicial review, the 
fact remains that two federal court lawsuits over the 
appropriate standards for CNMI immigration, with the 
opportunity to petition the Supreme Court for review each time, 
would be likely to consume several years during which no 
progress toward CNMI immigration reform could be made. Given 
the firm opposition of the CNMI government to extending the INA 
to the CNMI, its use litigation as a delay tactic would not be 
unexpected, no matter how reasonable, appropriate, and correct 
are the Attorney General's standards and findings.
    The Department of Justice also seriously questions 
appropriateness of judicial review of the CNMI immigration 
system not just as a source of delay, but as a fundamental 
matter of the proper scope of the judicial function. The 
minimum standards for an effective immigration system for the 
CNMI, and the ability and willingness of the CNMI government to 
implement them, are policy questions that are not susceptible 
to judicial determination. Absent any judicially discoverable 
and manageable standards for deciding them, a reviewing court 
would be in the position of having either to substitute its 
immigration policy opinions for those of the political branches 
of government, or simply to defer to the Attorney General's 
findings. In neither scenario would there be any useful purpose 
to such a lawsuit. Alternatively, the court could, despite S. 
1052's invitation to involve itself in a dispute between the 
CNMI government and the United States over the appropriate 
immigration policy for the islands, properly dismiss the case 
as a nonjusticiable political question; a correct resolution, 
but again not a productive use of time or judicial resources.
    The Administration strongly urges the Committee to remove 
the unnecessary and counterproductive preliminary requirements 
to promulgate standards and findings, including the judicial 
review provision that would allow the CNMI government to use 
litigation as a tactic to delay even further long overdue 
reforms, and potentially could lead to a court second-guessing 
and overturning national immigration policy decisions.
    Our continued review of proposed legislation also has 
revealed several ways in which S. 1052 can be improved with 
minor changes. I will not take up the Committee's time with 
these now, but we would be glad to work with Committee staff on 
them, and they also will be included in the Administration's 
forthcoming proposal.
Recent developments in the Pacific, and prospects for successful INA 
        enforcement in the CNMI
    In his statement in the Congressional Record introducing S. 
1052, Chairman Murkowski raised several questions about the INS 
position toward the CNMI. They are fair questions, and I want 
to take this opportunity to address them. The statement 
questioned the INS' commitment to deploy the necessary 
resources to the CNMI to ensure adequate enforcement and 
administration of the INA after S. 1052 is enacted into law. 
The resources available to the INS are, of course, dependent on 
the appropriations provided by Congress and the INS' statutory 
authorization to collect fees from users of certain immigration 
services. The INS is very appreciative of the generous support 
Congress has provided to its operations, particularly in the 
last few years, and our agency strives every day to live up to 
that trust.
    The INS commits itself to enforce the INA adequately and 
fairly in the CNMI just as in any other part of the United 
States if that responsibility is entrusted to us, to the 
fullest extent of the resources available for that task. In 
planning for the necessary level of immigration services, we 
would of course be mindful of the difficult challenges posed by 
extending federal immigration law for the first time to this 
farflung archipelago beset with immigration and labor problems.
    I am not here to tell this Committee that extending the INA 
to the CNMI is a panacea that will instantly solve the islands' 
immigration problems. The best efforts of the INS to enforce 
the INA in the United States have not eliminated the problems 
of illegal immigration and alien worker exploitation we face 
here on the mainland, and neither is the INS likely to be able 
to eliminate them entirely in the CNMI. The INS officers and 
employees who will be charged with implementing S. 1052 will 
not have an easy job. However, I am confident that, with the 
support of Congress and the Administration, their essential 
task of introducing and enforcing an immigration system that is 
consistent with U.S. values can be successfully accomplished.
    Although bringing the INA for the first time to any 
jurisdiction is a challenge, the CNMI offers several advantages 
that would facilitate INS immigration enforcement. The CNMI 
archipelago is farflung, but the islands are small and only 
three of them (Saipan, Tinian and Rota) have any substantial 
population. The CNMI's proximity to Guam would mean that INS 
operations in the two jurisdictions could complement each 
other, rather than the current situation in which the CNMI is a 
source of alien smuggling into Guam. And, although recent 
developments in the Pacific have shown that the CNMI's relative 
geographical isolation from major population centers is no 
barrier to maritime alien smuggling, the CNMI lacks the land 
borders and short maritime passages (such as the Straits of 
Florida, or the Mona Passage between the Dominican Republic and 
Puerto Rico), or the levels of international commerce, that 
make border control particularly difficult in other parts of 
the United States. I note also that S. 1052 appropriately calls 
for the INS and other agencies charged with INA administration 
in the CNMI to recruit and hire from among qualified applicants 
resident in the CNMI, to the extent practicable and consistent 
with the satisfactory performance of assigned responsibilities.
    Our efforts in the CNMI would also build upon the work we 
have already done there. Although an INS presence in the CNMI 
under current legal authorities is an entirely inadequate 
substitute for direct application of the INA, the INS has 
worked with other agencies, other components of the Department 
of Justice, and the CNMI government to increase the federal law 
enforcement presence in the CNMI. Since 1996, the INS has 
stationed an immigration officer in the CNMI. In addition to 
technical assistance and liaison in the CNMI, we have provided 
briefings and training in Guam and Hawaii for CNMI immigration 
officers on basic inspection techniques, investigative 
procedures, and the detection of fraudulent documents. We are 
continuing these efforts. For example, this week we are 
conducting three days of additional training for CNMI 
immigration officers in Saipan, and one day in Rota. These and 
other measures to assist the CNMI will not, however, overcome 
the fundamental problems of a system incompatible with American 
values, a local government incapable of handling this 
responsibility, and the lack of federal authority.
    Chairman Murkowski, in his statement in the Congressional 
Record, also expressed concern about the INS' commitment to 
devote the necessary resources to immigration enforcement in 
the CNMI in light of the recent influx of Chinese migrants into 
Guam. In short, the opinion has been expressed that the 
Administration's response to the Guam situation, where federal 
immigration law already applies, has been inadequate, and that 
that response does not bode well for extension of federal 
immigration enforcement obligations to other Pacific islands 
where those obligations are not currently present.
    I would like to respond first by noting that the sudden 
influx of a large number of aliens into Guam by sea was an 
unforeseen circumstance that required the emergency deployment 
of INS resources at very short notice to a place where that 
level of resources had not previously been needed. As the INS 
has no office anywhere that is over-staffed or over-budgeted 
compared to the demands placed upon it to provide law 
enforcement or immigration services, I can assure you that the 
officers, attorneys and other personnel and resources detailed 
to Guam have been very sorely missed in their regular duty 
stations. I am sure that that is equally true of the Department 
of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review's personnel 
detailed to Guam, and of the Coast Guard crews manning the 
patrol vessels and aircraft operating in Guam waters.
    Clearly, the INS needs to be prepared to deal with 
unexpected immigration situations wherever in the United States 
they occur--whether in Guam, South Florida, the Southwest 
Border, or (should S. 1052 become law) the CNMI--and we do our 
best to plan for them. That is a different situation, however, 
than the introduction, on a schedule that is know in advance, 
of INS services and enforcement to a territory of the United 
States not previously served. That is a situation that can be 
anticipated and addressed with appropriate planning and 
budgeting with--if sufficient lead time and resources are 
provided to the INS--no need to cut back immigration services 
in other areas of the United States in order to serve the CNMI 
properly. In short, the fact that the recent emergency in Guam, 
and the proposal to extend the INA to the CNMI, both involve 
nearby islands in the Pacific should not obscure the fact that 
they really are not comparable.
    Second, I want to address any perception that the 
Administration's response to the Guam immigration situation has 
not been adequate. In response to the Guam influx, the INS 
worked closely with the White House, the National Security 
Council, the Departments of State and Defense, the Coast Guard, 
other components of the Department of Justice, and Guam 
authorities to devise and implement an effective interdiction 
and repatriation strategy. That strategy included the Coast 
Guard's deployment of several cutters and a C-130 search and 
rescue airplane. On land, the INS and the Executive Office of 
Immigration Review deployed substantial resources in Guam, and 
the U.S. Attorney for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands has 
pursued numerous prosecutions of smugglers responsible for the 
influx.
    As a result, the worst appears to be over and the situation 
has stabilized. Much work remains to be done in Guam, however, 
and we must remain vigilant against new attempts to target Guam 
for alien smuggling. An outstanding responsibility is to 
provide the funding necessary for the operation, including 
reimbursing the government of Guam. The President has proposed 
$19.4 million for this purpose. We hope the Congress provides 
this funding.
    It also has been said that the INS' use of a facility on 
the island of Tinian in the CNMI to process Chinese aliens 
interdicted at sea near Guam is inconsistent with the 
Administration's support of extending the INA to the CNMI. 
Since May 1998, numerous boats, primarily stateless fishing 
vessels, attempting to reach Guam carrying Chinese nationals as 
cargo have either landed on that island or have been 
intercepted at sea by the Coast Guard. Most of the migrants 
were found amid deplorable conditions, overcrowded in rusting, 
dangerous vessels without lifeboats, sanitation facilities and 
sufficient food and water.
    In April of this year, after available detention space on 
Guam was filled by the sudden influx of seaborne migrants, the 
U.S. Department of Defense erected a camp on former World War 
II airfields on Tinian, and island that is only 90 miles from 
Guam. Approximately 500 migrants interdicted at sea were housed 
temporarily in the Tinian facility, where they were processed 
for repatriation to China. Each alien held on Tinian was 
screened to determine whether the alien had a credible fear of 
persecution if he or she were returned home. Those aliens who 
established a credible fear were transported to the U.S. 
mainland, placed in removal proceedings, and allowed to apply 
for asylum. the rest of the aliens were returned to China. We 
used Tinian again within the last month to process a boat with 
about 140 Chinese national aboard.
    Although it is evident from my testimony and the previous 
record on this matter that the Administration and the CNMI 
government have serious differences of opinion with respect to 
the CNMI's immigration system, I want to take this opportunity 
to inform the Committee that the CNMI government was extremely 
cooperative and helpful with respect to the Tinian operation. 
The Department of Justice thanks them for their assistance.
    More tangibly, on September 7 the INS entered into a 
reimbursement agreement with the U.S. Department of the 
Interior enabling the INS to reimburse the CNMI government for 
costs, primarily personnel expenses, it incurred in support of 
the Tinian operation in the amount of approximately $750,000. 
The INS has begun expeditious processing of the initial 
billings received from the CNMI, and we expect payments to 
begin very soon.
    Mass alien smuggling by sea is a major immigration and 
national security threat to the United States. The phenomenon 
has the capability to create emergency situations that can 
seriously harm and disrupt American communities, particularly 
those as Guam that are especially vulnerable due to their small 
size location or limited law enforcement resources. A vigorous 
program of Coast Guard interdiction at sea, with diversion of 
the aliens to locations where they can be more expeditiously 
processed for repatriation than otherwise might be the case, 
has proven to be an effective weapon that deters this type of 
illegal migration. Possible interdiction sites that could 
provide rapid repatriation capabilities are very few and far 
between in the Western Pacific. In the Guam crisis, the INS was 
able to use the nearby island of Tinian.
    The Tinian operation was a short-term, emergency response 
to an emergency situation. The purpose was to process for rapid 
repatriation to their homeland an influx of exploited migrants 
who arrived amid dangerous conditions. The INS sought to do 
this in the most expeditious and humane way available, and in a 
way that did not further worsen the difficult situation already 
existing on Guam or encourage further smuggling voyages of this 
type. The treatment of the migrants, including giving them an 
opportunity to seek protection from persecution, was completely 
consistent with the obligations of the United States under 
international law.
    Important as our interdiction concerns are, however, they 
are substantially outweighed by the urgent need to bring a 
workable, fair and just immigration system to an American 
commonwealth that lacks one. The usefulness of having a site 
for repatriation is not an argument in favor of not extending 
federal immigration law to the CNMI, any more than it would be 
an argument for exempting other border areas of the United 
States from the INA. Of all the facts I have described, there 
is one overarching fact that dictates our course: The CNMI is 
American soil, and we must treat it as such. The Administration 
firmly believes that the values and interests of the United 
States, including the U.S. citizens of the CNMI, are best 
served by extending the rights, protections, and obligations 
the INA provides for aliens in other parts of the United States 
to those in the CNMI, with appropriate transition provisions.
Conclusion: S. 1052, with certain improvements, should be enacted into 
        law
    In conclusion, the Administration urges this Committee 
favorably to report, and the Congress promptly to enact, S. 
1052 with the needed improvements. Again, we appreciate the 
invitation by the Committee to offer the views of the 
Administration on this bill. I will be pleased to answer any 
questions.

                        Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
the bill S. 1052, as ordered reported, are shown as follows 
(existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black 
brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law in 
which no change is proposed is shown in roman):

                          [Public Law 94-241]


JOINT RESOLUTION To approve the ``Covenant To Establish a Commonwealth 
  of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United 
States of America'', and for other purposes

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


    Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That the 
Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands in Political Union with the United States of America, 
the text of which is as follows, is hereby approved.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    ``Section 503. The following laws of the United States, 
presently inapplicable to the Trust Territory of the Pacific 
Islands, will not apply to the Northern Mariana Islands except 
in the manner and to the extent made applicable to them by the 
Congress by law after termination of the Trusteeship Agreement:
          ``(a) except as otherwise provided in Section 506, 
        the immigration and naturalization laws of the United 
        States;
          ``(b) except as otherwise provided in Subsection (b) 
        of Section 502, the coastwise laws of the United States 
        and any prohibition in the laws of the United States 
        against foreign vessels landing fish or unfinished fish 
        products in the United States; and
          ``(c) the minimum wage provisions of Section 6, Act 
        of June 25, 1938, 52 Stat. 1062, as amended

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 6. IMMIGRATION AND TRANSITION.

    (a) Application of the Immigration and Nationality Act and 
Establishment of a Transition Program.--Effective on the first 
day of the first full month commencing one year after the date 
of enactment of the Northern Mariana Islands Covenant 
Implementation Act (hereafter the ``transition program 
effective date''), the provisions of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act, as amended (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) shall apply 
to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands: Provided, 
That there shall be a transition period ending December 31, 
2009 (except for subsection (d)(2)(I)) following the transition 
program effective date, during which the Attorney General of 
the United States (hereafter ``Attorney General''), in 
consultation with the United States Secretaries of State, 
Labor, and the Interior, shall establish, administer, and 
enforce a transition program for immigration to the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands provided in 
subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g) and (j) of this 
section (hereafter the ``transition program''). The transition 
program shall be implemented pursuant to regulations to be 
promulgated as appropriate by each agency having 
responsibilities under the transition program.
    (b) Exemption From Numerical Limitations for H-2B Temporary 
Workers.--An alien, if otherwise qualified, may seek admission 
to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands as a 
temporary worker under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(B) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(B)) without regard to the numerical 
limitations set forth in section 214(g) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 
1184(g)).
    (c) Temporary Alien Workers.--The transition program shall 
conform to the following requirements with respect to temporary 
alien workers who would otherwise not be eligible for 
nonimmigrant classification under the Immigration and 
Nationality Act:
          (1) Aliens admitted under this subsection shall be 
        treated as nonimmigrants under section 101(a)(15) of 
        the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
        1101(a)(15)), including the ability to apply, if 
        otherwise eligible, for a change of nonimmigrant 
        classification under section 248 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 
        1258), or adjustment of status, if eligible therefore, 
        under this section and section 245 of such Act (8 
        U.S.C. 1255).
          (2)(A) The United States Secretary of the Labor shall 
        establish, administer, and enforce a system for 
        allocating and determining the number, terms, and 
        conditions of permits to be issued to prospective 
        employers for each temporary alien worker who would not 
        otherwise be eligible for admission under the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act. This system shall 
        provide for a reduction in the allocation of permits 
        for such workers on an annual basis, to zero, over a 
        period not to extend beyond December 31, 2009 and shall 
        take into account the number of petitions granted under 
        subsection (j). In no event shall a permit be valid 
        beyond the expiration of the transition period. This 
        system may be based on any reasonable method and 
        criteria determined by the United States Secretary of 
        Labor to promote the maximum use of, and to prevent 
        adverse effects on wages and working conditions of, 
        persons authorized to work in the United States, 
        including lawfully admissible freely associated state 
        citizen labor, taking into consideration the objective 
        of providing as smooth a transition as possible to the 
        full application of federal laws.
          (B) The United States Secretary of Labor is 
        authorized to establish and collect appropriate user 
        fees for the purpose of this section. Amounts collected 
        pursuant to this section shall be deposited in a 
        special fund of the Treasury. Such amounts shall be 
        available, to the extent and in the amounts as provided 
        in advance in, appropriations acts, for the purposes of 
        administering this section. Such amounts are authorized 
        to be appropriated to remain available until expended.
          (3) The Attorney General shall set the conditions for 
        admission of nonimmigrant temporary alien workers under 
        the transition program, and the United States Secretary 
        of State shall authorize the issuance of nonimmigrant 
        visas for aliens to engage in employment only as 
        authorized in this subsection: Provided, That such 
        visas shall not be valid for admission to the United 
        States, as defined in section 101(a)(38) of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(38)), 
        except the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
        Islands. An alien admitted to the Commonwealth of the 
        Northern Mariana Islands on the basis of such a 
        nonimmigrant visa shall be permitted to engage in 
        employment only as authorized pursuant to the 
        transition program. No alien shall be granted 
        nonimmigrant classification or a visa under this 
        subsection unless the permit requirements established 
        under paragraph (2) have been met.
          (4) An alien admitted as a nonimmigrant pursuant to 
        this subsection shall be permitted to transfer between 
        employers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
        Islands during the period of such alien's authorized 
        stay therein, without advance permission of the 
        employee's current or prior employer, to the extent 
        that such transfer is authorized by the Attorney 
        General in accordance with criteria established by the 
        Attorney General and the United States Secretary of 
        Labor.
    (d) Immigrants.--With the exception of immediate relatives 
(as defined in section 201(b)(2) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(b)(2)) and persons granted an 
immigrant visa as provided in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this 
subsection, no alien shall be granted initial admission as a 
lawful permanent resident of the United States at a port-of-
entry in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or 
at a port-of-entry in Guam for the purpose of immigrating to 
the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
          (1) Family-sponsored immigrants visas.--For any 
        fiscal year during which the transition program will be 
        in effect, the Attorney General, after consultation 
        with the Governor and the leadership of the Legislature 
        of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 
        and in consultation with appropriate federal agencies, 
        may establish a specific number of additional initial 
        admissions as a family-sponsored immigrant at a port-
        of-entry in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
        Islands, or at a port-of-entry in Guam for the purpose 
        of immigrating to the Commonwealth of the Northern 
        Mariana Islands, pursuant to sections 202 and 203(a) of 
        the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1152 and 
        1153(a)).
          (2) Employment-based immigrant visas.--
                  (A) If the Attorney General, after 
                consultation with the United States Secretary 
                of Labor and the Governor and the leadership of 
                the Legislature of the Commonwealth of the 
                Northern Mariana Islands, finds that 
                exceptional circumstances exist with respect to 
                the inability of employers in the Commonwealth 
                of the Northern Mariana Islands to obtain 
                sufficient work-authorized labor, the Attorney 
                General may establish a specific number of 
                employment-based immigrant visas to be made 
                available during the following fiscal year 
                under section 203(b) of the Immigration and 
                Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)). The labor 
                certification requirements of section 212(a)(5) 
                of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as 
                amended (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(5)) shall not apply 
                to an alien seeking immigration benefits under 
                this subsection.
                  (B) Upon notification by the Attorney General 
                that a number has been established pursuant to 
                subparagraph (A), the United States Secretary 
                of State may allocate up to that number of 
                visas without regard to the numerical 
                limitations set forth in sections 202 and 
                203(b)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality 
                Act (8 U.S.C. 1152 and 1153(b)(3)(B)). Visa 
                numbers allocated under this subparagraph shall 
                be allocated first from the number of visas 
                available under section 203(b)(3) of such Act 
                (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(3)), or, if such visa numbers 
                are not available, from the number of visas 
                available under section 203(b)(5) of such Act 
                (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)).
                  (C) Persons granted employment-based 
                immigrant visas under the transition program 
                may be admitted initially at a port-of-entry in 
                the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
                Islands, or at a port-of-entry in Guam for the 
                purpose of immigrating to the Commonwealth of 
                the Northern Mariana Islands, as lawful 
                permanent residents of the United States. 
                Persons who would otherwise be eligible for 
                lawful permanent residence under the transition 
                program, and who would otherwise be eligible 
                for an adjustment of status, may have their 
                status adjusted within the Commonwealth of the 
                Northern Mariana Islands to that of an alien 
                lawfully admitted for permanent residence.
                  (D) Any immigrant visa issued pursuant to 
                this paragraph shall be valid only for 
                application for initial admission to the 
                Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 
                The admission of any alien pursuant to such an 
                immigrant visa shall be an admission for lawful 
                permanent residence and employment only in the 
                Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 
                during the first five years after such 
                admission. Such admission shall not authorize 
                residence or employment in any other part of 
                the United States during such five-year period. 
                An alien admitted for permanent residence 
                pursuant to this paragraph shall be issued 
                appropriate documentation identifying the 
                person as having been admitted pursuant to the 
                terms and conditions of this transition 
                program, and shall be required to comply with a 
                system for the registration and reporting of 
                aliens admitted for permanent residence under 
                the transition program, to be established by 
                the Attorney General, by regulation, consistent 
                with the Attorney General's authority under 
                Chapter 7 of Title II of the Immigration and 
                Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1301-1306).
                  (E) Nothing in this paragraph shall preclude 
                an alien who has obtained lawful permanent 
                resident status pursuant to this paragraph from 
                applying, if otherwise eligible, under this 
                section and under the Immigration and 
                Nationality Act for an immigrant visa or 
                admission as a lawful permanent resident under 
                the Immigration and Nationality Act.
                  (F) Any alien admitted under this subsection, 
                who violates the provisions of this paragraph, 
                or who is found removable or inadmissible under 
                section 237(a) (8 U.S.C. 1227(a)), or 
                paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4)(A), (4)(B), (6), 
                (7), (8), (9) or (10) of section 212(a) (8 
                U.S.C. 1182(a)), shall be removed from the 
                United States pursuant to sections 235, 238, 
                239, 240, or 241 of the Immigration and 
                Nationality Act, as appropriate (8 U.S.C. 1225, 
                1228, 1229, 1230, and 1231).
                  (G) The Attorney General may establish by 
                regulation a procedure by which an alien who 
                has obtained lawful permanent resident status 
                pursuant to this paragraph may apply for a 
                waiver of the limiting terms and conditions of 
                such status. The Attorney General may grant the 
                application for waiver, in the discretion of 
                the Attorney General, if--
                          (i) the alien is not in removal 
                        proceedings;
                          (ii) the alien has been a person of 
                        good moral character for the preceding 
                        five years;
                          (iii) the alien has not violated the 
                        terms and conditions of the alien's 
                        permanent resident status; and
                          (iv) the alien would suffer 
                        exceptional and extremely unusual 
                        hardship were such limiting terms and 
                        conditions not waived.
                  (H) The limiting terms and conditions of an 
                alien's permanent residence set forth in this 
                paragraph shall expire at the end of five years 
                after the alien's admission to the Commonwealth 
                of the Northern Mariana Islands as a permanent 
                resident. Following the expiration of such 
                limiting terms and conditions, the permanent 
                resident alien may engage in any lawful 
                activity, including employment, anywhere in the 
                United States. Such an alien, if otherwise 
                eligible for naturalization, may count the 
                five-year period in the Commonwealth of the 
                Northern Mariana Islands towards time in the 
                United States for purposes of meeting the 
                residence requirements of Title III of the 
                Immigration and Nationality Act.
                  (I) Special provision to ensure adequate 
                employment in the tourism industry after the 
                transition period ends.--
                          (i) During 2008, and in 2014 if a 
                        five year extension was granted, the 
                        Attorney General and the United States 
                        Secretary of Labor shall consult with 
                        the Governor of the Commonwealth of the 
                        Northern Mariana Islands and tourism 
                        businesses in the Commonwealth of the 
                        Northern Mariana Islands to ascertain the 
                        current and future labor needs of the 
                        tourism industry in the Commonwealth of 
                        the Northern Mariana Islands, and to 
                        determine whether a 5-year extension of 
                        the provisions of this paragraph (d)(2) 
                        would be necessary to ensure an adequate 
                        number of workers for legitimate businesses 
                        in the tourism industry. For the purpose of 
                        this section, a business shall not be 
                        considered legitimate if it engages directly 
                        or indirectly in prostitution or any activity 
                        that is illegal under federal or local law. 
                        The determination of whether a business is 
                        legitimate and whether it is sufficiently 
                        related to the tourism industry shall be made 
                        by the Attorney General in his sole discretion 
                        and shall not be reviewable. If the Attorney 
                        General after consultation with the United 
                        States Secretary of Labor determines, in the 
                        Attorney General's sole and unreviewable 
                        discretion, that such an extension is necessary 
                        to ensure an adequate number of workers for 
                        legitimate businesses in the tourism industry, 
                        the Attorney General shall provide notice by 
                        publication in the Federal Register that the 
                        provisions of this paragraph will be extended 
                        for a 5-year period with respect to the tourism 
                        industry only. the Attorney General may 
                        authorize one further extension of this 
                        paragraph with respect to the tourism industry 
                        in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
                        Islands if, after the Attorney General consults 
                        with the United States Secretary of Labor and 
                        the Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern 
                        Mariana Islands, and local tourism businesses, 
                        the Attorney General determines, in the Attorney 
                        General's sole discretion, that a further 
                        extension is required to ensure an adequate 
                        number of workers for legitimate businesses in 
                        the tourism industry in the Commonwealth of the 
                        Northern Mariana Islands. The determination as 
                        to whether a further extension is required 
                        shall not be reviewable.
                          (ii) The Attorney General, after 
                        consultation with the Governor of the 
                        Commonwealth of the North Mariana 
                        Islands and the United States Secretary 
                        of Labor and the United States 
                        Secretary of Commerce, may extend the 
                        provisions of this paragraph (d)(2) to 
                        legitimate businesses in industries 
                        outside the tourism industry for a 
                        single 5 year period if the Attorney 
                        General, in the Attorney General's sole 
                        discretion, concludes that such 
                        extension is necessary to ensure an 
                        adequate number of workers in that 
                        industry and that the industry is 
                        important to growth or diversification 
                        of the local economy. The decision by 
                        the Attorney General shall not be 
                        reviewable.
                          (iii) in making his determination for 
                        the tourism industry or for industries 
                        outside the tourism industry, the 
                        Attorney General shall take into 
                        consideration the extent to which a 
                        training and recruitment program has 
                        been implemented to hire persons 
                        authorized to work in the United 
                        States, including lawfully admissible 
                        freely associated state citizen labor 
                        to work in such industry. The 
                        determination by the Attorney General 
                        shall not be reviewable. No additional 
                        extension beyond the initial 5 year 
                        period may be granted, for any industry 
                        outside the tourism industry or for the 
                        tourism industry beyond a second 
                        extension. If an extension is granted, 
                        the Attorney General shall submit a 
                        report to the Committee on Energy and 
                        Natural Resources of the Senate and the 
                        Committee on Resources of the House of 
                        Representatives setting forth the 
                        reasons for the extension and whether 
                        he believes authority for additional 
                        extensions shall be enacted.
    (e) Nonimmigrant Investor Visas.--
          (1) Notwithstanding the treaty requirements in 
        section 101(a)(15)(E) of the Immigration and 
        Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(E)), the Attorney 
        General may, upon the application of the alien, 
        classify an alien as a nonimmigrant under section 
        101(a)(15)(E)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality 
        Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(E)(ii) if the alien--
                  (A) has been admitted to the Commonwealth of 
                the Northern Mariana Islands in long-term 
                investor status under the immigration laws of 
                the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
                Islands before the transition program effective 
                date;
                  (B) has continuously maintained residence in 
                the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
                Islands under long-term investor status;
                  (C) is otherwise admissible; and
                  (D) maintains the investment or investments 
                that formed the basis for such long-term 
                investor status.
          (2) Within 180 days after the transition program 
        effective date, the Attorney General and the United 
        States Secretary of State shall jointly publish 
        regulations in the Federal Register to implement this 
        subsection.
          (3) The Attorney general shall treat an alien who 
        meets the requirements of paragraph (1) as a 
        nonimmigrant under section (101(a)(15)(E)(ii)) of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
        1101(a)(15)(E)(ii) until the regulations implementing 
        this subsection are published.
    (f) Persons Lawfully Admitted Under the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands Immigration Law.--
          (1) No alien who is lawfully present in the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands pursuant 
        to the Immigration laws of the Commonwealth of the 
        Northern Mariana Islands on the transition program 
        effective date shall be removed from the United States 
        on the ground that such alien's presence in the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is in 
        violation of subparagraph 212(a)(6)(A) of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, until 
        completion of the period of the alien's admission under 
        the immigration laws of the Commonwealth of the 
        Northern Mariana Islands, or the second anniversary of 
        the transition program effective date, whichever comes 
        first. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to 
        prevent or limit the removal under subparagraph 
        212(a)(6)(A) of such an alien at any time, if the alien 
        entered the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 
        after the date of enactment of the Northern Mariana Islands 
        Covenant Implementation Act, and the Attorney General has 
        determined that the Government of the Commonwealth of the 
        Northern Mariana Islands violated subsection (f) of such Act.
          (2) Any alien who is lawfully present and authorized 
        to be employed in the Commonwealth of the Northern 
        Mariana Islands pursuant to the immigration laws of the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands on the 
        transition program effective date shall be considered 
        authorized by the Attorney General to be employed in 
        the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands until 
        the expiration of the alien's employment authorization 
        under the immigration laws of the Commonwealth of the 
        Northern Mariana Islands, or the second anniversary of 
        the transition program effective date, whichever comes 
        first.
    (g) Travel Restrictions for Certain Applicants for 
Asylum.--Any alien admitted to the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands pursuant to the immigration laws of the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands or pursuant to 
subsections (c) or (d) of this section who files an application 
seeking asylum or withholding of removal in the United States 
shall be required to remain in the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands during the period of time the application is 
being adjudicated or during any appeals filed subsequent to 
such adjudication. An applicant for asylum or withholding of 
removal who, during the time his application is being 
adjudicated or during any appeals filed subsequent to such 
adjudication, leaves the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands of his own will without prior authorization by the 
Attorney General thereby abandons the application, unless the 
Attorney General, in the exercise of the Attorney General's 
sole discretion determines that the unauthorized departure was 
for emergency reasons and prior authorization was not 
practicable.
    (h) Effect on Other Laws.--The provisions of this section 
and the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by the 
Northern Mariana Islands Covenant Implementation Act, shall, on 
the transition program effective date, supersede and replace 
all laws, provisions, or programs of the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands relating to the admission of aliens 
and the removal of aliens from the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands.
    (i) Accrual of Time for Purposes of Section 212(a)(9)(B) of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended.--No time that 
an alien is present in violation of the immigration laws of the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands shall by reason of 
such violation be counted for purposes of the ground of 
inadmissibility in section 212(a)(9)(B) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(9)(B)).
    (j) One-time Grandfather Provision for Certain Long-Term 
Employees.--
          (1) An alien may be granted an immigration visa, or 
        have his or her status adjusted in the Commonwealth of 
        the Northern Mariana Islands to that of an alien 
        lawfully admitted for permanent residence, without 
        regard to the numerical limitations set forth in 
        sections 202 and 203(b) of the Immigration and 
        Nationality Act, as amended (8 U.S.C. 1152, 1153(b)) 
        and subject to the limiting terms and conditions of an 
        alien's permanent residence set forth in paragraphs (C) 
        through (H) of subsection (d)(2), if:
                  (A) the alien is employed directly by an 
                employer in a business that the Attorney 
                General has determined is legitimate;
                  (B) the employer has filed a petition for 
                classification of the alien as an employment-
                based immigrant with the Attorney General 
                pursuant to section 204 of the Immigration and 
                Nationality Act, as amended, not later than 180 
                days following the transition program effective 
                date;
                  (C) the alien has been lawfully present in 
                the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
                Islands and authorized to be employed in the 
                Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 
                for the five-year period immediately preceding 
                the filing of the petition;
                  (D) the alien has been employed continuously 
                in that business by the petitioning employer 
                for the 5-year period immediately preceding the 
                filing of the petition;
                  (E) the alien continues to be employed in 
                that business by the petitioning employer at 
                the time the immigrant visa is granted or the 
                alien's status is adjusted to permanent 
                resident;
                  (F) the petitioner's business has a 
                reasonable expectation of generating sufficient 
                revenue to continue to employ the alien in that 
                business for the succeeding five years, and
                  (G) the alien is otherwise eligible for 
                admission to the United States under the 
                provisions of the Immigration and Nationality 
                Act, as amended (8 U.S.C. 1101, et seq.).
          (2) Visa numbers allocated under this subsection 
        shall be allocated first from the number of visas 
        available under paragraph 203(b)3) of the Immigration 
        and Nationality Act, as amended (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(3)), 
        or, if such visa numbers are not available, from the 
        number of visas available under paragraph 203(b)(5) of 
        such Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)).
          (3) The labor certification requirements of section 
        212 (a)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as 
        amended (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(5)) shall not apply to an 
        alien seeking immigration benefits under this 
        subsection.
          (4) The fact that an alien is the beneficiary of an 
        application for a preference status that was filed with 
        the Attorney General under section 204 of the Immigration and 
        Nationality Act, as amended (8 U.S.C. 1154) for the purpose of 
        obtaining benefits under this subsection, or has otherwise 
        sought permanent residence pursuant to this subsection, shall 
        not render the alien ineligible to obtain or maintain the 
        status of a nonimmigrant under this Act or the Immigration and 
        Nationality Act, as amended, if the alien is otherwise 
        eligible for such nonimmigrant status.
                              ----------                              


                    [Public Law 414--June 27, 1952]


AN ACT To revise the laws relating to immigration, naturalization, and 
nationality; and for other purposes.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


    Sec. 101. (a) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (36) The term ``State'' includes the District of Columbia, 
Puerto Rico, Guam, [and the Virgin Islands of the United 
States.] the Virgin Islands of the United States, and the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (38) The term ``United States'', except as otherwise 
specifically herein provided, when used in a geographical 
sense, means the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, 
Puerto Rico, Guam, [and the Virgin Islands of the United 
States.] the Virgin Islands of the United States, and the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (l) Guam; Waiver of Requirements for Nonimmigrant Visitors; 
Conditions of Waiver; Acceptance of Funds From Guam.--
          (1) The requirement of paragraph (7)(B)(i) of 
        subsection (a) of this section may be waived by the 
        Attorney General, the Secretary of State, and the 
        Secretary of the Interior, acting jointly, in the case 
        of an alien applying for admission as a non-immigrant 
        visitor for business or pleasure and solely for entry 
        into and [stay on Guam] stay on Guam and the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands for a 
        period not to exceed a total of fifteen days, if the 
        Attorney General, the Secretary of the State and the 
        Secretary of the Interior, [after consultation with the 
        Governor of Guam,] after respective consultation with 
        the Governor of Guam or the Governor of the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, jointly 
        determine that--
                  (A) an adequate arrival and departure control 
                system has been developed [on Guam,] on Guam or 
                the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
                Islands, respectively, and
                  (B) such as waiver does not represent a 
                threat to the welfare, safety, or security of 
                the United States or its territories and 
                commonwealths.
          (2) an alien may not be provided a waiver under this 
        subsection unless the alien has waived any right--
                  (A) to review or appeal under this Act of an 
                immigration officer's determination as to the 
                admissibility of the alien at the port of entry 
                [into Guam,] into Guam or the Commonwealth of 
                the Northern Mariana Islands, respectively, or
                  (B) to contest, other than on the basis of an 
                application for asylum, any action for removal 
                of the alien.
          (3) If adequate appropriated funds to carry out this 
        subsection are not otherwise available, the Attorney 
        General is authorized to accept from the [Government of 
        Guam] Government of Guam or the Government of the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands such funds 
        as may be tendered to cover all or any part of the cost 
        of administration and enforcement of this subsection.

                                  
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