106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1052

AN ACT

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.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND PURPOSE.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Northern Mariana Islands Covenant Implementation

6 Act’’.
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1 (b) STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.—In recognition of the

2 need to ensure uniform adherence to long-standing funda3 mental immigration policies of the United States, it is the

4 intention of Congress in enacting this legislation—

5 (1) to ensure effective immigration control by

6 extending the Immigration and Nationality Act, as

7 amended (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.), in full to the Com8 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, with

9 special provisions to allow for the orderly phasing10 out of the nonresident contract worker program of

11 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is12 lands, and the orderly phasing-in of Federal respon13 sibilities over immigration in the Commonwealth of

14 the Northern Mariana Islands;

15 (2) to minimize, to the greatest extent possible,

16 potential adverse effects this orderly phase-out might

17 have on the economy of the Commonwealth of the

18 Northern Mariana Islands by:

19 (A) encouraging diversification and growth

20 of the economy of the Commonwealth of the

21 Northern Mariana Islands consistent with fun22 damental values underlying Federal immigra23 tion policy;

24 (B) recognizing local self-government, as

25 provided for in the Covenant to Establish a
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1 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is2 lands in Political Union with the United States

3 of America through consultation with the Gov4 ernor and other elected officials of the Govern5 ment of the Commonwealth of the Northern

6 Mariana Islands by Federal agencies and by

7 considering the views and recommendations of

8 such officials in the implementation and en9 forcement of Federal law by Federal agencies;

10 (C) assisting the Commonwealth of the

11 Northern Mariana Islands to achieve a progres12 sively higher standard of living for its citizens

13 through the provision of technical and other as14 sistance;

15 (D) providing opportunities for persons au16 thorized to work in the United States, including

17 lawfully admissible freely associated state cit18 izen labor; and

19 (E) ensuring the ability of the locally elect20 ed officials by the Commonwealth of the North21 ern Mariana Islands to make fundamental pol22 icy decisions regarding the direction and pace of

23 the economic development and growth of the

24 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is-
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1 lands, consistent with the fundamental national

2 values underlying Federal immigration policy.

3 SEC. 2. IMMIGRATION REFORM FOR THE COMMONWEALTH

4 OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS.

5 (a) AMENDMENTS TO ACT APPROVING THE COV6 ENANT TO ESTABLISH A COMMONWEALTH OF THE

7 NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS IN POLITICAL UNION

8 WITH THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.—Public Law

9 94–241 (90 Stat. 263), as amended, is further amended

10 by adding at the end thereof the following:

11 ‘‘SEC. 6. IMMIGRATION AND TRANSITION.

12 ‘‘(a) APPLICATION OF THE IMMIGRATION AND NA13 TIONALITY ACT AND ESTABLISHMENT OF A TRANSITION

14 PROGRAM.—Effective on the first day of the first full

15 month commencing one year after the date of enactment

16 of the Northern Mariana Islands Covenant Implementa17 tion Act (hereafter the ‘‘transition program effective

18 date’’), the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality

19 Act, as amended (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) shall apply to

20 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands: Pro21 vided, That there shall be a transition period ending De22 cember 31, 2009 (except for subsection (d)(2)(D)), fol23 lowing the transition program effective date, during which

24 the Attorney General of the United States (hereafter ‘‘At25 torney General’’), in consultation with the United States
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1 Secretaries of State, Labor, and the Interior, shall estab2 lish, administer, and enforce a transition program for im3 migration to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

4 Islands provided in subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), and

5 (i) of this section (hereafter the ‘‘transition program’’).

6 The transition program shall be implemented pursuant to

7 regulations to be promulgated as appropriate by each

8 agency having responsibilities under the transition pro9 gram.

10 ‘‘(b) EXEMPTION FROM NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS

11 FOR H–2B TEMPORARY WORKERS.—An alien, if other12 wise qualified, may seek admission to the Commonwealth

13 of the Northern Mariana Islands as a temporary worker

14 under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(B) of the Immigration

15 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(B))

16 without counting against the numerical limitations set

17 forth in section 214(g) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(g)).

18 ‘‘(c) TEMPORARY ALIEN WORKERS.—The transition

19 program shall conform to the following requirements with

20 respect to temporary alien workers who would otherwise

21 not be eligible for nonimmigrant classification under the

22 Immigration and Nationality Act:

23 ‘‘(1) Aliens admitted under this subsection shall

24 be treated as nonimmigrants under section

25 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
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1 (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)), including the ability to

2 apply, if otherwise eligible, for a change of non3 immigrant classification under section 248 of such

4 Act (8 U.S.C. 1258), or adjustment of status, if eli5 gible therefor, under this section and section 245 of

6 such Act (8 U.S.C. 1255).

7 ‘‘(2)(A) The United States Secretary of Labor

8 shall establish, administer, and enforce a system for

9 allocating and determining the number, terms, and

10 conditions of permits to be issued to prospective em11 ployers for each temporary alien worker who would

12 not otherwise be eligible for admission under the Im13 migration and Nationality Act. This system shall

14 provide for a reduction in the allocation of permits

15 for such workers on an annual basis, to zero, over

16 a period not to extend beyond December 31, 2009,

17 and shall take into account the number of petitions

18 granted under subsection (i). In no event shall a per19 mit be valid beyond the expiration of the transition

20 period. This system may be based on any reasonable

21 method and criteria determined by the United States

22 Secretary of Labor to promote the maximum use of,

23 and to prevent adverse effects on wages and working

24 conditions of, persons authorized to work in the

25 United States, including lawfully admissible freely
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1 associated state citizen labor, taking into consider2 ation the objective of providing as smooth a transi3 tion as possible to the full application of federal law.

4 ‘‘(B) The United States Secretary of Labor is

5 authorized to establish and collect appropriate user

6 fees for the purposes of this section. Amounts col7 lected pursuant to this section shall be deposited in

8 a special fund of the Treasury. Such amounts shall

9 be available, to the extent and in the amounts as

10 provided in advance in appropriations acts, for the

11 purposes of administering this section. Such

12 amounts are authorized to be appropriated to re13 main available until expended.

14 ‘‘(3) The Attorney General shall set the condi15 tions for admission of nonimmigrant temporary alien

16 workers under the transition program, and the

17 United States Secretary of State shall authorize the

18 issuance of nonimmigrant visas for aliens to engage

19 in employment only as authorized in this subsection:

20 Provided, That such visas shall not be valid for ad21 mission to the United States, as defined in section

22 101(a)(38) of the Immigration and Nationality Act

23 (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(38)), except the Commonwealth

24 of the Northern Mariana Islands. An alien admitted

25 to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is-
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1 lands on the basis of such a nonimmigrant visa shall

2 be permitted to engage in employment only as au3 thorized pursuant to the transition program. No

4 alien shall be granted nonimmigrant classification or

5 a visa under this subsection unless the permit re6 quirements established under paragraph (2) have

7 been met.

8 ‘‘(4) An alien admitted as a nonimmigrant pur9 suant to this subsection shall be permitted to trans10 fer between employers in the Commonwealth of the

11 Northern Mariana Islands during the period of such

12 alien’s authorized stay therein, without advance per13 mission of the employee’s current or prior employer,

14 to the extent that such transfer is authorized by the

15 Attorney General in accordance with criteria estab16 lished by the Attorney General and the United

17 States Secretary of Labor.

18 ‘‘(d) IMMIGRANTS.—With the exception of immediate

19 relatives (as defined in section 201(b)(2) of the Immigra20 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(b)(2)) and per21 sons granted an immigrant visa as provided in paragraphs

22 (1) and (2) of this subsection, no alien shall be granted

23 initial admission as a lawful permanent resident of the

24 United States at a port-of-entry in the Commonwealth of

25 the Northern Mariana Islands, or a port-of-entry in Guam
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1 for the purpose of immigrating to the Commonwealth of

2 the Northern Mariana Islands.

3 ‘‘(1) FAMILY-SPONSORED IMMIGRANT VISAS.—

4 For any fiscal year during which the transition pro5 gram will be in effect, the Attorney General, after

6 consultation with the Governor and the leadership of

7 the Legislature of the Commonwealth of the North8 ern Mariana Islands, and in consultation with appro9 priate federal agencies, may establish a specific

10 number of additional initial admissions as a family11 sponsored immigrant at a port-of-entry in the Com12 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or at

13 a port-of-entry in Guam for the purpose of immi14 grating to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar15 iana Islands, pursuant to sections 202 and 203(a) of

16 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1152

17 and 1153(a)).

18 ‘‘(2) EMPLOYMENT-BASED IMMIGRANT VISAS.—

19 ‘‘(A) If the Attorney General, after con20 sultation with the United States Secretary of

21 Labor and the Governor and the leadership of

22 the Legislature of the Commonwealth of the

23 Northern Mariana Islands, finds that excep24 tional circumstances exist with respect to the

25 inability of employers in the Commonwealth of
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1 the Northern Mariana Islands to obtain suffi2 cient work-authorized labor, the Attorney Gen3 eral may establish a specific number of employ4 ment-based immigrant visas that will not count

5 against the numerical limitations under section

6 203(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act

7 (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)). The labor certification re8 quirements of section 212(a)(5) of the Immi9 gration and Nationality Act, as amended (8

10 U.S.C. 1182(a)(5)) shall not apply to an alien

11 seeking immigration benefits under this sub12 section.

13 ‘‘(B) Persons granted employment-based

14 immigrant visas under the transition program

15 may be admitted initially at a port-of-entry in

16 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is17 lands, or at a port-of-entry in Guam for the

18 purpose of immigrating to the Commonwealth

19 of the Northern Mariana Islands, as lawful per20 manent residents of the United States. Persons

21 who would otherwise be eligible for lawful per22 manent residence under the transition program,

23 and who would otherwise be eligible for an ad24 justment of status, may have their status ad25 justed within the Commonwealth of the North-
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1 ern Mariana Islands to that of an alien lawfully

2 admitted for permanent residence.

3 ‘‘(C) Nothing in this paragraph shall pre4 clude an alien who has obtained lawful perma5 nent resident status pursuant to this paragraph

6 from applying, if otherwise eligible, under this

7 section and under the Immigration and Nation8 ality Act for an immigrant visa or admission as

9 a lawful permanent resident under the Immi10 gration and Nationality Act.

11 ‘‘(D) SPECIAL PROVISION TO ENSURE ADE12 QUATE EMPLOYMENT IN THE TOURISM INDUS13 TRY AFTER THE TRANSITION PERIOD ENDS.—

14 ‘‘(i) During 2008, and in 2014 if a

15 five year extension was granted, the Attor16 ney General and the United States Sec17 retary of Labor shall consult with the Gov18 ernor of the Commonwealth of the North19 ern Mariana Islands and tourism busi20 nesses in the Commonwealth of the North21 ern Mariana Islands to ascertain the cur22 rent and future labor needs of the tourism

23 industry in the Commonwealth of the

24 Northern Mariana Islands, and to deter25 mine whether a five-year extension of the
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1 provisions of this paragraph (d)(2) would

2 be necessary to ensure an adequate num3 ber of workers for legitimate businesses in

4 the tourism industry. For the purpose of

5 this section, a business shall not be consid6 ered legitimate if it engages directly or in7 directly in prostitution or any activity that

8 is illegal under Federal or local law. The

9 determination of whether a business is le10 gitimate and whether it is sufficiently re11 lated to the tourism industry shall be made

12 by the Attorney General in his sole discre13 tion and shall not be reviewable. If the At14 torney General after consultation with the

15 United States Secretary of Labor deter16 mines, in the Attorney General’s sole dis17 cretion, that such an extension is necessary

18 to ensure an adequate number of workers

19 for legitimate businesses in the tourism in20 dustry, the Attorney General shall provide

21 notice by publication in the Federal Reg22 ister that the provisions of this paragraph

23 will be extended for a five-year period with

24 respect to the tourism industry only. The

25 Attorney General may authorize one fur-
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1 ther extension of this paragraph with re2 spect to the tourism industry in the Com3 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Is4 lands if, after the Attorney General

5 consults with the United States Secretary

6 of Labor and the Governor of the Com7 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Is8 lands, and local tourism businesses, the At9 torney General determines, in the Attorney

10 General’s sole discretion, that a further ex11 tension is required to ensure an adequate

12 number of workers for legitimate busi13 nesses in the tourism industry in the Com14 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Is15 lands.

16 ‘‘(ii) The Attorney General, after con17 sultation with the Governor of the Com18 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Is19 lands and the United States Secretary of

20 Labor and the United States Secretary of

21 Commerce, may extend the provisions of

22 this paragraph (d)(2) to legitimate busi23 nesses in industries outside the tourism in24 dustry for a single five year period if the

25 Attorney General, in the Attorney Gen-
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1 eral’s sole discretion, concludes that such

2 extension is necessary to ensure an ade3 quate number of workers in that industry

4 and that the industry is important to

5 growth or diversification of the local econ6 omy.

7 ‘‘(iii) In making his determination for

8 the tourism industry or for industries out9 side the tourism industry, the Attorney

10 General shall take into consideration the

11 extent to which a training and recruitment

12 program has been implemented to hire per13 sons authorized to work in the United

14 States, including lawfully admissible freely

15 associated state citizen labor to work in

16 such industry. No additional extension be17 yond the initial five year period may be

18 granted for any industry outside the tour19 ism industry or for the tourism industry

20 beyond a second extension. If an extension

21 is granted, the Attorney General shall sub22 mit a report to the Committee on Energy

23 and Natural Resources of the Senate and

24 the Committee on Resources of the House

25 of Representatives setting forth the rea-
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1 sons for the extension and whether he be2 lieves authority for additional extensions

3 should be enacted.

4 ‘‘(e) NONIMMIGRANT INVESTOR VISAS.—

5 ‘‘(1) Notwithstanding the treaty requirements

6 in section 101(a)(15)(E) of the Immigration and

7 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(E)), the At8 torney General may, upon the application of the

9 alien, classify an alien as a nonimmigrant under sec10 tion 101(a)(15)(E)(ii) of the Immigration and Na11 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(E)(ii)) if the

12 alien—

13 ‘‘(A) has been admitted to the Common14 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in

15 long-term investor status under the immigration

16 laws of the Commonwealth of the Northern

17 Mariana Islands before the transition program

18 effective date;

19 ‘‘(B) has continuously maintained resi20 dence in the Commonwealth of the Northern

21 Mariana Islands under long-term investor sta22 tus;

23 ‘‘(C) is otherwise admissible; and
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1 ‘‘(D) maintains the investment or invest2 ments that formed the basis for such long-term

3 investor status.

4 ‘‘(2) Within 180 days after the transition pro5 gram effective date, the Attorney General and the

6 United States Secretary of State shall jointly publish

7 regulations in the Federal Register to implement

8 this subsection.

9 ‘‘(3) The Attorney General shall treat an alien

10 who meets the requirements of paragraph (1) as a

11 nonimmigrant under section 101(a)(15)(E)(ii) of the

12 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.

13 1101(a)(15)(E)(ii) until the regulations imple14 menting this subsection are published.

15 ‘‘(f) PERSONS LAWFULLY ADMITTED UNDER THE

16 COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS

17 IMMIGRATION LAW.—

18 ‘‘(1) No alien who is lawfully present in the

19 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

20 pursuant to the immigration laws of the Common21 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands on the tran22 sition program effective date shall be removed from

23 the United States on the ground that such alien’s

24 presence in the Commonwealth of the Northern

25 Mariana Islands is in violation of subparagraph
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1 212(a)(6)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality

2 Act, as amended, until completion of the period of

3 the alien’s admission under the immigration laws of

4 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is5 lands, or the second anniversary of the transition

6 program effective date, whichever comes first. Noth7 ing in this subsection shall be construed to prevent

8 or limit the removal under subparagraph

9 212(a)(6)(A) of such an alien at any time, if the

10 alien entered the Commonwealth of the Northern

11 Mariana Islands after the date of enactment of the

12 Northern Mariana Islands Covenant Implementation

13 Act, and the Attorney General has determined that

14 the Government of the Commonwealth of the North15 ern Mariana Islands violated subsection (f) of such

16 Act.

17 ‘‘(2) Any alien who is lawfully present and au18 thorized to be employed in the Commonwealth of the

19 Northern Mariana Islands pursuant to the immigra20 tion laws of the Commonwealth of the Northern

21 Mariana Islands on the transition program effective

22 date shall be considered authorized by the Attorney

23 General to be employed in the Commonwealth of the

24 Northern Mariana Islands until the expiration of the

25 alien’s employment authorization under the immi-
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1 gration laws of the Commonwealth of the Northern

2 Mariana Islands, or the second anniversary of the

3 transition program effective date, whichever comes

4 first.

5 ‘‘(g) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—The provisions of

6 this section and the Immigration and Nationality Act, as

7 amended by the Northern Mariana Islands Covenant Im8 plementation Act, shall, on the transition program effec9 tive date, supersede and replace all laws, provisions, or

10 programs of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

11 Islands relating to the admission of aliens and the removal

12 of aliens from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar13 iana Islands.

14 ‘‘(h) ACCRUAL OF TIME FOR PURPOSES OF SECTION

15 212(a)(9)(B) OF THE IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY

16 ACT, AS AMENDED.—No time that an alien is present in

17 violation of the immigration laws of the Commonwealth

18 of the Northern Mariana Islands shall by reason of such

19 violation be counted for purposes of the ground of inad20 missibility in section 212(a)(9)(B) of the Immigration and

21 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(9)(B)).

22 ‘‘(i) ONE-TIME GRANDFATHER PROVISION FOR CER23 TAIN LONG-TERM EMPLOYEES.—

24 ‘‘(1) An alien may be granted an immigrant

25 visa, or have his or her status adjusted in the Com-
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1 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to that

2 of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent resi3 dence, without counting against the numerical limi4 tations set forth in sections 202 and 203(b) of the

5 Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended (8

6 U.S.C. 1152, 1153(b)), and subject to the limiting

7 terms and conditions of an alien’s permanent resi8 dence set forth in paragraphs (B) and (C) of sub9 section (d)(2), if:

10 ‘‘(A) the alien is employed directly by an

11 employer in a business that the Attorney Gen12 eral has determined is legitimate;

13 ‘‘(B) the employer has filed a petition for

14 classification of the alien as an employment15 based immigrant with the Attorney General

16 pursuant to section 204 of the Immigration and

17 Nationality Act, as amended, not later than 180

18 days following the transition program effective

19 date;

20 ‘‘(C) the alien has been lawfully present in

21 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is22 lands and authorized to be employed in the

23 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is24 lands for the four-year period immediately pre25 ceding the filing of the petition;
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1 ‘‘(D) the alien has been employed continu2 ously in that business by the petitioning em3 ployer for the four-year period immediately pre4 ceding the filing of the petition;

5 ‘‘(E) the alien continues to be employed in

6 that business by the petitioning employer at the

7 time the immigrant visa is granted or the

8 alien’s status is adjusted to permanent resident;

9 ‘‘(F) the petitioner’s business has a rea10 sonable expectation of generating sufficient rev11 enue to continue to employ the alien in that

12 business for the succeeding four years; and

13 ‘‘(G) the alien is otherwise eligible for ad14 mission to the United States under the provi15 sions of the Immigration and Nationality Act,

16 as amended (8 U.S.C. 1101, et seq.).

17 ‘‘(2) The labor certification requirements of sec18 tion 212(a)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality

19 Act, as amended (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(5)) shall not

20 apply to an alien seeking immigration benefits under

21 this subsection.

22 ‘‘(3) The fact that an alien is the beneficiary of

23 an application for a preference status that was filed

24 with the Attorney General under section 204 of the

25 Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended (8
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1 U.S.C. 1154) for the purpose of obtaining benefits

2 under this subsection, or has otherwise sought per3 manent residence pursuant to this subsection, shall

4 not render the alien ineligible to obtain or maintain

5 the status of a nonimmigrant under this Act or the

6 Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, if the

7 alien is otherwise eligible for such nonimmigrant sta8 tus.’’.

9 ‘‘(j) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this

10 section may be construed to count the issuance of any visa

11 to an alien, or the grant of any admission of an alien,

12 under this section toward any numerical limitation con13 tained in the Immigration and Nationality Act.’’.

14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) Section

15 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.

16 1101(a)) is amended:

17 (A) in paragraph (36), by deleting ‘‘and the

18 Virgin Islands of the United States.’’ and sub19 stituting ‘‘the Virgin Islands of the United States,

20 and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is21 lands.’’, and;

22 (B) in paragraph (38), by deleting ‘‘and the

23 Virgin Islands of the United States’’ and sub24 stituting ‘‘the Virgin Islands of the United States,
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1 and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is2 lands.’’.

3 (2) Section 212(l) of the Immigration and Nationality

4 Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(l)) is amended—

5 (A) in paragraph (1)—

6 (i) by striking ‘‘stay on Guam’’, and insert7 ing ‘‘stay on Guam or the Commonwealth of

8 the Northern Mariana Islands’’,

9 (ii) by inserting ‘‘a total of ’’ after ‘‘ex10 ceed’’, and

11 (iii) by striking the words ‘‘after consulta12 tion with the Governor of Guam,’’ and inserting

13 ‘‘after respective consultation with the Governor

14 of Guam or the Governor of the Commonwealth

15 of the Northern Mariana Islands,’’;

16 (B) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘on

17 Guam’’, and inserting ‘‘on Guam or the Common18 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, respec19 tively,’’;

20 (C) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘into

21 Guam’’, and inserting ‘‘into Guam or the Common22 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, respec23 tively,’’; and

24 (D) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘Government

25 of Guam’’ and inserting ‘‘Government of Guam or
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1 the Government of the Commonwealth of the North2 ern Mariana Islands’’.

3 (3) The amendments to the Immigration and Nation4 ality Act made by this subsection shall take effect on the

5 first day of the first full month commencing one year after

6 the date of enactment of the Northern Mariana Islands

7 Covenant Implementation Act.

8 (c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—The United

9 States Secretaries of Interior and Labor, in consultation

10 with the Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern

11 Mariana Islands, shall develop a program of technical as12 sistance, including recruitment and training, to aid em13 ployers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is14 lands in securing employees from among United States

15 authorized labor, including lawfully admissible freely asso16 ciated state citizen labor. In addition, for the first five fis17 cal years following the fiscal year when this section is en18 acted, $500,000 shall be made available from funds appro19 priated to the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to Public

20 Law 104–134 for the Federal-CNMI Immigration, Labor

21 and Law Enforcement Initiative for the following activi22 ties:

23 (1) $200,000 shall be available to reimburse the

24 United States Secretary of Commerce for providing

25 additional technical assistance and other support to
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1 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

2 to identify opportunities for and encourage diver3 sification and growth of the Commonwealth econ4 omy. The United States Secretary of Commerce

5 shall consult with the Government of the Common6 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, local busi7 nesses, the United States Secretary of the Interior,

8 regional banks, and other experts in the local econ9 omy and shall assist in the development and imple10 mentation of a process to identify opportunities for

11 and encourage diversification and growth of the

12 Commonwealth economy. All expenditures, other

13 than for the costs of Federal personnel, shall require

14 a non-Federal matching contribution of 50 percent

15 and the United States Secretary of Commerce shall

16 provide a report on activities to the Committee on

17 Energy and Natural Resources and the Committee

18 on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee

19 on Resources and the Committee on Appropriations

20 of the House of Representatives by March 1 of each

21 year. The United States Secretary of Commerce may

22 supplement the funds provided under this section

23 with other funds and resources available to him and

24 shall undertake such other activities, pursuant to ex25 isting authorities of the Department, as he decides
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1 will encourage diversification and growth of the

2 Commonwealth economy. If the United States Sec3 retary of Commerce concludes that additional work4 ers may be needed to achieve diversification and

5 growth of the Commonwealth economy, the Sec6 retary shall promptly notify the Attorney General

7 and the United States Secretary of Labor and shall

8 also notify the Committee on Energy and Natural

9 Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Re10 sources of the House of Representatives of his con11 clusion with an explanation of how many workers

12 may be needed, over what period of time such work13 ers will be needed, and what efforts are being under14 taken to train and actively recruit and hire persons

15 authorized to work in the United States, including

16 lawfully admissible freely associated state citizen

17 labor to work in such businesses.

18 (2) $300,000 shall be available to reimburse the

19 United States Secretary of Labor for providing addi20 tional technical and other support to the Common21 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to train and

22 actively recruit and hire persons authorized to work

23 in the United States, including lawfully admissible

24 freely associated state citizen labor, to fill employ25 ment vacancies in the Commonwealth of the North-
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1 ern Mariana Islands. The United States Secretary of

2 Labor shall consult with the Governor of the Com3 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, local

4 businesses, the College of the Northern Marianas,

5 the United States Secretary of the Interior and the

6 United States Secretary of Commerce and shall as7 sist in the development and implementation of such

8 a training program. All expenditures, other than for

9 the costs of Federal personnel, shall require a non10 Federal matching contribution of 50 percent and the

11 United States Secretary of Labor shall provide a re12 port on activities to the Committee on Energy and

13 Natural Resources and the Committee on Appropria14 tions of the Senate and the Committee on Resources

15 and the Committee on Appropriations of the House

16 of Representatives by March 1 of each year. The

17 United States Secretary of Labor may supplement

18 the funds provided under this section with other

19 funds and resources available to him and shall un20 dertake such other activities, pursuant to existing

21 authorities of the Department, as he decides will as22 sist in such a training program in the Common23 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

24 (d) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND DEPARTMENT OF

25 LABOR OPERATIONS.—The Attorney General and the
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1 United States Secretary of Labor are authorized to estab2 lish and maintain Immigration and Naturalization Serv3 ice, Executive Office for Immigration Review, and United

4 States Department of Labor operations in the Common5 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands for the purpose

6 of performing their responsibilities under the Immigration

7 and Nationality Act, as amended, and under the transition

8 program. To the extent practicable and consistent with the

9 satisfactory performance of their assigned responsibilities

10 under applicable law, the United States Departments of

11 Justice and Labor shall recruit and hire from among

12 qualified applicants resident in the Commonwealth of the

13 Northern Mariana Islands for staffing such operations.

14 (e) REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—The President

15 shall report to the Senate Committee on Energy and Nat16 ural Resources, and the House Committee on Resources,

17 within six months after the fifth anniversary of the enact18 ment of this Act, evaluating the overall effect of the transi19 tion program and the Immigration and Nationality Act on

20 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and

21 at other times as the President deems appropriate. The

22 report shall describe what efforts have been undertaken

23 to diversify and strengthen the local economy, including,

24 but not limited to, efforts to promote the Commonwealth

25 of the Northern Mariana Islands as a tourist destination.
28

S 1052 ES

1 (f) LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF ALIEN WORKERS

2 PRIOR TO APPLICATION OF THE IMMIGRATION AND NA3 TIONALITY ACT, AS AMENDED, AND ESTABLISHMENT OF

4 THE TRANSITION PROGRAM.—During the period between

5 enactment of this Act and the effective date of the transi6 tion program established under section 6 of Public Law

7 94–241, as amended by this Act, the Government of the

8 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands shall not

9 permit an increase in the total number of alien workers

10 who are present in the Commonwealth of the Northern

11 Mariana Islands on the date of enactment of this Act.

12 (g) APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized to be

13 appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out

14 the purposes of this section and of the Immigration and

15 Nationality Act with respect to the Commonwealth of the

16 Northern Mariana Islands.

Passed the Senate February 7, 2000.

Attest:

Secretary.
106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1052

AN ACT

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.