May Day Rally and Letter To The Editor

May 1, 2009 by Jack
Filed under: Thoughts 

I was upset today. I wrote my very first letter to the editor today. I was so upset after talking to the Social Security Administration and hearing for the umpteenth time that my wife still can’t get a social security card.

I used to be marginally for federalization of immigration in the CNMI. I can see some good things happening, but I also know how the feds are. Well, federalization is now a reality and will happen whether we like it or not. Unfortunately, now everyone is waiting for the implementation of the federalization and you know what, the devil is in the details.

I think that we are going on a rocky road that is going to hurt a lot of people……

Here is my letter to editor of the Saipan Tribune:

Violating the Covenant

I don’t know what the big deal is about the federal government taking over immigration and labor because even today the federal government can ultimately decide who can work in the CNMI.

It used to be my understanding that the CNMI government was able to decide who could live and work in the CNMI and that these powers were specifically given to the CNMI government through the Covenant with the United States, unless so changed by Congress. Over the last few weeks, I have come to the realization that it is all just smoke and mirrors.

How so? The federal government, through the Social Security Administration, holds the ultimate right of choosing who can live and work in the CNMI through their issuance of social security cards. My wife holds an IR permit issued by the CNMI government and in March went to the local office of the Social Security Administration to apply for a social security card. Because of a change in CNMI immigration regulations effective Jan. 1, the Social Security Administration has stopped issuing social security cards to certain classes of permit holders in the CNMI pending a review of the regulations.

Why do they need to review them? To find out whether or not the person is entitled to work in the CNMI. Never mind that the CNMI immigration has already said that they are. In other words, the Social Security Administration is attempting to be the ones who control who is eligible to work in the CNMI. Call me stupid, but I thought that was the domain of the CNMI government until Nov. 28, 2009.

Without a social security card, my wife is unable to work, even though she holds authorization from the CNMI government. My wife is unable to open a bank account and she is unable to join me on a joint bank account. This is not fair and it seems to me like it’s a violation of the law. My wife, under the law, is eligible for a social security card and it seems like a violation of her civil rights to not be allowed to apply for a social security card.

While the CNMI government is spending millions fighting federalization, why doesn’t someone file a federal lawsuit against the SSA for violating the Covenant and other laws that say that CNMI controls labor until the federal takeover? It seems like this is a pretty overt usurpation of the Covenant relationship.

I used to say that I didn’t have an opinion about federalization, I just believe in the rule of law. One of the great things about living in the USA is that the rule of law is respected. It is frankly disturbing to me that the hypocrites who want all of this federalization are unwilling to follow the rule of law and instead are overtly violating it. If overtly violating the law is what federalization is all about then count me out.

Jack Woods
Chalan Kanoa, Saipan

It’s my fear that this is only the beginning of problems and it’s part of the reason why I went to the May Day Rally this evening to have my say. Federalization can be a good thing, but if they are doing this, it’s hard to get behind things. In fact, I don’t want them to do this if they are going to start doing this.

Ok, there were abuses that happened here in Saipan, but the US Congress passed a law to clean things up. Now is the real issue, they are only half way done with it. They need to follow through and that means they need to do something concerning the status of the local alien worker community. I will be writing more on this later.

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    • Comments

    2 Comments on May Day Rally and Letter To The Editor

    1. Bob Schwalbach on Sat, 9th May 2009 3:53 pm

      2. Jack –

      I wanted to double check on the problem with your wife obtaining a social security card. My understanding is that this problem has now been cleared. But I wanted to hear that directly from you. Thanks.

    2. Jack on Mon, 11th May 2009 8:11 pm

      3. Yes, thanks. It was cleared up just a few days after I posted this blog post and sent in the letter to the editor. They gave us a call and told us to come in and apply for it. Now we are just waiting to receive it in the mail.

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