Troubling Alien Registration
A few days ago I decided to write a letter to the editor of the Saipan Tribune about the illegal alien registration forms put out my the Federal Ombudsman Office. We have to stand up to tyranny and fight for freedom. This is my only motivation. The letter was published today so I decided to also publish it here for you all to read.
I am very concerned about the collection of information currently underway at the Federal Ombudsman’s Office for several reasons and I think everyone else should be concerned as well.
First off there are the concerns raised by Attorney Woodruff. There are no guarantees on how the information collected will be used and how long the data will be kept. I think it’s safe to say that ICE can get a hold of that data, if they so desire. Fortunately, that is a minor concern for most legal residents of the CNMI. There are bigger issues at stake.
I don’t claim to be a lawyer, but I remember from back in my school days that the Paperwork Reduction Act governs how federal government agencies gather data. It’s my understanding that all proper and legal requests for information must have an OMB control number on the form to ensure that the form complies not only with the law but also that the data collected truly is required by the government. Furthermore, it states just how the data may be used and for what purposes it may be used.
I looked very closely at the registration form prepared by the Federal Ombudsman’s Office and there is no OMB control number. There is also no Paperwork Reduction Act notice on the form. These facts alone mean that the registration form is not compulsory. You can fill it out if you want to, but there is no requirement to do it. It’s almost frightening to see that the form doesn’t have any statements on how exactly the data will be used and who will have access to that data. Some may find solace in the statements of the Ombudsperson that the data will be used only for the count of aliens, but without an OMB control number and a clear Privacy Act statement, we can only trust her and every other alphabet soup government agency that could possibly access the information.
I think that all residents of the CNMI, whether they are aliens or citizens, deserve a proper and legal count of long term guest workers in the CNMI that complies not just with Public Law 110-229 but every other law that governs how government agencies gather, collect and store data.
I hope that this will hopefully open up some eyes and get the proper people looking into this issue. Government, no matter how benign their purpose, must follow the law.
Gestapo Like Registration In Saipan
It’s not very often that someone has to report a gestapo like registration program run by the Federal Government. I am waiting for the jack booted thugs to arrive and force people to register while giving up their rights under important federal laws. The CNMI government gets a bad rap for some of its activities, but this one is all federal government.
Basically, the Federal Ombudsman’s Office in Saipan has decided to undertake an alien registration program. The official notice makes it very clear that all aliens must report and register, no matter what status they have under the law. They are expected to line up in the government office to submit their proper papers. They are warned that there must be no delay and that people who don’t register on time will not be allowed to. It sounds kind of draconian and there is nothing in the notice to say that we are dealing with a voluntary registration.
Just read it for yourself…..
Now take a look at the form….
Did you see something there? Well maybe you did. First off it looks really amateurish for a federal government form. Unfortunately, the biggest problems with the form are the things that are not there. There is no OMB number. This means that the OMB didn’t review the form to ensure that the form was a legally required request. There is no privacy act notice and paperwork reduction act notice. There is no statement that the form is completely voluntary. In other words, the form itself is in violation of federal law. Yippee.
I wonder when someone will speak up and stop this gestapo like registration program? When will someone help ensure that the law is followed?
The Journey To Where I Will Be Part I
As I alluded to a few weeks ago, I am in the process of moving forward with a purpose. I remember just how I got started in all of this business so maybe now is the time to reflect on just how business for me began.
I remember arriving back dead broke to the US back in August 2004. I struggled financially for the first couple of months but then things finally started to click for me. I had a few extra dollars and an old computer connected to the internet. I decided to start hosting a few sites and get back into the work that I had been involved with several years before. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time needed to devote full time to this so guess what? I didn’t find the level of success that I wanted.
I ended up going abroad once again, this time to Korea and then on to Thailand once again. I was back teaching English. I was doing programming for others, as always, but I was also trying my hand at putting together sites of my own. Into my lap fell an opportunity in January 2006 to run a TEFL community called TEFLWatch. While it wasn’t very profitable at all, it did open doors that had previously been closed. Unfortunately, I closed it in December 2007 because of a confluence of several factors.
With many doors open, by August 2007, I was able to support myself entirely through a mini network of sites that I developed. I did everything on them, from hosting to web development to content development to marketing. It’s hard to be a jack of all trades, but I think I could classify the work as a success.
But this isn’t the end of the story, it’s merely the beginning….
Update On My Letter To The Editor
Many people wonder if a letter to the editor can really make any kind of difference. I used to think, no way. Well, truth be told, my letter to the editor actually worked and the Social Security Administration actually got into gear and approved the regulations allowing people to get their social security cards. It took them just 3 days after the letter to the editor appeared in the Saipan Tribune. It’s nice to see that they are responsive to the needs of the community, but it’s disheartening to see that it took a letter to the editor to spring them into action.
Global Warming Or Global Cooling?
Just to switch gears a little bit, I have been hearing much to much of late concerning global warming. I don’t if it is because I was out of the US for so long or if it is because of recent data, but it sure sounds like the chorus is getting deafening. Could it be that recent data is questioning the idea of global warming?
For example, the last 6 year has seen flat growth in temperatures and now, it has begun to digress with temperatures falling. It seems like I can bring up some interesting facts that I have begun finding.
- Arctic Ice expanded during the last winter making up much of the losses that were so dire not long ago.
- The arctic seal hunt is running into trouble because of heavy ice.
- The scale of temperature increases is much less than even 600 years ago. Do you remember reading about farming in Greenland?
I think the jury is still out on global warming or maybe it is not and the powers that be are doing one last desperate gasp for attention.
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