Gregorio Sablan: “I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time. I have been working for the last dozen years to make the transition to…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time. I have been working for the last dozen years to make the transition to Federal immigration policy in the Marianas as least difficult as possible. In 2018, with Chairman Rob Bishop's essential help, we protected the rights of U.S. workers against the unfair competition from foreign workers in the Marianas' economy with Public Law 115-218. Last year, President Trump signed Public Law 116-24 and helped us convert about 1,000 people living under administrative parole into residents with a permanent legal status in the Marianas only, not eligible for any public charge at all. Just last week, the administration issued the necessary guidance to allow those 1,000 people to begin the application process, and I am very grateful to the President and to everyone at USCIS and the Department of Homeland Security for their support. Today's bill, H.R. 560, continues this work of smoothing over the rough places in the application of national immigration law to my isolated district. H.R. 560 provides the same permanent status--in the Marianas only-- that President Trump approved for parolees in June. This time, we want to give stability to a small group of investors who were in the Marianas even before Federal immigration. They have been holding on with short-term visas ever since, never certain from year to year about their business investments.…”