{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://sablan.house.gov/press-release/cw-limit-fy14-cut-14000", "CW limit for FY14 cut to 14,000", "2013-09-25", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "Senate", "MP", "Gregorio Sablan", "S001177", "sablan.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has sent word to Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan of the decision to reduce the number of Commonwealth-Only Transitional -- CW -- workers to 14,000 for the fiscal year beginning October 1.\u00a0 This cuts 1,000 permits from the 15,000 allowed in fiscal 2013; and is 8,417 fewer than allowed in 2012.\nSablan said that he was satisfied with the number.\u00a0 \u201cThis cut will increase the pressure to give jobs to qualified U.S. workers, which is our long-term goal.\n\u201cBusinesses will have to do more to recruit local workers.\u00a0 And our government and educational system will have to do more to train local workers for jobs in the Northern Mariana Islands economy.\n\u201cAt the same time, USCIS is continuing to provide some room for economic growth.\u00a0 With visitor arrivals increasing, hotel occupancy rates high, resort renovations on the drawing boards, and a new commitment from the local government to spend the backlog of federal capital improvement grants, there will be new jobs created; and local workers may not be available or want every job.\u201d\nIn announcing the cap for 2014 the agency said it based its decision in part on the need to accommodate the expected extension of permits for 12,247 CW workers granted during 2012.\u00a0 The 14,000 limit \u201cwill also accommodate possible economic growth that might lead to a need for additional nonimmigrant workers during FY 2014,\u201d according to the notice to be published in the Federal Register.\nCongressman Sablan said he remains concerned about striking the right balance that puts local workers into jobs and still allows the economy to grow.\u00a0 For that reason he has written to USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas, asking for an update on efforts the agency announced last year to step up investigations of employers who are alleged to be hiring CW workers while turning away U.S. workers who are qualified for jobs.\n\u201cSpecifically, I would like to know the number of complaints that have been received, the number of complaints investigated, the number of employers found at fault, and what action may have been taken against them,\u201d Sablan wrote.\n\u201cI would also request an evaluation of the effectiveness of these current measures and your assessment of additional steps that may be needed to ensure compliance among employers in the Northern Marianas.\u201d\nSablan has also included a provision in his Territorial Omnibus Act, H.R. 2200, that will require stricter accountability and performance reports to Congress on the use of the $150 fee that employers pay for each CW permit issued.\u00a0 The money is distributed to the Commonwealth government, but there is no accounting of whether the funds are being used effectively.\n\u201cSo far, the Commonwealth has received well over $1 million to help train local workers for jobs in our economy,\u201d Sablan said.\u00a0 \u201cI think it is reasonable for Congress to ask how many U.S. workers found jobs as a result of that substantial expenditure.\u00a0 Twenty?\u00a0 Thirty?\u00a0 Fifty?\n\u201cIf the money is not being used effectively, we need to know, so we can make sure we are helping local workers get jobs.\u201d\nThe Consolidated Natural Resources Act extended U.S. immigration law to the Northern Marianas beginning in 2009.\u00a0 The Act provided a transition period and established the Commonwealth-Only Transitional Worker classification to meet the need for workers that would not otherwise be eligible under federal law.\u00a0 It also requires the number of CW workers to be reduced each year\u00a0and to reach zero by December 31, 2014, unless the transition period is extended by the U.S. Secretary of Labor.\nThe notice of the decision to set the cap at 14,000 for next year takes note of the possibility that the transition period may be extended:\n\u201cTo date, the Department of Labor has not announced a decision on the extension of the program.\u00a0 However, [the Department of Homeland Security] must prepare for both the end of the transitional worker program and for an extension of the transitional worker program; a drastic reduction [in the number of CW permits] would not account for the possibility of an extension.\n\u201cDHS thus believes that a reduction of only 6.7 percent or 1,000 is appropriate because the new baseline must preserve access to foreign labor, as well as accommodate future reductions, if the DOL extends the transitional worker program.\u201d\nSablan met with Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Policy, Dr. James H. Moore, last week to be briefed on the decision on extending the transition period.\u00a0 Moore is responsible for the team analyzing the Northern Mariana Islands labor force and economy and for making a recommendation on the extension to the Secretary of Labor, who makes the final decision.\nCongressman Sablan supports the extension and has urged that the Secretary make the decision this year to remove economic uncertainty.\nThe Department of Homeland Security notice setting the CW limit for 2014 is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, September 25, 2013 (EST).\u00a0 A pre-publication version of the notice is available for viewing online at https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2013-23289.pdf.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://sablan.house.gov/press-release/cw-limit-fy14-cut-14000"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4772829599678516, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}