“Director Mayorkas explained to me that after much consideration the decision was reached to provide humanitarian parole to persons in the four groups covered by H.R. 1466,” Sablan said. “It certainly is welcome news on this Thanksgiving Day.
“We have been working with the White House and with the Department of Homeland Security since the beginning of the year to make parole – the administrative remedy — available in the event that H.R. 1466 had not been enacted by the November 28 transition to federal immigration control.
“I am very grateful to Director Mayorkas, to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, and, ultimately, to President Obama. They understand the need for this parole, particularly so that the families of U.S. citizens will not face separation after November 28, if the non-U.S. citizen family members do not have a CW or other status permitting them to remain legally in the NMI.”
Sablan raised the issue with the president most recently on September 23 during a meeting at the White House.
The USCIS decision, covers persons born in the Northern Marianas between 1974 and 1978, CNMI Permanent Residents, the immediate relatives of these two groups, and the immediate relatives of U.S. citizens — the four groups defined in Congressman Sablan’s bill, H.R. 1466. USCIS will give humanitarian parole to persons in these groups if they apply and meet the basic standards.Individuals in these groups will need to apply to USCIS to be eligible for parole, but are cautioned to wait for further instructions.
H.R. 1466 would allow these four groups to remain legally in the Northern Marianas. The status of these groups was not considered in the passage of U.S. Public Law 110-229, which extended U.S. immigration to the Northern Marianas. That law was principally focused on the status of foreign workers and investors. But other people with longstanding ties to the Marianas and family members of U.S. citizens, who might not be workers or investors, were not considered. Sablan’s legislation addresses that oversight.
“Today’s decision gives us some breathing room to get the bill passed. In the meantime, persons in the four groups have the opportunity to get parole status, so they can remain legally in the Northern Marianas and families will not have to face separation.”
Additional information is available on the USCIS website at http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=2ae38614e90d3310VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=4d3314dd2b635210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD
