ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

Prepare now for migrant labor problems
By Juan Carlos Benitez

Juan Carlos Benitez is an attorney and lobbyist, and is president of the Washington Pacific Economic Development Group based on Guam. He was formerly the lead U.S. lobbyist for the government of Guam and served as senior vice president and international relations specialist at the Washington lobbying firm, Cassidy & Associates. Prior to his five-year tenure at Cassidy, from 2001 to 2003, Benitez served the Bush administration as special counsel for immigration-related unfair employment practices.
As a representative of the Republican Party, Benitez has appeared on CSPAN, MSNBC, CNN, Univision, Voice of America and National Public Radio.
Benitez has a bachelor’s in judicial systems from Sacred Heart University and a Juris Doctor from Inter-American University Law School.

Guam is in high-gear, planning for the arrival of 8,000 U.S. Marines with environmental studies and buildup plans. However, one area of concern is the seeming absence of a plan for mitigating visa overstays and collateral costs to community services associated with supporting a sizable undocumented community.

Background and Impact:

In advance of the Marines’ move from Okinawa to Guam, the federal government estimates that it would be impossible for the current work force to support the labor requirements for the buildup. With this labor pressure in mind, the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 temporarily removed the limit — “the cap” — on the H-1B and H-2B visas for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. From government reports it is safe to figure 20,000 workers at one time can be expected to reside on Guam. This exemption became operational on Nov. 28, 2009. Only now are we starting to see the first arrivals, and this will continue for at least the next five years until Dec. 31, 2014.
When CNRA removed the cap for our area they decided to keep all of the other areas of the visa the same as it is in the states. The H-1B (skilled) visa has an original term of three years with a possible three-year extension for a maximum stay of six years. The H-2B (non-skilled) visa has an original term of one year, with a possible one-year extension, of up to a maximum stay of three years. Since the buildup is expected to take more than five years there will be at least one complete rotation of the entire migrant work force.
To figure the number in the entire labor pool, we add the above-mentioned rotation to our base migrant work-force population numbers and end up with 20,000 to 30,000 different individuals cycling through Guam and the NMI. If we now follow mainland statistics for how many migrant workers become undocumented aliens, the percentages that are often used are between 27% and 57%. As a direct result of the buildup, it can be expected that the undocumented population in Guam will increase anywhere from 5,400 (27% of 20,000) to 17,100 (57% of 30,000). I base my numbers on the following documents:
“As much as 45% of the total unauthorized migrant population entered the country with visas that allowed them to visit or reside in the U.S. for a limited amount of time. Known as ‘overstayers,’ these migrants became part of the unauthorized population when they remained in the country after their visas had expired. ”Modes of Entry for the Unauthorized Migrant Population,” Pew Hispanic Center, May 22, 2006
“Significant numbers of visitors overstay their authorized periods of admission. A January 2003 [Department of Homeland Security] estimate put the January 2000 resident overstay population at one-third of 7 million illegal immigrants, or 2.3 million.” Government Accounting Office Tracking of Overstays, May 2004
“These three alternative data sources on illegal immigrants indicate varying — but uniformly substantial — percentages of overstays: 31%, 27%, and 57%.” Id.
Now that we have an idea of how many H-2 workers might remain on Guam and in the NMI and become part of our undocumented population, let’s look at how their change in status could impact the islands’ budgets. When they were legal H-2 workers, federal and state law required their employers to provide them with health care benefits as well as lodging and meals. However, if an individual overstays his or her visa, all these paid benefits are lost. Like California, the government of Guam would not receive federal reimbursement outlaid on their behalf.
Another cost that we should be planning and budgeting for is the likelihood that there will be family members following some of the H-2s. Federal immigration laws presently grant all H-1 and H-2 workers in the United States the opportunity to bring their dependents with them under an H-4 derivative non-working visa. However, federal law does not allow H-4s to work. It does, though, entitle them to the same rights as all other legal immigrants, including the right to public education and the use of public hospitals. Since the lifting of the visa cap is just for a limited time and its extension past 2014 is questionable, I believe that more H workers than normal will try to avail of this visa in order to bring their relatives to Guam and the NMI. The H-4 processing time is the same as that of the sponsoring H-2B — just a few months.
If we assume that one out of every four H workers coming to Guam will apply for at least one H-4 visa, this would raise our total migrant population estimate by an additional 5,000 migrants. Unlike their H-2B or H-IB principals, the employer of the H worker is not required to provide any health care, housing or food for these H-4 dependents.
I know that a number of employers and government officials on Guam have said that the H-2B workers coming to Guam and the NMI do not qualify to bring their relatives, I can only respond by referencing the USCIS website page:
“USCIS Provides Details on H-1B and H-2B Cap Exemptions for Work Performed in the CNMI and Guam Questions and Answers” 02/05/2010
“Q. Can the spouse and children of an H worker under this cap exemption qualify for H-4 “dependent of an H worker” classification?
A. Yes. The spouse and qualifying children of an H worker may apply for H-4 “dependent of an H worker” classification. There is no cap for H-4 classification. Family members seeking H-4 classification may apply directly at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate for a visa. Subsequent requests for an extension of stay must be filed with USCIS on an I-539, Application to Change or Extend Nonimmigrant Status.”
Is just knowing this could happen enough, and what if anything can we do to prepare for the growth of demand we should expect?
The answer is not always in Washington. While governor of California, Ronald Regan once said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’” Even though the buildup is the catalyst of this upcoming immigration the feds cannot be expected to be the entire solution. In fact, the local government can probably do more to mitigate the potential impact of this population increase than the federal government. The government of Guam should establish safeguards to address this upcoming impact. These are my suggestions:

• Repatriation worker fee:
Presently the Guam Department of Labor requires companies to post a repatriation bond for every registered temporary alien worker. This bond is released once the employer provides the department with a certification by a transportation carrier that the temporary worker has departed Guam. I propose that instead of a bond, the Department of Labor should require a repatriation fee of $1,000 to $2,000 to be held in escrow in an interest-bearing account or certificate of deposit. The interest from this account should be split proportionally between the Guam Department of Education and Guam Memorial Hospital. This should produce a migrant repatriation fund of about $10 million to $20 million at the $1,000 fee level or $20 million to $40 million at the $2,000 fee level. With a 2.5% interest rate it should yield $250,000 to $1 million.

• Tie expiration dates of driving license to immigration status:
Presently Guam driving licenses have a fixed expiration date. If Guam where to tie the expiration date of driving licenses to the immigration status of the applicant, the undocumented worker could not use the license to complete the I-9 form for employment verification. Without a substitute government-issued form of identification, or a counterfeit ID, the undocumented alien would be hard pressed to find a legitimate second document to fulfill the I-9 form requirement, and as such would be unable to get most jobs. Secondly, the Guam department of motor vehicles could sign an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security to share its driving license data base with the E-Verify employment program so that, when an individual applies for a job, not only will E-Verify confirm the validity of his or her Social Security number but the DMV picture will also pop up in the screen to confirm the identity of the potential employee.

• Mandate E-Verify to all employers on Guam:
E-Verify is an Internet-based system run by DHS that compares information from an employee’s form I-9, to data from DHS and the Social Security Administration to confirm employment eligibility. This federal computer program allows employers to check the Social Security number of a potential employee the same day the employer decides to hire him or her for a job. If the government of Guam mandates all employers to use E-Verify this action alone will make it extremely hard for an undocumented worker to find a job. In order to do so he or she must have obtained forged documents including a valid Social Security number. If our prior recommendation has been completed, not only does the undocumented alien need to have forged documents, the DMV picture of the original owner of the SSN must match.

• Use of established manpower labor sources:
Private employers also need to do their part, by using established manpower organizations to select their foreign workers instead of organizations that have no proven track record in finding migrant workers. Private employers should inquire from these firms how many years of experience they have providing manpower to the U.S. and what is the percentage of overstays they have experienced through the years. If they do not want to tell you this information or say that they do not know, take your money elsewhere — you might not know it but they could be selling your visa to a poor immigrant as a one-way ticket to the U.S.
We need to be aware of the different ways the buildup may impact us beyond the initial five years. There are measures that businesses can take, but a significant amount of pre-planning and coordination must be done by the executive and legislative branches of our local governments. We can mitigate the burdens by implementing systems and safeguards such as I have suggested. Unfortunately, we don’t have much time to do so.