Pinoys, other casino workers in CNMI sue US government

Some 700 Filipino workers and other foreign employees, as well as their families, face mass exit from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) following the U.S. government’s denial of their casino work authorization petitions.  

Over 500 of these foreign workers, mostly from the Philippines, sued the US government on December 24 over the denial of their work authorization petitions, most of which were for renewal of transitional work permits.

The foreign workers are employed by Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino, the only operating casino in the CNMI since 1998 with 412 hotel rooms.  

The CNMI is a US territory whose main island is Saipan, located some three hours away by air from Manila.

The lawsuit stemmed from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) decision denying Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino’s 197 CNMI-only transitional worker (CW-1) petitions, involving 693 beneficiaries.

Most of these beneficiaries are workers from the Philippines, along with their families.  The others are from China, Bangladesh, India and other Asian countries.

Without approved CW-1 petitions, these Filipino workers and other foreign laborers cannot continue to work for Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino.

Blue Christmas

“Christmas this year isn’t joyous for us workers because we will be forced to stop working soon if USCIS does not reverse its decision to deny our employer Tinian Dynasty’s petitions for our CW authorizations,” one of the affected Filipino workers told GMA News.  

The mother of two who has been working at Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino for four years asked not to be identified for fear of further repercussions from USCIS, an agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. She signed a petition addressed to USCIS, requesting the agency to reconsider its denial of the CW petitions.

Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino can still appeal the USCIS decision.

Lawsuit

Through lawyer Bruce Berline, the foreign workers subsequently filed the lawsuit in the US District Court for the NMI against U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, USCIS director Leon Rodriguez, and USCIS California Service Center director Kathy A. Baran.

Belal Hossain, Wenli Zhong, Pukar Patel and 500 unknown co-plaintiffs asked the U.S. District Court for the NMI to declare that USCIS is precluded from relying on a pending criminal case against the owner and operator of Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino – the Hong Kong Entertainment (Overseas) Investments Ltd.

The workers asked the federal court to declare that USCIS’ denial of Hong Kong Entertainment (Overseas) Investments Ltd.’s CW-1 petitions on grounds that the latter is not a legitimate employer “is contrary to and in violation of due process as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution,” among other things.

The workers also asked the court to require USCIS to approve the CW petitions it denied in December 2014.

Senate action

On December 23, the CNMI Senate adopted a legislative resolution requesting USCIS to reconsider its decision to deny 197 CW petitions for Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino’s foreign employees.

The senators said USCIS’ denial of CW-1 petitions affecting 693 beneficiaries would cause Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino “to shut down” and close its doors to tourists at a time when the CNMI’s tourism industry is now recovering.

Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino is the largest private employer in the CNMI island of Tinian.  The Tinian economy heavily relies on revenues from the casino to stay afloat.

While casino workers on the CNMI island of Tinian face exit, the capital island of Saipan will soon be needing thousands of foreign workers for the construction and operation of an over US$7 billion integrated casino resort by a Hong Kong group of investors.   —KBK, GMA News