Progress Now Action

This weekend, the Denver Post reported on Colorado Board of Education member Bob Schaffer discussing his views on immigration. At first glance, he seems quite reasonable on the subject, in contrast to his many Republican immigrant-hating peers. Schaffer expressed support for a "guest-worker" program of some description, and acknowledged the impossibility of simply deporting millions of people from the United States. So far so good.

Then Schaffer makes a truly breathtaking and unexpected statement:

He pointed to the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. protectorate that imports tens of thousands of foreign textile workers, as a successful model for a guest-worker program that could be adapted nationally.

"The concept of prequalifying foreign workers in their home country under private- sector management is a system that works very well in one place in America," he said of the islands' program. "I think members of Congress ought to be looking at that model and be considering it as a possible basis for a nationwide program."

The story of labor abuses and congressional corruption in the Northern Marianas is a matter of record--as Colorado Pols notes, lobbying on behalf of Marianas business interests to suppress American labor law in the territory was a key part of the Jack Abramoff scandal that resulted in the downfall of GOP kingpin Tom DeLay.

Here's what we know about Schaffer's involvement in the CNMI scandal:

In August of 1999, the Denver Post reported then-Rep. Schaffer took a trip to Saipan (capital of the Northern Marianas Territory) to "investigate" reports of labor abuses there. Although Schaffer promised to invesigate the situation objectively, even his initial release noted that local leaders had "rejected" the allegations as "false rumors."

Although Schaffer went to Saipan to investigate labor violations (which would presumably have involved talking to laborers), Schaffer's own records from the CSU library indicate that all travel arrangements for Schaffer to and from Saipan we made by Preston-Gates, Jack Abramoff's corporate lobbying firm. Agenda records for Schaffer's trip show that Schaffer met with representatives of the Marianas Chamber of Commerce, the Saipan Banker's Association, and the Saipan Garment Manufacturers' Association--Abramoff clients, none of whom would be likely to come clean on labor abuses.

I've found no record of statements Schaffer made on his return from Saipan, but now that he claims their experience with immigrant labor as a "model" for the rest of America, one can assume he approved of what he saw.

Colorado Pols linked this afternoon to a long interview conducted by Democracy Now's! Amy Goodman on labor conditions in the Northern Marianas. Years of investigation by ABC and human rights organizations unveiled a horrifying picture of sweatshop working conditions, unlivable wages, extreme controls over the lives of immigrant workers--up to and including forced abortions performed on employees who violated company rules against becoming pregnant.

The interview goes on to discuss how Abramoff and Tom DeLay aggressively and successfully worked against passage of greater protections for workers in the Northern Marianas.

Obvious questions emerge for Schaffer:

1. Did Schaffer meet with any of the parties complaining of abuses in the CNMI, or did he only have meetings with these Abramoff clients?

2. Did Schaffer see any evidence of human rights or labor abuses in the CNMI?

3. How much money has Schaffer taken from CNMI business interests? A number of such campaign donations have already been identified, including $2,000 from the governor of the territory Benigno Fitial.

4. Where does Schaffer stand on the bill currently working through Congress "federalizing" labor and immigration policy in CNMI? Schaffer donor Fitial and others linked to Abramoff oppose it, for reasons that seem obvious with all the facts in view.

5. (above all) How can Schaffer reconcile widespread reports of rights abuses in CNMI with his praise for their labor arrangement? And what does this say about Schaffer's judgment?

Schaffer's own words forced these questions, and now you deserve answers. The media can't settle for the usual "Silent Bob" on this one--