Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Members of the public are questioning why the American Samoa Immigration Office has denied so many entry permits for Samoa citizens — especially those applying for the Guest Worker Program for StarKist Cannery — despite all requirements needed for entry being submitted.

According to one member of the public, his two cousins were among the many new workers recruited from Samoa to work as fish cleaners for the cannery in the territory. They provided all the required paperwork and clearances from the Samoa Police and Health Department to support their applications for an opportunity to be employed in the territory.

“Both applications for my two cousins have been denied by the immigration and I don’t know why the Immigration Office denied the applications while there is a need for more workers from Samoa to work for the cannery,” the man said.

Several other members of the public shared their thoughts on the same issues.

Samoa News spoke last week to a senior immigration officer (IO) who asked not be named as he is not authorized to comment to the media.

According to the senior IO, all of the applications denied by the office were from guest workers who have criminal records in Samoa.

The officer also stated that police reports from the Samoa for guest workers provided significant information that was very helpful for the Immigration Office to make its decision.

“Each police report was very detailed and the information that was provided for us to review was very helpful and easy for us to make a decision,” the senior IO said.

Some of the guest workers recruited from Samoa have a criminal background in Samoa and “these were some of the issues we need to take under consideration before making a decision whether to deny the application or not.”

The concern, according to the senior IO, was that some guest workers from Samoa recruited last year to work for the cannery have been arrested and charged with criminal activities here in the territory.

“The decision by the immigration office was to deny all applicants that do not meet the criteria and requirements based on the facts and the details reported from Samoa,” the senior IO told Samoa News.

The officer said that the problem with the first recruitment of more than 1,000 workers from Samoa last year was the workers were not staying with the sponsor, which is the cannery, but they were living with families or staying at rental apartments.

“The immigration laws clearly state that the alien must stay with the sponsor, and that is the problem with the first phrase of the Guest Worker Program between the cannery and the ASG, the recruitment process took place at the market place in Apia,” the senior IO said.

To uphold the immigration laws, parties must follow the proper procedures on how to recruit more workers from Samoa so that no more problems will arise in the future.

Recently the StarKist Samoa Plant Director, Mr. Injoo Ha and management visited Samoa to establish partnerships with the Government of Samoa for the recruitment of about 1000 workers.

The intention is to utilize the established labor recruitment units under the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour and the newly established District Councils for recruitment mandated by the Samoa Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development.

Workers are recruited from Samoa under the special Guest Workers Program by the American Samoa Government (ASG) for StarKist. Current process entails open invitation by word of mouth/ media for applications, which are reviewed by the company. The ongoing challenge is the inconsistent flow of workers, but the need remains for a high volume of production to meet market demands.

The hired guest workers need a host in American Samoa; however, the employees must find their own housing, and are responsible for themselves while working at the cannery.

The Samoa Government is reported to be exploring a system similar to the RSE program, which sends workers from Samoa to New Zealand and Australia. Under the plan, employers provide accommodation and act as immigration sponsors for the workers.