Torres Seeks Answers on Immigration Policy Affecting Guam Families, Workers

Congressional candidate Mary Camacho Torres on Sunday requested a public update from Delegate James Moylan on how Guam’s congressional office is responding to a recent U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services policy memorandum that could affect lawful workers, local employers, and families across the island.

The memorandum, PM-602-0199, restricts certain adjustment of status processing on Guam, a change that could require some workers to leave the island to continue pursuing permanent residency.

In a letter to Moylan, Torres said the issue could have serious consequences for Guam families, employers, and an already strained economy, particularly in health care, construction, tourism, and other industries that rely heavily on foreign labor.

“For decades, our island has relied on a lawful and dependable adjustment of status process that allowed workers — many from the Philippines and throughout Asia — to come here legally, work hard, build lives, and eventually earn permanent residency through employer sponsorship,” Torres wrote.

Torres said the process has helped build modern Guam by allowing workers to become homeowners, taxpayers, parents, caregivers, nurses, tradesmen, small business employees, and eventually American citizens.

“These workers are not strangers to our island. They are part of our island,” Torres wrote.

The letter asks Moylan whether his office has requested a territorial waiver, exemption, delayed implementation, administrative flexibility or any other form of relief from USCIS or the Department of Homeland Security on Guam’s behalf. Torres also requested copies of any correspondence related to the issue and asked that Moylan seek relief immediately if his office has not already done so.

“If workers who followed the law and built their lives on Guam are suddenly forced to leave the island to continue the green card process elsewhere, the disruption will not fall only on them,” Torres wrote. “It will affect Guam employers trying to keep their doors open, families trying to stay together, and an economy already under strain.”

Torres said Guam residents deserve clear guidance on what the policy means, what actions are being taken, and what affected workers, employers, and families should do moving forward.

“Silence, uncertainty, and an unwillingness to debate these issues in public are not a strategy,” Torres wrote.

“Every day without clarity leaves businesses unable to plan, families fearful about their future, and lawful workers wondering whether the lives they built on Guam can continue.”

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