The Chairman of the House Legal Affairs and Judiciary Committee Rep. Tapai Alailepule Ben Vaivao has raised concerns about the 7-day permit waiver program for citizens of Samoa, which goes into effect today.
The faipule told KHJ News that his main worry is that this will put a further strain on the local Immigration Office which is struggling, even now, to deal with the influx of foreigners.
Tapai, a former customs officer, said this program is not new. Prior administration tried it before and swiftly shut it down when the crime rate escalated, he said.
“Our Immigration Office is overwhelmed and cannot control the overstayer problem, tracking down individuals here on the StarKist guest work permit program,” but left the cannery’s employment, he commented.
The faipule said not including a health and police clearance for travelers is reckless.
“We still should consider their health and police clearances,” Tapai told KHJ News. “I believe this will create a loophole for criminals to travel to American Samoa.”
He believes all arrivals should be carefully reviewed, and a police and health clearance is necessary to protect the territory.
The lawmaker is also of the opinion that the permit waiver program would likely impact the overcrowding at the Territorial Correctional Facility at a time when the criminal justice system is plagued by lack of attorneys at the Public Defender’s Office.
Rep. Tapai wishes the administration and the Fono had time to discuss the permit waiver program before it was launched.
As of yesterday, the Samoa Government had not made any public announcement regarding the entry permit for US nationals from American Samoa traveling to Samoa.
In exchange for American Samoa’s permit waiver program for citizens of Samoa, the Samoa Government agreed to waive the entry permit for US nationals traveling to Samoa. As of yesterday, the two inter-Samoa airlines, Samoa Airways and Talofa Airways, said they had not been informed of any change in the permit requirements.
