One man was arrested and seven others were set free after a local fisherman spotted a group of what appeared to be foreign nationals walking along the shoreline near Tanguisson yesterday.  Customs and Guam Police officers were alerted about the call and responded and found the group still in the Tanguisson area.

They interviewed the seven who confirmed they were dropped-off by a small boat that then returned to Saipan. Customs director Ike Peredo told KUAM News, "We got all the information, make sure that protocol, Public Health's protocols were adhered to, and making sure they're not sick of COVID, vetted them, get all the information, and then we just let them go because we have no other means of detaining them."

But that's what many are concerned about.

When he was asked about how foreign nationals are coming into Guam indiscriminately through the back door and yet when they are caught, these seven individuals were still set free, Peredo responded, "Yes, well we cannot detain or arrest these individuals because our entry requirements is very specific that the individual that is transporting them is the one responsible."

In fact, they did make their first arrest, he was identified as Jian Feng Lu. They spotted him sitting in a nearby car, apparently ready to drive the seven arrivals away. He admitted that to authorities and also told them he had also come in previously by small boat from Saipan.  "He failed to present a departure clearance from the CNMI, meaning that that's a requirement to enter Guam, he did not fill out the declaration form, he did not notify Customs within 48 hours that he's coming in and for those reasons, those are the violations that we identified," the director stated.

Peredo says the seven that were set free have contract worker status in the CNMI, and once here, unless they violate local law, they're out of the local government's jurisdiction.

"That's a federal immigration policy and we don't question them on that. It's ICE that takes care of that," Peredo said. Asked further if ICE was aware that they came in," the director said, "Yes, they were there, they were part of the group that went up there and processed them."

Peredo is part of a local task force just formed by Governor Lou Leon Guerrero to deal with this influx of foreign nationals through non-legal entry points. She has said she's working with officials in Washington, DC about what can be done.