Immigration provision in Covenant

People throughout these isles know the full benefits of the immigration provision under the Covenant Agreement. The founding fathers who ensured its inclusion in the agreement deserve our accolades for their vision on this matter.

During the negotiations which started in 1972, there was a certain fear of an influx of people from abroad using the islands as a launch pad to attain US Citizenship. The first experience of that fear descended upon the NMI a month or so ago when illegal Chinese immigrants were diverted to the new Tent City on Tinian.

Understandably, US Immigration law grants political asylum for people seeking political freedom who fled oppressive regimes in their country. How fortunate the NMI that it controls this aspect of its open-water borders to halt and discourage any further boat people from entering US jurisdictions in their slow sail to freedom.

The relevancy of the NMI controlling its open borders lies in the fact that it can effectively deny illegal Chinese political asylum in the islands. The Marianas Archipelago is too small to absorb even one percent of the more than 1.3 billion Chinese fleeing their country. Imagine a million illegal Chinese being granted the liberty to live in these islands at the close of this century. Not only will it be too costly for our financially strapped government, but it is an invitation for a new political order in these isles completely displacing the indigenous people. Is this the vision of our detractors? And is INS financially equipped to patrol our open waters?

Constant disruption of our way of life becomes the order of business. It is for this reason that however simple the villagers may be in the eyes of most foreigners, the indigenous people know that it is not their obligation to accommodate illegal immigrants who should have been stopped and turned around as they enter the NMI’s 200 Exclusive Economic Zone. After all, the Clinton administration has so far demonstrated its agility at trying to pile more government upon these isles while equally showing its fragility to act promptly to assist our financially troubled government meet unanticipated costs prompted by these illegal immigrants.

The people of these islands demand full protection of the immigration provision inherent in the Covenant Agreement. It has relevancy that national policymakers can’t possibly see nor understand. We do understand what’s it all about because we live in these islands and it is grossly unfair to impose ultra-insensitive statutory regulations that would ruin our way of life. We refuse to be victims of politically disruptive changes where proponents aren’t subject to suffer the consequences of their ill-conceived decisions. We do and it is for this reason that seek that they see this and other issues through our set of lenses. Si Yuus Maase`!
Strictly a personal view. John S. DelRosario Jr. is publisher of Saipan Tribune