Risk for NMI-US relations

Gov. Benigno R. Fitial may be risking the Commonwealth’s relationship with the U.S. government with his lawsuit over the pending federal takeover of local immigration, according to the U.S. lawmaker primarily in charge of legislation concerning the insular areas.

U.S. Virgin Islands Rep. Donna Christensen, chairwoman of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs and main sponsor of the bill that became the CNMI immigration law, said she is convinced the legislation will stand up in court. But she is not too sure about how the lawsuit would affect U.S. and CNMI relations.

“I am confident with the process that Congress undertook in passing legislation and with President Bush’s signing of P.L. 110-229; these actions will be defended. However, I cannot predict the effect of this lawsuit on the working relationship between federal agencies and the CNMI local government,” Christensen said in a statement yesterday.

The CNMI government said there is no surprise about Christensen’s continued support for federalization. Yet the administration noted that the U.S. lawmaker’s comment on the future of U.S.-CNMI ties “may need further clarification and amplification.”

“We expect that our working relationship with the federal government would continue to be positive and similar to the relationships between U.S. state governments and the federal government even after a state, such as Alaska, files suit against the federal government,” said press secretary Charles P. Reyes Jr.

“I am sure the people of the CNMI and the 50 states might be very interested to know if any disparate treatment may arise from similar fact patterns, because this is not our understanding of the democratic principles underlying American government,” he added.

Fitial named the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Labor as defendants in the lawsuit he filed Friday in a bid to stop the new immigration law from being implemented. The suit, now before a federal court in Washington, D.C., argues that the new immigration law threatens to cripple the local economy and violates the promises of self-government and economic development detailed in the CNMI’s covenant with the United States.

“I am taking this action so that we can get the answer to an important legal question. We need to know whether the U.S. Congress can legislate in an area reserved for local self-government by our Covenant. The only way to get an answer to this legal question is to turn to the court,” Fitial said in a statement.

Christensen in her statement noted that the U.S. Congress and the agencies tasked with federalizing the Commonwealth’s immigration system see the importance of working with local leaders in preparation for the transition period.

“Over the past several months, since the enactment of P.L. 110-229, Congress has urged federal agencies to actively engage with CNMI leaders in preparation for the transition period which will usher in a new era of security and economic development to the CNMI,” Christensen said.

“I am satisfied that the relevant federal agencies understand how important this transition will be for the people of the CNMI and they are working thoughtfully to ensure that the upcoming transition period is flexible enough to respond to concerns raised from CNMI residents and businesses,” she added.

Christensen said she will continue to encourage federal agencies to provide the needed flexibility to the Commonwealth during the transition period.