To our elected leaders

I have been reading a lot about the “stateless” individuals and the issues surrounding their plight for U.S. citizenship. First, we heard that there were 300 individuals who claim to be born in the CNMI and have the right to be U.S. citizens. Now, this number has risen. It includes some 5,000 or more individuals who wants to become U.S. citizens largely because they have worked for five years or more in the CNMI and they are entitled to it.

Several questions I want to address to our leaders with regard to this issue: (1) Are there others in the Philippines or elsewhere that have worked for more than five years in the CNMI that might claim this privilege? (2) Do we have enough land to accommodate these individuals once they become U.S. citizens? You know they have the right to own property if Article XII of the CNMI Constitution is applicable to them. (3) Do these individuals intend to petition their immediate families once they become U.S. citizens? You know they could do that.

At present, more than half of the population of the CNMI are either Bangladesh, Filipinos, Koreans, Chinese, and other ethnic backgrounds. Most are contract workers. Our locals are being pushed out of their country. I have nothing against these individuals who are seeking a better life. They have that right to seek better lives for themselves. However, as a CNMI citizen, I have the right to voice my concern and that is (1) to ensure that the future of my kids is not jeopardized due to this stateless issue; (2) to protect the limited commodity (land) that we have so that my kids and generations thereof can have a piece of this precious commodity. You know they’re entitled to this commodity once they become U.S. citizens if Article XII of the CNMI Constitution is applicable to them.

As elected leaders of our great CNMI, you all have the obligation to protect this precious and limited commodity. Otherwise, the CNMI will be just like mirror image of what happened to our brothers and sisters in Guam. Can the CNMI accommodate these individuals? This is a very important issue that we as indigenous people have to be very careful about. I want to let all our leaders know that their constituents in their precincts are counting on them to come up with a solution to this issue, at the same time protecting the limited commodity our indigenous people have.

I especially want the administration, the leadership of Speaker Benigno Fitial and his colleagues, and Senate President Joaquin Adriano and all the senators to carefully examine the impact this issue will bring forth to our great CNMI both economically and socially.

Thank you so much and thank you Mr. Greg Sablan for your concern and I do agree with his view on this important issue.

Jack Dela Cruz
Tacoma, Washington