Wiseman: Palauan citizens considered NMI citizens not subject to deportation

Palauan citizens who are also considered citizens of the CNMI are not subject to deportation, according to Superior Court associate judge David A. Wiseman.

Wiseman addressed the citizenship status of Palauans in the CNMI in an order he issued yesterday denying the government’s petition to deport James Kintaro, a Palauan who has been convicted of five misdemeanors.

Wiseman determined that Kintaro is a citizen of the CNMI as he was able to meet all three elements of a provision in the Covenant.

The judge ruled that Kintaro was able to prove that he was a citizen of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands prior to 1986 when the CNMI was established.

He said the respondent domiciled continuously in the CNMI for at least five years immediately prior to the establishment of the Commonwealth.

Finally, Kintaro was also under 18 years of age in 1975, Wiseman said.

According to court records, the CNMI government filed a deportation case against Kintaro over his conviction of five misdemeanor offenses.

The deportation hearing was held on Oct. 23, 2008. Kintaro, through counsel Jane Mack of the Micronesian Legal Services Corp., did not dispute his criminal convictions nor his Palauan citizenship.

Mack argued that Kintaro was also a CNMI citizen pursuant to the Covenant and therefore not subject to deportation.

The government, through assistant attorney general Kathleen Busenkell, pointed out that without a U.S. passport, the respondent could not claim citizenship of the CNMI.

In his decision, Wiseman said that pursuant to the Commonwealth Code, being convicted of two or more misdemeanors or one felony is grounds for deportation of an alien from the CNMI.

Wiseman said a passport has never been a prerequisite to a showing of citizenship.

“Many citizens never obtain a passport because they never intend on traveling outside their country’s borders,” he said.

Wiseman said the only question to be determined is whether pursuant to the Covenant Kintaro is a CNMI citizen and therefore not subject to deportation.

He cited Section 301(b) of the Covenant, which provides citizenship guidelines for the CNMI, saying it became effective upon the termination of the Trusteeship Agreement and the establishment of the CNMI on Nov. 4, 1986.

Wiseman said Kintaro was born in Palau in 1962 and holds a Palauan passport.

Kintaro testified that he first arrived in the CNMI from Palau in 1971, that he then departed in 1974, and returned in 1979. He further testified that he has remained in CNMI continuously since 1979.

Wiseman said Kintaro was able to show clear and convincing evidence that he was a citizen of TTPI prior to the establishment of the CNMI in 1986.

The judge said the respondent was also able to show sufficient evidence of his residency and his intent to remain in the Commonwealth.

As to the requirement that he was registered to vote in an election prior to Jan. 1, 1975 or under voting age at the time, Wiseman said the parties did not dispute that Kintaro was born on May 28, 1962, and thus, in 1975 was well under 18 years old.