Shout Out Loudly In Support Of Alien Rights

In his letter to the editor of the Saipan Tribune on May 11th, 2009, Dr. Thomas D. Arkle Jr. of Tinian made an important point that should not be ignored. The US government can and does deport parents with US citizen children who do not have legal status. Every immigration activist from the US mainland knows that this is a fact. Right or wrong, this is the law.

While Dr. Thomas D. Arkle Jr. mentioned the many cases of out of status parents with US citizen children being deported, he failed to make a distinction between the illegal alien parents in the US and the legal alien parents here in the CNMI. While many of the parents who were deported came to the US illegally, every one of the alien parents here in the CNMI came here legally. Right now, comparing the two is like comparing apples and oranges.

But don’t worry, the Federal Government is very good at changing oranges into apples and that is what will start happening on November 28th, 2009. On November 28th, 2009 those who are legal aliens will start becoming illegal aliens. This is unprecedented in US history. Honest, hardworking, law abiding people will be turned into criminals and be deprived of their life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, without due process and without representation.

This is wrong and this not what my country is all about. While USCIS may have their rules and regulations, there is a higher law, it’s the precepts of our constitution. It’s what men in uniform have fought and died for. It’s what all politicians swear allegiance to. It’s an inspired document that sets the framework for our government and all that it does.

Call me old fashioned, but I believe that law abiding people need to be rewarded and they should never be punished. Unfortunately, the chances for them being rewarded are slipping away, while a date with punishment looms on the horizon. Federalization is the law, the only thing left to do is to hash out the details and publish the regulations.

My father always told me that the devil is in the details. The devil is certainly in the details with federalization as anyone counting on Russian and Chinese tourists can attest to. While people were not able to influence the interim visa waiver rules before they were issued, the regulations for transitional workers and investors still need to be written and now is the time to ensure that these regulations take into account the unique needs of everyone in the CNMI.

I believe in the concept of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I believe that no one should be deprived of those rights through no fault of their own and that is why I will do all I can to ensure that these regulations follow the spirit of our supreme law, the Constitution. It’s my hope that others will shout out loudly in support of the constitution as well.