Joaquin Q. Atalig, also a proprietor of certain rental apartment buildings on Saipan, said “he is affected in his personal, professional, and political capacities by the application, implementation, and enforcement” of the law.
Attorney Joseph Horey of O’Connor Berman Dotts and Banes law firm signed Atalig’s complaint.
Two years ago, the federal court in Washington, D.C. dismissed Gov. Benigno R. Fitial’s lawsuit against the CNRA.
CNMI-issued umbrella permits expire on Nov. 27, 2011. Business owners have started petitioning their foreign workers as mandated by CW rules issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
In his complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief, Atalig said he filed the complaint “in vindication of his rights as a citizen on this Citizenship Day.” The lawsuit was filed on Friday.
Named as defendants were the United States; Barack Obama in his official capacity as president of the United States; Janet Napolitano, in her official capacity as secretary of Homeland Security; Ken Salazar, in his official capacity as secretary of the Interior; Hillary Clinton, in her official capacity as secretary of State; Hilda Solis, in her official capacity as secretary of Labor; and Eric Holder, in his official capacity as attorney general of the United States.
Atalig claims that the CNRA is lawfully unenforceable with respect to the CNMI, and its enforcement “is valid and lawful only contingent upon the continuing consent of the people of the Northern Mariana Islands.”
He also said that the provisions of the Covenant “which authorize and allow the implementation and enforcement of the CNRA in the CNMI are unconstitutional.”
According to Atalig, the CNMI “does not enjoy the full measure of self-government required by the Trusteeship Agreement, and that United States is obliged to the people of the Northern Mariana Islands to establish a full measure of self-government in the Northern Mariana Islands.”
