By Bryan Manabat
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
CNMI’s challenges are competing for attention amid major national and international crises, a reality that Delegate Kimberlyn King‑Hinds says is complicating efforts to correct federal misconceptions about birth tourism and the economic pressures facing the Commonwealth.
King‑Hinds is also rejecting criticism that her federal outreach on birth tourism caters to China, insisting the effort is about stabilizing the islands’ economy, restoring government services and keeping tourism alive.
Much of the scrutiny stems from a recent letter sent by more than 30 Republican members of Congress to the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department and the Interior Department.
The lawmakers raised alarms about “birth tourism” in the CNMI and requested detailed data on births to Chinese nationals, voter registrations tied to U.S.-born children and the use of CNMI‑specific entry programs. The letter framed the issue as a potential national security concern — a characterization King‑Hinds argues oversimplifies the situation and ignores the Commonwealth’s economic realities.
The congressional pressure has been reinforced by national legislation introduced by Rep. Brian Babin of Texas, whose Birthright Citizenship Act seeks to curb birth tourism by restricting automatic citizenship for children born to foreign nationals. Although the bill is national in scope and not specific to the CNMI, it has been championed by several of the same lawmakers who signed the birth tourism letter, effectively pulling the Commonwealth into a broader immigration and China‑focused debate unfolding in Washington.
King‑Hinds, who recently returned from Washington, D.C., said she has been “knocking on every single door” and meeting with lawmakers to counter what she describes as incomplete or inaccurate assumptions behind the letter.
“The reality is, you have one person who feels strongly about an issue, and other members just sign on without knowing the full impact,” she said. “That’s the feedback I’ve been getting, especially from House members who signed that letter.”
She added that the CNMI is struggling to break through a crowded federal agenda dominated by global conflicts and high‑stakes domestic negotiations.
“We have a situation happening in Iran, we have the DHS funding plan — it’s one thing after another,” she said. “The job is to make sure we don’t fall through the cracks.”
King‑Hinds said she recently met with House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, whose committee oversees visa matters, and was assured that legislation tied to the birth tourism issue “is not the focus right now.”
She noted that some of the political dynamics driving the criticism mirror tensions seen at home.
“Just like in our community, some people get into their feelings about an issue and put it out into the ether,” she said. “It’s the same thing there. Some members view the world through a specific set of lenses, especially when it comes to China.”
Critics have accused her of advocating for policies that benefit Chinese interests, but King‑Hinds said her work is rooted in the CNMI’s economic survival.
“It’s not about China. It’s about retirement. It’s about paying employees. It’s about restoring school hours,” she said. “It’s making sure we have money to pay for gas for CUC. The government hasn’t been paying what it owes, and that’s made the utility situation worse because we can’t reinvest in infrastructure.”
She emphasized that tourism remains the backbone of the Commonwealth’s economy — and that the CNMI cannot afford to lose visitors from any market.
“This is about the economy. This is about tourism. This is about customers,” King‑Hinds said. “We need customers for this economy to keep moving. That’s just the reality.”
Bryan Manabat was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College where he also studied criminal justice. He is the recipient of the NMI Humanities Award as an Outstanding Teacher (Non-Classroom) in 2013, and has worked for the CNMI Motheread/Fatheread Literacy Program as lead facilitator.
