Federal engagement, not obstacles
LIKE Rep. Marissa Flores and the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, more members of the local community should reach out to federal authorities to make the case for the EVS-TAP program and a new federal workforce law for the islands.
We need more CNMI leaders and community groups speaking out about the need to protect what remains of the local economy and its ability to generate revenue that funds critical government services and programs.
Tourism recovery and workforce adequacy are not partisan issues; making them so shows a lack of seriousness and responsibility.
Washington, D.C., for its part, is far away, and national policymakers have many other, much larger problems to address. They cannot be expected to stay updated about the CNMI, whose existence they remember mostly through sensational media reports. They need to be reminded repeatedly that EVS-TAP was crafted by the Trump administration precisely in response to concerns regarding national security and birth tourism. Moreover, EVS-TAP is a relatively new federal program that applies to what is now a small tourism market. The latest relevant figures should help alleviate federal policymakers’ concerns.
As for workforce issues, the CNMI is not alone in grappling with persistent labor shortages in certain occupations. The U.S. itself, along with other developed nations with large populations and high-paying economies, has no easy answers to this challenge. The CNMI should extend an invitation to U.S. lawmakers and other federal officials to visit the islands — and stay for at least a week — so they can talk with employers and employees and see the actual hiring process firsthand.
We believe in the sincerity and prudence of U.S. lawmakers and other federal policymakers. The CNMI stands firmly on the side of reason, national security, and prioritizing qualified U.S. workers. Building a robust local economy, not adding federal hurdles, is the way forward.
Americans in the CNMI are not an exception
EACH year, when the CNMI celebrates its Covenant with the U.S., voices emerge that are critical of the federal government’s “failure” to live up to its “promises.” Over the years, CNMI residents have bewailed, decried, protested, denounced, and even litigated issues in which they believe the federal government has “overstepped its bounds.” All of this is no different from the reaction of other U.S. citizens in the 50 states and other territories who, throughout the nation’s history, have also been unhappy with “heavy-handed” federal policies.
The tension between state governments and federal authority is a recurring theme in American political history. By virtue of the Covenant, U.S. citizens in the CNMI are free to complain about its “inadequacy” — or their federal government’s “shortcomings.”
The CNMI, in any case, is not a conquered or occupied territory whose residents are subjects of a faraway power. The U.S. military is not a “foreign” entity. It is the military of the CNMI’s U.S. citizens, several of whom have served and continue to serve in its ranks.
The U.S., to be sure, agreed to a political union with the Northern Marianas not out of the goodness of its heart, but because it considered these islands vital to its security. They still are.
The Northern Marianas are part of the United States. The CNMI is U.S. soil whose residents are U.S. citizens. When the United States spends money here, it is not “foreign aid” but an investment in a U.S. jurisdiction and its U.S. citizens.
Local residents do not pay federal taxes? Yes. But millions of Americans in the states don’t pay federal income tax either — about 40% of U.S. households in 2025. Should they, and their communities, be cut off from federal support?
In the CNMI’s case, the better approach is clear: allow the economy to recover and grow. Self-sufficiency should come first — it has been done before — and federal taxation can follow.
How about it?
Zaldy Dandan is the recipient of the NMI Society of Professional Journalists’ Best in Editorial Writing Award and the NMI Humanities Award for Outstanding Contributions to Journalism. His four books are available on amazon.com/.
