This is just bad, really bad, politics. I don’t know if there is any candidate out there willing to stick out his neck for non-voters whose aspirations for a better immigration status clash with the local community’s sentiment. I expect a close election in November and if the coalition wants to ensure a candidate’s defeat then an endorsement will do it nicely.
Why should local voters support a candidate who promises to do things for foreigners? The nonresidents in the CNMI, of course, have the right to seek an improved immigration status, but meddling clumsily in local politics is not the way to do it.
The CNMI congressional delegate is supposed to represent voters — the U.S. citizens of the commonwealth. He has no business lobbying on behalf of foreigners in the halls of the U.S. Congress. I myself will be extremely annoyed if I hear my congressman back home defending the interests of foreigners. That congressman will be called names, among which “Judas” will be the only word that can be published in a newspaper.
Guest worker groups claim they want to remain in this commonwealth where they have lived for many years. They say they consider the CNMI their home. But they antagonize the very same community by proclaiming that all they’re after is their interest, and that they are entitled to it. Then they wonder why an overwhelming majority of the local citizens are either irked by, or indifferent about the guest workers’ concerns.
There will be no quickie improvement in the immigration status of guest workers without an act of the U.S. Congress and the approval of the U.S. president. And as we’ve seen by the way the feds took out the nonimmigrant status from the federalization bill, they pay close attention to what their fellow U.S. citizens in the CNMI say about this contentious and emotional issue.
We must acknowledge that as far as the local people are concerned, their hospitality has been gravely abused. They believe that they have been very good to their guest workers who have been allowed to practically settle here and raise their U.S. citizen children. Most of the locals watched silently while guest workers demanded what was never promised by their work contracts. I myself cannot imagine nonresidents back home holding rallies without being stoned or assaulted by the natives. After all, no one wants his homeland swamped by foreigners, more so when the economy has already tanked and jobs are getting scarce. We may prefer to settle this issue through the force of our logic and an appeal to our common humanity, but if it’s that easy then the entire world should be singing “Kumbaya” by now.
Those who want to operate in the public sphere must deal with real people with flesh and blood problems — not people as abstractions who can be reasoned with. We must, moreover, tread carefully when dealing with issues involving race and ethnicity. Even in this globalized and multi-cultural world they just won’t go away. Recognizing this stubborn fact is a big step forward for those who want to effect real change.
Now if we say we cherish these islands and that we consider them our home then let’s show it through our actions. Let’s not separate ourselves from the concerns of the community. Let’s find common ground in issues that affect us all — the economy, tourism, beautification efforts, the power crisis, public education, public health, public safety.
What the guest workers coalition should be asking from the congressional candidates, or from any CNMI candidate for that matter, is what these politicians can do for the commonwealth, and not just for a particular group. If guest workers say they are a part of this commonwealth then surely they, too, will support the candidate who has the best plans for improving the CNMI.
In other words, if guest workers want their concerns to be heard by the local community, then they should, first of all, be concerned about the CNMI and not just about their immigration status.
And for the love of Erap, don’t say I’m a “traitor” to my kababayans. I’m not one who wants to chuck his Philippine passport and swear allegiance to a foreign country.
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