Abstract
This essay explores an underexamined yet compelling immigration issue: whether Congress should confer to long-term guest workers in the Common-wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) a path to lawful permanent residence and citizenship. The issue has led to contentious debates between groups arguing for a fair and equitable result for the guest workers and groups advocating for the indigenous peoples of the CNMI who fear loss of political power. Contend-ing that both arguments raise important anti-subordination claims, this essay argues that resolution of the issue requires a close examination of the historical, cultural and economic factors that led to this issue. Ultimately, this essay argues that Congress should provide the guest workers with a path to become permanent members of the American polity. Yet, in doing so, Congress must be mindful of the political needs of the CNMI’s indigenous populations.
Recommended Citation
Rose C. Villazor,
Citizenship for the Guest Workers of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,
90
Chi.-Kent L. Rev.
525
(2015).
Available at:
https://scholarship.kentlaw.iit.edu/cklawreview/vol90/iss2/6
