There has been much in the news of late relative to the opinion of
some members of the United States Congress that U. S. immigration laws
should be imposed on the Commonwealth.
     In considering this issue it is helpful to review the events that have
transpired between 1990 and 1995 as regards the need for workers to staff
the economy. The number of workers in the islands increased by 8,758
persons or 33.7 percent between 1990 and 1995 for a total of employed work
force of 34,723. Those workers born in Asia, of whom some are U. S.
citizens, increased by 6,431 or 35 percent during the period for a 1995
total of 24,840.  Those workers born elsewhere outside the Northern
Marianas, of whom some are also U. S. citizens, increased by 38 percent or
1,066 for a 1995 total of 3,877. This growth occurred while those workers
born in the CNMI increased by 1,261 or by 26.6 percent for a 1995 total of
6,006.  Asian born workers now account for 71.5 percent of the
Commonwealth’s work force.
    Except in rare cases U. S. immigration laws would prohibit entry into
the CNMI of most alien workers. So the the question becomes - if U. S.
immigration laws were imposed on the CNMI and the existing alien workers
had to leave, from where would the replacement work force be derived to
staff the economy;  protect both domestic and foreign investment that has
been established in the islands and generate the business profits from
which tax revenues are derived to finance all manner of government
services?
     Could employers recruit and retain the necessary workers to augment
the limited supply of CNMI born workers from the United States and its
territories? More than 25,000 would be needed. One might legitimately ask,
why not employ U. S. citizens from the mainland and elsewhere to staff the
CNMI’s economy? The fact is that some of these people do come to the
islands - and I am one of them, but a great many do not remain very long.
Many people from large metropolitan areas on the U. S. mainland and
elsewhere who move to the islands for employment reasons find adjustment
difficult and do not remain long after their "initial" enthusiasm wears
off. This is not meant to be critical of such people or the islands, it is
simply a fact. Usually disenchantment of one spouse or the other is likely
to result from one or more of the following: high cost of living compared
with the United States particularly for food, rent and utilities; perceived
limited medical facilities or educational opportunities; inability to adapt
to a different environment; low wages and salaries compared with the
mainland or limited employment opportunities for a spouse; the expense of
moving household effects vast distances and the cost of reestablishing
one's household; limited opportunities for professional growth; hot and
humid climate; separation from family members on the mainland  and the
expense of returning for frequent visits; a service oriented economy that
limits opportunities for some professions; limited cultural enrichment; no
public transport; water shortages in some areas or special needs that
cannot be met in the islands. The above are some of the reasons people
leave the islands after a relatively short period and return to the U. S.
mainland with the result that the U. S. mainland is does not appear to be
the source, or solution, for the island's work force that one might
otherwise assume. In the past it has been Asia and primarily the
Philippines to which island employers have usually  turned.
  The nonresident worker is a valuable and indispensable element in the
Commonwealth's "new" economy and it is indeed fortunate that the CNMI is in
proximity to Asia with its surplus labor pool which can be tapped to
augment the Northern Marianas limited indigenous supply of workers. To cite
only one example of this need,  it is a generally accepted industry "rule
of thumb" that a full service resort hotel requires from 1 to 1.5 employees
per room in the facility. Considering the 3,362 hotel rooms in the area,
more than 3,500 hotel employees are required to staff this one industry
alone. This does not consider the employees necessary to operate the
remaining economic sectors of the islands.
     Had the CNMI not permitted the influx of nonresident workers, the
small indigenous population and thus a limited human resource base would
have served as an obstacle  effectively "capping" the economy  at the level
of the late 1970’s early 80’s. Very little land would have been leased as
there would be only a few local people available to develop projects which
is the reason land was leased in the first place. The availability of
imported workers helped Commonwealth land owners to create interest among
outside investors in leasing their land.
   The population of those born in the CNMI increased by 3.2 percent over
the five year period between 1990 and 1995 or by an average of 0.64 percent
per year. Without considering in and out migration and the birth and death
rate of this segment of the population and taking the above rate of growth
as a basic factor, the Northern Marianas will not have a locally born
population of a size sufficient to provide the 34,723 workers that were
needed in 1995 until sometime around the year 2065. - or some 68 years from
now. Thus, a CNMI born population together with American citizen workers
from the U. S. mainland, Hawaii and Guam are not, in my opinion, the
solution to the matter of staffing the economy.
     Interestingly, the percentage of United States citizens in the CNMI
relative to the total population has not changed in five years, it was 46
.3 percent in 1995 (27,208) and 43.2 percent in 1990 (20,082).
     One reason the Commonwealth was permitted control of its immigration
was to avoid the possibility of being overwhelmed as a result of United
States immigration quotas as applied to Asian countries. It was feared that
immigrants entering the United States would select the new Commonwealth as
a port of entry to the United States and very possibly a place of residence
because of the island’s proximity to their home country.
     Since 1981, three and one half million  people from Asia alone have
immigrated to the United States according to the Visa Section of the U. S.
Department of State. If only  5 percent, or 175,000 people, settled in the
Commonwealth - there would be standing room only.  The total population,
including the indigenous  would be around 234,000.
     Considering only immigration to the United States from Asia for the
period 1981 thru ‘93, the ethnic composition of the Commonwealth would have
changed radically if you except the premise that five percent of the total
would stop off and remain in the islands. Using State Department ratios to
estimate the ethnic mix, there could have been about: 37,200 Filipinos;
22,900 Chinese; 18,200 Koreans; 18,300 from India; 17,900 Vietnamese; 7,200
from Hong Kong; 3,600 Japanese and 49,700 from other Asian countries or a
total of 175,000 people.
      Had U. S. immigration laws  been applied in the Commonwealth it is
also quite likely that by 1995 the indigenous population would comprise
only 11 percent of the total population and would continue to decline as a
percent of the total  in future years.
     Some in the community point out that several major hotels in the
Northern Marianas have expanded their facilities three times since their
original investment. These observers reason that these hotels must have
been able to amortize their initial investment in a relative short time and
advance the opinion that since Guam and Hawaii pay the U. S. minimum wage -
why can’t hotels in the CNMI do the same?
      Both Hawaii and Guam have a large population base including, among
others, retired military personnel and citizens of the Federated States of
Micronesia and the Republic of Palau which select these islands as their
first choices as employment locations and paid their own cost of
relocating. Additionally, hotels in Guam and Hawaii own the hotel and land
in fee simple and thus their investment appreciates in value as the future
unfolds. In the CNMI the opposite is true as the major hotels do not own
the land having, in some cases only leased it for 55 years with the result
that the value of their assets decline as the lease term is eroded by time
until they reach the end of the lease period with the result that there is
no residual value.
      While the housing allowance and meals for employees might be
eliminated as the responsibility of the employer it seems to me that
regardless of what the minimum wage in the Commonwealth might be - $3.05,
$4.75, $5.15 or whatever - employers would still have the heavy costs
associated with the recruitment of “off island” staff. These costs have
been estimated at $1,355 per nonresident worker for the first year and
about $355 per person for each year there-after. This is in addition to
their regular salary.

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