CNMI leaders say visa waiver rollback not supported by facts

Delegate Kimberlyn King-Hinds, as well as the CNMI’s largest business group and hotel association, believe calls for the abrogation of the CNMI-Guam Visa Waiver Program and the Economic Vitality & Security Travel Authorization Program are not supported by facts.

Responding to calls for the revocation of visa waiver programs allowing People’s Republic of China nationals and Hong Kong passport holders visa-free entry to the CNMI, King-Hinds’ office said that while the congresswoman appreciates the focus on national security by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), and Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), as well as their engagement on issues affecting the CNMI, current data does not support the contentions outlined in the Jan. 15, 2026, letters they sent to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.

“Safeguarding the homeland while ensuring the long-term stability of U.S. communities and territories are shared priorities. [But] based on current data and conditions in the CNMI, the congresswoman does not believe changes to the CNMI-Guam Visa Waiver Program or the EVS-TAP program are warranted at this time, based on claims that birth tourism is overwhelming the Commonwealth Health Center,” the delegate’s office wrote.

It added that births from tourists of all nationalities have declined significantly since reforms implemented during the first Trump administration, and that resident and nonresident births in the CNMI today outnumber tourist births by approximately nine to one.

“The Commonwealth Health Center is not overwhelmed by foreign births.”

King-Hinds’ office said it is also important to consider EVS-TAP within a broader national context.

“Millions of Chinese nationals travel to the mainland United States each year under existing visa authorities, and foreign births nationwide far exceed those occurring in the CNMI. Any assessment of risk should be grounded in current data and an accurate understanding of local conditions.”

It added that tourism remains the backbone of the CNMI economy, which is currently on life support.

“The EVS-TAP program under the CNMI-Guam Visa Waiver Program was developed to provide access to critical visitor markets in order to support economic stability and government revenues. The program was designed during the first Trump administration and implemented in 2025. Abrupt changes to lawful travel programs would have significant economic consequences that should be carefully weighed alongside security considerations.”

King-Hinds’ office also noted that the CNMI’s borders are fully controlled by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and that EVS-TAP includes a Department of Homeland Security-administered vetting process that screens travelers before departure.

“Congresswoman King-Hinds welcomes continued dialogue with her Senate and House colleagues, the administration, and Commonwealth leaders to ensure that federal policies both protect national security and reflect the unique economic and geographic realities of the Northern Marianas. Any discussion of changes to the CNMI-Guam Visa Waiver Program must meaningfully include the Commonwealth government, reflect accurate and up-to-date data, and recognize the unique economic and geographic circumstances of a U.S. territory that has few alternatives to tourism.”

To this end, King-Hinds’ office said she will be reaching out to Banks, Mullin, and Scott to further explain her stance.

The Marianas Visitors Authority said the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program has been a lawful cornerstone of the Marianas’ economic stability and regional engagement, directly supporting lawful tourism, small business viability, and employment for U.S. citizens and residents.

“The program operates within a framework of federal oversight and local compliance, and has consistently cooperated with the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies to strengthen screening, enforcement, and information sharing,” the tourism body said in a statement.

Like King-Hinds, the MVA took issue with some of the data cited in the letter from the U.S. senators to DHS and the Interior Department, saying it “no longer reflects improvements made in cooperation with federal agencies.”

“Preserving the visa waiver program while continuing to enhance safeguards advances U.S. strategic, economic, and diplomatic interests in the Pacific and sustains a lawful tourism market that the Marianas relies upon to fund public services and infrastructure. Policy deliberations must fully consider the Marianas' unique circumstances, proven compliance efforts, and the severe economic consequences that termination would entail for a U.S. community striving for recovery and long-term resilience.”

Meanwhile, Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands chair Dennis Seo strongly encouraged federal policymakers to engage directly with key CNMI stakeholders when considering any changes to the visa waiver framework.

“Some of the data cited in the letter is far outdated, and some concerns raised have already been addressed. The federal government recognizes that the CNMI faces unique geographic, economic, and workforce challenges that differ significantly from those of the mainland US, and those realities must be reflected in any policy decision. PRC citizens travelling to the CNMI are pre-screened under the U.S. Customs & Border Protection's CNMI Economic Vitality & Security Travel Authorization Program, and this critical economic tool is essential for the economic and social stability of the Commonwealth,” he said in a statement.

Saipan Chamber of Commerce president Joe C. Guerrero said the assumptions made by the three U.S. senators in their letters to DHS and the Department of the Interior were misleading.

“This is not new, where people are operating with less than the full set of facts, and it is our obligation as the Saipan Chamber and as a community to correct misinformation. Also, there are, unfortunately, propagandas being pushed by special interest groups that sometimes works its way into this sort of misinformation. It's unfortunate, but the Chamber will stand by the facts and the correct information,” he said in a voice message to Marianas Press, adding that the Chamber will issue an official statement in the next day or two.

For his part, Galvin Sablan Deleon Guerrero, an independent candidate for U.S. delegate to Congress, shares the concerns raised by the three senators regarding threats to national security.

“While we should welcome tourists and support the hospitality industry, we should not repeat the mistakes of the past by making ourselves vulnerable to bad actors. Those mistakes invited birth tourism to thrive as an underground industry, allowed criminals and drugs to infect our islands, and threatened the welfare of our Commonwealth,” he said in a statement

Guerrero added that he supports a thriving hospitality industry for the CNMI and acknowledged that the local economy urgently needs it.

“But let’s revive tourism in a sustainable and safe manner, not a way that puts our national security and our people at risk. We should be reinforcing national security, not weakening it. Anyone who says otherwise is a threat to that security.”

Guerrero said now, more than ever, the U.S. must take steps to secure its borders.

“Not only are we home to strategic U.S. military assets, but our people are proud, patriotic Americans who have served in our country’s armed services at enlistment rates higher, per capita, than most states,” he said.

Public reaction to the three senators’ call for the cancellation of the visa waiver programs leaned mostly toward keeping EVS-TAP.

“What’s being overlooked isn’t national security, it’s our right to self-government under the CNMI Covenant. The Covenant guarantees: ‘The people of the Northern Mariana Islands will have the right of local self-government and will govern themselves with respect to internal affairs in accordance with a constitution of their own adoption,’” wrote Rox Exley.

“Whether you support tighter control of immigration or not, this should be up to us, as it was originally. If there are concerns about who enters our Commonwealth, the federal government should bring them to our legislature, to our people, rather than imposing a paternalistic system telling us what we must, can, or can’t do. Federal overreach like this could be used to undermine other unique aspects of the CNMI, such as Article XII and other protections guaranteed by our Constitution, and sets a dangerous precedent for eroding the autonomy generations of Northern Mariana Islanders fought to secure. You can’t have both federal control and local freedom; it’s one or the other,” he added.

JD Torres painted a more doomsday scenario: “No more tourists from Japan, China, or America. There’s nothing left. Might as well close down the island.”

Michael Marinay, meanwhile, appeared sarcastic when he wrote, “That's good, now America will be secured!!!!!”

“What I don’t understand is why we have idiots who know nothing about the CNMI have so much to say. Do they know how much our economy is struggling with businesses closing down and people being unemployed? They should focus on their huge illegal immigration issues,” wrote Mark Estrada.

Kika GS also wrote, “America’s ‘enemies’ are not ours. Governments are not people; they are entities. We have no issues with Chinese or Russian people.”