Promising Steps for CNMI Maritime Border Security

On Tuesday, the United States Coast Guard announced immediate actions to surge assets and increase its presence around the nation’s maritime borders. Critically, this includes a focus on the maritime borders surrounding Alaska, Hawai’i, and U.S. territories, including Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This is welcome news, and I thank the Coast Guard for recognizing the need for increased federal presence in the Marianas. Stopping the illegal transportation of foreign nationals between the CNMI and Guam cannot fall solely on the shoulders of local governments. While the federal government assumed control of our immigration system in 2008, enforcement has been consistently underfunded. We rely on access to foreign workers and visitors for our economy to function, but it is essential that the laws governing the protection of our borders are adequately enforced. I will continue to advocate for increased federal support to address this issue, and look forward to seeing a greater presence in our waters. 

This action was in response to the series of Executive Orders signed by President Trump this week. For a listing of the Presidential Actions taken by Trump-Vance Administration you can visit: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/