(2006-0167-F) Northern Mariana Islands

The materials in FOIA 2006-0167-F are a selective, not necessarily all inclusive, body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related materials. FOIA request 2006-0201-F contains materials from a small group of agencies, including Intergovernmental Affairs and Legislative Affairs. The Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) is a chain of Islands that came under the control of the United States after their capture from Japan during World War II. In 1975, residents of the Northern Mariana Islands voted to enter into political union with the United States, leading to the establishment of the former UN Trust Territory as a Commonwealth. Under the terms of the agreement establishing the CNMI as part of the United States, the Commonwealth retained control of immigration and minimum wage regulations with the understanding that the United States Congress could rescind such control at any time. As the CNMI experienced an influx of foreign workers in the 1980s and 1990s, local control over these laws became an issue of extended negotiation between Federal agencies, the White House, Congress, and the Commonwealth. The White House Office of Records Management (WHORM) Subject Categories for this particular request regarding the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands contain five records. WHORM Subject File ST051 contains correspondence between President Clinton and members of Congress. It also includes memoranda offering a background assessment of the labor and minimum wage situation for foreigners working in the CNMI. The WHORM Alpha Files contain no relevant records. The White House Staff and Office Files contain correspondence, memoranda, and press reports. The files of Bridget McGovern and Jason Wilson represent records produced to the House of Representatives Committee on Resources in response to a request for CNMI-related documents in August 1999. The files of Jeffrey Farrow consist of correspondence with the AFL-CIO and the “Take Pride in America Coalition” (a group composed of U.S.-based unions, businesses, and human rights organizations opposed to worker and wage standards in the CNMI), newspaper articles and press releases about the Commonwealth, and Congressional correspondence. Lucia Wyman files contain memoranda and draft copies concerning proposed legislation changing labor and wage law in the CNMI. Wyman files also include a 1996 memo highlighting a standard contract between the average foreign laborer and the Commonwealth and correspondence from members of the House of Representatives to CNMI Governor Froilan C. Tenorio. The Automated Records Management System (ARMS) Emails consists largely of records where the issue of labor and wage law in the CNMI garners mention as part of a larger domestic policy issue, as is the case in a Carol Rasco Roll Call article on House of Representatives’ budget reconciliation instructions. A final draft of a letter to President Clinton from Congressional Democrats refers to wage issues in the Commonwealth as part of an overall effort in 2000 to expand the minimum wage throughout the United States. One email of interest focusing primarily on the CNMI regards a revised Statement of Administration Position (SAP) on Senate Bill 1275 (S. 1275): Northern Mariana Islands Covenant Implementation Act. The record contains the Administration’s position as well as the Department of Labor’s objections to both the SAP and S. 1275. The NSC Cable and Email systems contain no relevant records. The NSC Records Management System offers two records. The first record, an April 10, 1995 letter from President Clinton to Representative Bob Filner, discusses the working conditions of Filipino nationals employed in the CNMI. The second record is an April 16, 1999 memorandum from the President authorizing the Attorney General to detain and process Chinese aliens discovered near the CNMI.