Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands v. United States

OPINION

PAUL L. FRIEDMAN, District Judge.

This is a case about the United States’ authority to legislate for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (“CNMI” or “the Commonwealth”) — a group of Micronesian islands that enjoys a unique political relationship with the United States. The CNMI, joined by amicus curiae CNMI Descent for Self-Government and Indigenous Rights (“CNMI Descent”), argues that the recent enactment of legislation applying federal immigration laws to the CNMI violates the agreement governing the relationship between the CNMI and the United States. The CNMI therefore…