Litigate to negotiate?

The Saipan Tribune reports that Governor Fitial is preparing to sue the U.S. to invalidate the new federalization law. In his statement, the Governor says that he does "not question the authority of the Congress to apply to the Commonwealth the existing federal immigration laws that apply to every other part of the United States except American Samoa."

But wait a minute, if the feds did apply those laws to the CNMI, with no transitions, exceptions or special provisions, wouldn't almost all of the guest workers have to leave immediately? Wouldn't there be no hope of special visa waivers for tourists? Is the Governor really suggesting that it would be OK for the feds to apply standard immigration law to the CNMI immediately and with no exceptions, but that phasing out the guest worker program more slowly, offering a special visa waiver program, etc., is "an intrusion into our governance of local affairs to which no other community of United States citizens has ever been subjected"? Does this make sense?

Is this a good use of CNMI taxpayer funds? Is this merely a strategy of, as the Governor once put it, "litigate to negotiate"? But for that strategy to work, wouldn't the CNMI have to have some negotiating power?

Remember when the CNMI sued the U.S. over submerged lands and lost? The CNMI was left with no control over its offshore resources, unlike the other territories. The Senate then offered the CNMI control over its offshore waters up to three miles, which is what the other territories have. Pete A supported it but the Governor rejected it, on the theory that he would "negotiate" for more. As a result, the legislation died and the CNMI remains, years later, as the only territory with no control over its offshore resources. Is that how this "litigate to negotiate" strategy works? Are we missing something?