Plaintiffs  and their attorneys in the citizenship lawsuit before the federal appeals court in Washington D.C. maintain that U.S. citizenship is a “fundamental right, not a Congressional privilege” as argued by the defendants, who include the U.S. State Department and the Secretary of State.

On the other hand, Congresswoman Aumua Amata says that while the plaintiffs have the right to their suit, she believes that the citizenship issue “should be decided first by our people” and then presented to Washington. This has also been the stand of former Congressman Faleomavaega Eni.

Oral arguments were made Monday before a panel of three judges at the federal appeals court, on the citizenship lawsuit filed by eight U.S. nationals led by local resident Leneuoti Tuaua. The plaintiffs also include Los Angeles-based Samoan Federation of America, a non-profit organization.

The Congresswoman along with the American Samoa Government are intervenors in the appeal process in support of the defendants.

PLAINTIFF'S REPLY

Attending the oral arguments hearing were Tuaua, along with local attorney and co-counsel for the plaintiffs Charles Alailima, and representatives of the Samoan organization, including its president Loa Pele Faletogo.

In a news release in response to a Samoa News request on Monday for comments on the hearing, Alailima said yesterday that he was “glad to see the unique history of American Samoa emphasized” during the oral arguments.

“Upon signing the Deeds of Cession, American Samoa’s leaders thought the people of American Samoa would be recognized as U.S. citizens, even as they believed in the importance of protecting American Samoa’s land and culture,” he said yesterday in a news release.

When the U.S. Navy took the position that American Samoans were not citizens, territorial leaders petitioned Congress for full U.S. citizenship, with legislation passing unanimously in the U.S. Senate, only to fail in the U.S. House due to Navy opposition, he pointed out.

“The three appeal judges were well prepared from the written briefs and immediately focused on whether American Samoa is similar to or different from the Philippines,” he explained. “But so long as American Samoa is part of the United States, with its sons and daughters fighting in uniform to defend the Constitution, the Constitution guarantees citizenship by birth on U.S. soil, including in American Samoa.”

Tuaua said he is glad he was in the the courtroom as the judges considered the plaintiffs’ case, adding that American Samoans have contributed a lot to the United States.

“I hope the courts recognize we deserve to be treated as more than second-class Americans. It’s certainly what the Constitution requires,” he said in the media statement.

Faletogo added, “American Samoans have the highest per capita casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan of any U.S. jurisdiction. Yet we’re not recognized as U.S. citizens? That not only doesn’t make sense, it is contrary to the command of the U.S. Constitution.

According to Alailima, a decision on the case is expected by the end of the year.

CONGRESSWOMAN’S COMMENTS

Responding to Samoa News request for comments, Aumua said she would have hoped the court hearing would have made a distinction between U.S. Nationals living in American Samoa and those who are living in the states.

“I am very much in favor of U.S. citizenship and I have traveled around the country urging Samoans to become citizens so they can participate in the American political system,” she said yesterday from Washington D.c. “However, when it comes to our people in American Samoa, I'm not in favor of imposing citizenship on them in absence of their expressed wishes.”

She explained that she joined the side of ASG in this court case because she’s not in favor of using the federal judicial process for political questions.

“The people who are suing certainly have the right to do so, but I am not in favor of this process because it should be decided first by our people and then brought to Washington, and not the other way around,” the Congresswoman said. “Citizenship for our people in the territory, like political status, should be left up to the people to decide.”

“If and when the public is ready for that step, I would introduce a bill in Congress to make it happen. But it should not be imposed on us by a federal court,” she said.

BACKGROUND

American Samoa is the only U.S. jurisdiction where persons born are U.S. nationals rather than U.S. citizens. The U.S. Congress has been able to grant U.S. citizenship to other territories based on their political relationship with that territory. For example, Guam was granted citizenship through the Organic Act.

ASG has argued that the final decision on whether persons born in American Samoa—which is an unorganized and unincorporated territory—should be automatic U.S. citizens, rests with residents, not with a federal court thousands of miles away from the territory. ASG further argued that any decision by local residents will then be submitted to the U.S. Congress.

But this case has brought forth several off-islanders who are supportive of the plaintiffs, and who have participated as 'amici curiae', or friends of the court. Several of them are from Guam, including current Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo and former Guam Gov. Carl Gutierrez.

Guam based Pacific Daily News reported Bordallo saying, "So long as Guam and other U.S. territories are part of the United States, citizenship by birth should be recognized as a right guaranteed by the Constitution, not a mere privilege extended by Congress."

In a statement, Gutierrez said, “It's about time the federal government stops arguing that Guam and these other territories aren't really part of the United States when it comes to important rights and benefits,” the Pacific Daily News reported last month.