Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The Senate voted yesterday to approve a concurrent resolution proclaiming that Governor Pulaali‘i Nikolao Pula’s recent executive order moving the Department of Corrections back under the Department of Public Safety (DPS) is not valid and has no legal effect.

The Governor issued his executive order on March 16, 2026, after several inmate escapes from the Tafuna Correctional Facility (TCF). One of the most serious cases involved a Corrections officer who allegedly helped an inmate escape by hiding him in the trunk of her car. The Governor said these incidents showed unrelenting security failures at both TCF and the Juvenile Detention Center, continuing persistently, and that immediate action was needed to protect the public.

Because of this, the Governor ordered that Corrections be placed under DPS, and that the DPS Commissioner serve as the temporary head of Corrections until security issues were resolved.

The resolution, sponsored by Senate President Tuaolo Manaia Fruean, says the Governor does not have the legal power to make this kind of change. Senators voted unanimously to support the measure.

The resolution explains that the Department of Corrections was created by law as its own department, with its own director, and cannot be merged or moved by executive order. It says neither Article IV of the Revised Constitution nor the American Samoa Code Annotated (A.S.C.A.) Section 4.0111 gives the Governor the authority to change or suspend laws passed by the Fono, even for a short time.

The resolution also points out that although the Governor called the transfer “temporary,” the executive order did not include an end date, a sunset clause, or any legal authority allowing him to ignore or change the requirements of Title 9, which governs Corrections.

Simply calling something “temporary,” the Senate said, does not make it legal.

The resolution states that by trying to restructure Corrections through an executive order, the Governor is “performing the Fono’s legislative function” and interfering with the separation of powers. Only the Legislature, it says, can change the structure or authority of an executive department that was created by law.

Because of this, the Senate declared the Governor’s executive order invalid and without legal effect, at least in the part that tries to place Corrections under DPS or change the powers assigned to Corrections in Title 9.

The resolution says that if the Governor believes Corrections needs structural changes, he should submit a bill to amend Title 9 so the issue can be reviewed through the normal legislative process.

The measure has now been sent to the House of Representatives for consideration.