Yale law students hear how Am Samoa navigates its relationship with the U.S.

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — American Samoa’s unique relationship with the United States has again attracted interest from students and law professors at another U.S college campus and this time, the Yale Law School where Tapaau Dr. Dan Aga, director of the ASG Office of Political Status, Constitutional Review and Federal Relations, gave a presentation yesterday.

In April this year, Tapaau was invited and presented virtually on a seminar titled, “The Constitution of Empire,” for students at the Georgetown University Law School. And one of the questions asked during that seminar dealt with territorial leaders, lawmakers and others who are strongly opposed to automatic U.S citizenship for person’s born in American Samoa. (See Samoa News edition Apr. 28 for details.)

For yesterday’s virtual presentation for the Yale Law School, the seminar was called “Indigenous Self Government in the Constitutional Order” and is being co-taught by Prof. James Campbell and Prof. Gerald Torres, who teach federal Indian law, according to information provided by Tapaau.

Additionally, students got a reading on the “Fitisemanu v United States” federal court case — referred to in the past as the US citizenship case — and “talk about the agency of indigenous peoples as it affects constitutional interpretation and study.” (See ‘FITISEMANU CASE’ below for details on the case and new updates.)

ASG officials including the governor, lawmakers, traditional leaders and other local residents were strongly opposed to automatic U.S citizenship for persons born in American Samoa, which is the focus of the Fitisemanu case.

They have maintained over the years that granting automatic citizenship should be a decision made by American Samoans living in the territory and not by a federal court.

Prior to his virtual presentation yesterday, Tapaau shared with Samoa News questions that he was asked to address for the seminar:

• How was American Samoa able to come together to express a unified view to the federal courts with respect to the citizenship question — it obviously was important to the federal courts that American Samoa’s leaders intervened in consensus fashion, as opposed to with just a 51% majority?

• What are my experiences with the recent constitutional convention? 

• What are the biggest successes — and challenges — for American Samoa in navigating its relationship to the US Constitution and the US courts?

• How does the Matai system interact with the elected government when it comes to questions about the future of political status and relationship to the United States? 

Samoa News will report next week, once information is received on the outcome of Tapaau’s presentation yesterday.

FITISEMANU CASE

As reported by Samoa News, over the past years, John Fitisemanu, and two others — all born in American Samoa and living in Utah — asked the federal court in Utah to declare that they are US citizens by birth, under the Citizenship Clause — the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution.

While the court agreed with plaintiffs, the majority of the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in June 2021 that citizenship birth on U.S. soil is not applicable to those born in American Samoa.

The plaintiffs took the case to the U.S Supreme Court, which was asked to review the Tenth Circuit Court’s decision. However, the highest court in the nation in October last year, declined to hear the plaintiffs’ request.

Defendants in the lawsuit were the U.S State Department and other federal officials while the American Samoa Government and Congresswoman Uifa’atali Aumua Amata, were Intervenors.

Last month, the federal court in Salt Lake City, officially “dismissed with prejudice” this lawsuit, following a Joint-Stipulation of Dismissal motion filed by plaintiffs, defendants and Intervenors. The motion was ordered by the court, according to federal online court records.  (Dismissed with prejudice means you cannot re-file your case.)