The United States Supreme Court declined to hear a case that sought to challenge American Samoans’ lack of birthright citizenship and to overturn the so-called “Insular Cases,” according to NPR.
In Fitisemanu v. the U.S., three American Samoans living in Utah and the advocacy group Southern Utah Pacific Island Coalition asked the court to overturn the Insular Cases due to its racist foundations. The long-criticized legal precedents that have denied residents of U.S. territories the same rights as other Americans.
“It’s a punch in the gut for the Justices to leave in place a ruling that says I am not equal to other Americans simply because I was born in a U.S. territory,” John Fitisemanu, the lead plaintiff in the case, said in a statement according to NBC News. “I was born on U.S. soil, have a U.S. passport, and pay my taxes like everyone else. But because of a discriminatory federal law, I am not recognized as a U.S. citizen.”
The Insular Cases established the legal foundation for American territorial expansion during the Spanish-American War. The court categorized these overseas “possessions” as “unincorporated territories” not meant for statehood, and it denied equal rights to their residents, referring to them as “savage tribes” and “alien” and “uncivilized race[s]” who were “absolutely unfit to receive” the protections afforded by the Constitution.
“The subordinate, inferior non-citizen National status relegates American Samoans to second-class participation in the Republic,” the lawyers or the plaintiffs say in court papers NBC News reports.
They note, for example, that U.S. nationals cannot run for president or serve in Congress, hold elected office in the United States, or serve in Congress. They are also not allowed to vote or hold certain jobs if they reside in a state.
With a population of about 50,000, American Samoa is one of the five U.S. territories. The others are the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. The only territory to which Congress has not granted birthright citizenship is American Samoa. No residents of territories can vote in presidential elections or elect voting members to Congress.
