[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 10904]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  IN RECOGNITION OF A LANDMARK COURT RULING RECOGNIZING CONGRESSIONAL 
   AUTHORITY TO GRANT CITIZENSHIP TO PERSONS BORN IN U.S. TERRITORIES

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. ENI F. H. FALEOMAVAEGA

                           of american samoa

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 27, 2013

  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in recognition of a landmark 
decision handed down yesterday by the District Court for the District 
of Columbia in Tuaua v. United States. The decision reaffirms the 
plenary authority of Congress to grant citizenship to people born in 
the U.S. territories. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are five non-
citizen U.S. nationals born in American Samoa and the Samoan Federation 
of America, a nonprofit organization serving the Samoan community in 
Los Angeles. The defendants are the United States, the State 
Department, the Secretary of State, and the Assistant Secretary of 
State for Consular Affairs. The plaintiffs brought the lawsuit seeking 
a declaratory judgment that would assert that the Fourteenth 
Amendment's Citizenship Clause extends to American Samoa. I submitted 
an amicus curiae brief in support of the defendants. The Court granted 
the defendants' motion to dismiss on June 26, 2013 after finding that 
the plaintiffs failed to state a claim.
  Mr. Speaker, the plaintiffs in the Citizenship lawsuit sought to 
reverse years of legal precedent and usurp Congressional authority to 
bestow citizenship to people living in the U.S. territories. The Court 
correctly found the plaintiffs' arguments unpersuasive and held, ``To 
date, Congress has not seen fit to bestow birthright citizenship upon 
American Samoa, and in accordance with the law, this Court must and 
will respect that choice.'' When the people of American Samoa vote in 
favor of citizenship, I will work with Congress to ensure that the 
people of American Samoa become U.S. citizens. However, the people of 
American Samoa have yet to vote on whether they want to become U.S. 
citizens.
  Mr. Speaker, in the early 20th century the Supreme Court in a series 
of cases known as the Insular Cases, firmly established the extent to 
which the Constitution applies to the territories. In these cases the 
Court defined ``incorporated'' territories as territories that are 
expressly made part of the United States by an act of Congress and 
``unincorporated territories'' as territories that had not yet become 
part of the United States and were not on a path toward statehood. The 
Insular Cases established that only ``fundamental'' constitutional 
rights are extended to persons born in unincorporated territories.
  The plaintiffs argued that citizenship is a ``fundamental'' right 
that applied to unincorporated territories. Recent federal court cases 
have not supported this argument. Similarly, Judge Richard Leon in his 
opinion in Tuaua v. U.S. correctly reasoned that the Insular Cases 
suggested that citizenship was not a ``fundamental right'' that applied 
to unincorporated territories. Judge Leon found the plaintiffs' 
evidence too speculative in the face of contrary overwhelming legal 
precedent and constitutional authority. The plaintiffs were unable to 
provide a single federal court case that has recognized birthright 
citizenship as a guarantee in unincorporated territories.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Michael Williams, Thea Cohen and 
Michael Fragoso and their law firm of Kirkland & Ellis, LLP for their 
generous support in working collaboratively with my office in support 
of the people of American Samoa.
  In conclusion Mr. Speaker, I thank the Court for its well reasoned 
opinion in Tuaua v. U.S. and for reaffirming the authority of Congress 
to grant citizenship to the people of American Samoa. This decision 
will allow the people of American Samoa to decide whether they want to 
become citizens. Once the people make a decision I can work with my 
colleagues in Congress to grant citizenship to the people of American 
Samoa.

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