Cases relating to 'insular' citizenship should not be taken Biden administration ask Supreme Court
Earlier this month, the Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to overlook a century-old ruling known as the "Insular Cases."
In the Insular Cases, the Constitution covers only incorporated territories, leaving unincorporated territories with only partial constitutional rights. As part of her response to Fitisemanu v. United States, the solicitor general said the suit would be ineffective for reevaluating Insular Cases.
In their complaint, John Fitisemanu, Pale Tuli, and Rosavita Tuli argue that residents of U.S. territories are denied citizenship rights. Due to their birthplaces in American Samoa, an unincorporated territory of the United States, the three individuals have been denied American citizenship.
According to Prelogar's brief, text, context, historical practice, and precedent support the conclusion that 'the United States' does not include American Samoa under that provision.
"The multi-step approach in the Insular Cases is therefore irrelevant. Because of this, petitioners emphasize that this case is not an appropriate vehicle for reexamining those cases.
According to the administration, the court should not take up the case since American Samoa's legislature opposes U.S. citizenship. Despite American Samoa's opposition to giving American citizenship without consent, the American Samoan Legislature passed a unanimous resolution opposing it.
A court decision to hold that U.S. citizenship applies to all people born in American Samoa under the Citizenship Clause would eliminate the chance for American Samoans to consider the issue democratically, according to Prelogar in the government brief.
31 August 2022
