Federal judge dismisses American Samoans’ birthright citizenship claim

NR – Estudios del Congreso han concluido y expresado repetidamente que la Ciudadanía Americana de los Puertorriqueños al haber sido por Legislación, puede ser revocada o sus derechos eliminados. AGP/PPD son Separatistas y Anti_USA, pero el electorado PPD es Pro-USA. Es deber de cada Pro-USA educar a dos o tres Amigos Vecinos o Familiares para que entienda la verdad.

Federal judge dismisses American Samoans’ birthright citizenship claim

[JURIST]
Friday, June 28, 2013

Max Slater at 11:19 AM ET
A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia [official website] on Wednesday dismissed [opinion, PDF] a lawsuit filed by five residents of American Samoa who claimed that the Fourteenth Amendment [text] guarantees them US citizenship at birth. Although American Samoans are considered US nationals, American Samoa is the only US territory where birthright citizenship is not granted [AP report].

The plaintiffs argued that the Fourteenth Amendment’s citizenship clause, which declares, «All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside,» should grant them US citizenship. However, Judge Richard Leon disagreed, saying that the citizenship clause does not apply to unincorporated territories, such as American Samoa:

Federal courts have held over and over again that unincorporated territories are not included within the citizenship clause, and this court sees no reason to do otherwise. … 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.The plaintiffs plan to appeal the ruling.

The plaintiffs filed their citizenship lawsuit [JURIST report] last July. Over the last century Congress has granted citizenship rights to Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. In 2011 JURIST Guest Columnist Edsel Tupaz [official profile] wrote about several areas of the international law of the seas [JURIST comment] and complex issues of multilateral diplomacy that must be dealt with in order to resolve the dispute, noting that American Samoa’s delegate to the US House of Representatives had introduced House Resolution 352 [text] calling for «a peaceful and collaborative resolution to maritime territorial disputes in the South China Sea and other maritime areas adjacent to the East Asian mainland.»

In July 2010 American Samoa concluded a constitutional convention that approved several amendments to the territory’s 1967 constitution [JURIST report]. The amendments removed much of the authority of the US Department of the Interior (DOI) in the country and shifted that power to local officials. Some of the specific changes approved by the convention included removing the DOI’s ability to override vetoes of the American Samoan governor and removing the DOI’s ability to reject amendments to the territory’s constitution. American Samoa has been a US territory since 1900.

MORE: http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/06/federal-judge-dismisses-american-samoans-birthright-citizenship-claim.php

Nelson Rochet	7:58 PM (37 minutes ago)
to Eugene, Jorge, Joe, jose, Hernan, Hector, Ricky, Pedro, Carmen, william, Wilma, Ivan, José, Danny, Jose, Alan, Cristobal, me, Gregorio, bufeteaugu, Eduardo, Luis, jenniffergonza., Thoma, Miguel

Hemanos Estadistas!!  Hoy llego esta carta del abogado estadounidense Neil Weare quien desde

Washington, representa a los «american nationals» de American Samoa. Estos samoanos estan

al mismo nivel que nos hallabamos nosotros antes del Caso Gonzalez v. U.S. de 1904 que nos clasifico

como «american nationals» hasta que en 1917 se nos dio una ciudadania americana colonial despojada de los mismos derechos

de los del otro lado del charco atlantico.

Lean detenidamente su carta. Tiene reclamos parecidos a los nuestros. Tambien padecen de discrimen

por motivos etnicos y raciales, igual que nosotros en Puerto Rico como correctamente declaro el Hon. Juez Federal

Don Gustavo A. Gelpi.  (Opinion del 10 de noviembre de 2008, 586 F.Supp.2d 22.

Esta gente de American Samoa, tambien son victimas del discrimen por motivos que ya ustedes conocen,

y tambien tienen que ponerse pa’su numero, o seguir segregados, marginados, y tratados como ciudadanos de

3ra o 4ta clase.  Yo creo que hay ofrecerles nuestro apoyo y solidaridad. No podemos hacer menos.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Neil Weare <nweare@equalrightsnow.org>
Date: Mon, Jul 1, 2013 at 6:01 PM
Subject: No right to citizenship? Really?
To: Nelson Rochet <nelsonrochet@gmail.com>

We the People Project

Nelson –Here at We the People Project, we believe in equal rights and representation for all Americans, whether you live in a state, a U.S. territory, or the District of Columbia. That’s why in Tuaua v. United States we’re arguing that the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to citizenship to every person born within the territorial limits of the United States.  No ifs, and, or buts. But last week, a federal judge ruled that “citizenship is not guaranteed to people born in unincorporated territories.”  Can you believe it? In setting aside the text and history of the Constitution, the Judge relied instead on the Insular Cases, a series of century-old, Plessy-era decisions that have been criticized as establishing a “separate and unequal” status for U.S. territories. We think the Constitution comes first.  On appeal, we’ll be taking the Insular Caseshead on.  Our rights as Americans shouldn’t depend on where we live in the United States. We can’t do it alone though.  We need your help.  Please consider making a donation to We the People Project to help us continue fighting for equal rights on appeal. You can make a one-time donation here, or click here to make a monthly donation. We appreciate your support as we work to achieve equal rights, wherever you live. Thank you, Neil President and Founder We the People Project http://www.equalrightsnow.org/ We the People Project · 1421 T St NW, Suite 10, Washington, DC 20009, United States This email was sent to nelsonrochet@gmail.com. To stop receiving emails, click here. You can also keep up with We the People Project on Twitter or Facebook.