The Fitisemanu litigation
Petitioners sought birthright citizenship; American Samoa's government opposed it to protect its land-tenure and matai system.[1]
The Tenth Circuit ruled against birthright citizenship on 27 December 2021, and the Supreme Court denied certiorari in October 2022.[2]
· Legal decision
Fitisemanu v. United States Tenth Circuit ruling, 2021
A federal appeals court ruled that American Samoans are not entitled to birthright US citizenship, a decision the territorial government itself had argued for.
Sources for this page
Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.
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1.
Claim: In the Fitisemanu litigation, three American Samoan petitioners sought a court ruling granting automatic birthright US citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment, initially granted by a federal district court in Utah; American Samoa's own territorial government opposed this claim, citing fear that automatic citizenship could jeopardize the territory's traditional land-tenure system and matai (chiefly) political structure, and stating that American Samoans had not reached a consensus in favour of citizenship.
- Fitisemanu v. United States and American Samoan Citizenship (LegalClarity) link, Territorial government opposition section. Source record
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2.
Claim: The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on 27 December 2021 that people born in American Samoa are not entitled to birthright citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment; the US Supreme Court denied certiorari on 17 October 2022, leaving American Samoans' status as US nationals (rather than citizens) unchanged.
- Fitisemanu v. United States (Wikipedia) link, Tenth Circuit ruling and certiorari denial section. Source record
Printed from https://independenceatlas.com/movements/american-samoa-political-status/history · last substantive update 24 September 2026.