''Tuaua v. United States'' is a court case, originally filed in 2012, in which a group of

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internationa ...

ns sued the State Department and the Obama administration. They sued to force the government to recognize American Samoans'

birthright citizenship ''Jus soli'' ( , , ; meaning "right of soil"), commonly referred to as birthright citizenship, is the right of anyone born in the territory of a state to nationality or citizenship. ''Jus soli'' was part of the English common law, in contras ...

, arguing that the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees that anyone born in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

is automatically granted citizenship.

Background

The case originated as a complaint filed in 2012 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, by American Samoan and

U.S. national Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...

Leneuoti Tuaua, who was prohibited from becoming a police officer in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

because he was not a U.S. citizen. The case was docketed in the

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. federal appellate co ...

in 2013. Briefs were filed on May 12, 2014, and an oral argument was made on February 9, 2015. On June 5, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled 3–0 to deny birthright citizenship to American Samoans, ruling that the guarantee of such citizenship to citizens in the Fourteenth Amendment does not apply to unincorporated U.S. territories. On February 1, 2016, attorneys filed a petition requesting that the Supreme Court of the United States review the Appeals Court's decision. On June 13, 2016, the Supreme Court denied certiorari, meaning the case will not be heard, and the lower court's ruling stands.

Subsequent cases

In ''

Fitisemanu v. United States ''Fitisemanu v. United States'' (Docket 21-1394) was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States was asked to consider if the Insular Cases should be overturned and whether people living in American territories such as American Samoa ar ...

'', the

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (in case citations, 10th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Colorado * District of Kansas * Distri ...

ruled 2–1 to reverse a lower courts decision that stated that American Samoans are entitled to birthright citizenship and to overturn the

Insular Cases The Insular Cases are a series of opinions by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1901 about the status of U.S. territories acquired in the Spanish–American War. Some scholars also include cases regarding territorial status decided up unt ...

. Despite

Justice Gorsuch Neil McGill Gorsuch ( ; born August 29, 1967) is an American lawyer and judge who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on January 31, 2017, and has served since ...

showing his willingness to overrule the Insular Cases in his concurrence in ''

United States v. Vaello Madero ''United States v. Vaello Madero'', 596 U.S. ___ (2022), was a United States Supreme Court case related to the constitutionality of the exclusion of United States citizens residing in Puerto Rico from the Supplemental Security Income program. In ...

,''the case was similarly denied certiorari on October 17, 2022.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Opinion by D.C. Circuit
2015 in American Samoa 2015 in United States case law United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit cases United States Fourteenth Amendment case law

Background

Subsequent cases

See also

References

External links