Source: https://www.scribd.com/document/237702557/Faleomavaega-DC-Circuit-Brief
Timestamp: 2017-11-21 06:22:03
Document Index: 183707218

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1', '§1421', '§ 1406', '§1407', '§301', '§ 37', '§ 1', 'art. 1', '§ 3', '§ 805', 'art. 1', '§ 1', 'art. 1', '§ 3', '§ 1', '§1421', '§ 1406', '§301', '§ 1', '§ 1', '§ 37', '§ 805', '§1421', '§1407', '§ 301', '§ 1406', '§ 1406', '§ 3']

Faleomavaega, DC Circuit Brief | Government Of The United States | United States Government
[ORAL ARGUMENT NOT YET SCHEDULED
LENEUOTI FIAFIA TUAUA, VA’ALEAMA TOVIA FOSI, FANUATANU FAUSELA
LIFEA MAMEA, ON HIS OWN BEHALF AND ON BEHALF OF HIS MINOR
CHILDREN, M.F.M., L.C.M., AND E.T.M., TAFFY-LEI T. MAENE, EMY
FIATALA AFALAVA, SAMOAN FEDERATION OF AMERICA, INC.,
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
JOHN F. KERRY, JANICE JACOBS,
the District of Columbia (Leon, J.), Case No. 12-01143
BRIEF FOR INTERVENORS OR, IN THE ALTERNATIVE, AMICI
CURIAE THE AMERICAN SAMOA GOVERNMENT AND
Counsel for the American Samoa
Government and Congressman Eni
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 1 of 57
Pursuant to D.C. Circuit Rule 28(a)(1), counsel certifies as follows:
A. Parties and Amici. All parties, intervenors, and amici
appearing before the district court and in this Court are listed in the Brief
B. Rulings Under Review. References to the ruling at issue
appear in the Brief for Plaintiffs-Appellants.
C. Related Cases. Intervenors for Defendants-Appellees are
unaware of any related cases.
Dated: August 25, 2014 /s/ Michael F. Williams
Government and Congressman
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 2 of 57
GLOSSARY .............................................................................................. X
STATEMENT OF ISSUES PRESENTED FOR REVIEW ...................... X
STATUTES AND REGULATIONS ......................................................... X
STATEMENT OF THE CASE .................................................................. 2
ARGUMENT ............................................................................................. 9
I. THE INSULAR CASES FORECLOSE PLAINTIFFS-
APPELLANTS’ CLAIMS. ................................................................... 9
II. CONGRESS AND THE PEOPLE OF AMERICAN SAMOA,
NOT THE COURTS, SHOULD DECIDE WHETHER TO
EXTEND BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP TO AMERICAN
SAMOA. ............................................................................................ 23
A. The Imposition Of Birthright Citizenship By Judicial
Fiat Would Have Unintended Negative Consequences
For The Culture Of American Samoa, Which Congress
Has Long Protected. .............................................................. 23
B. The Imposition Of Birthright Citizenship Would Upset A
Political Process That Ensures Self-Determination For
The People Of Unincorporated Territories. .......................... 32
III. THE AMERICAN SAMOA GOVERNMENT AND
CONGRESSMAN ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA SHOULD BE
PERMITTED TO INTERVENE. ...................................................... 35
A. This Court Should Grant The Motion Of The American
Samoa Government and Congressman Faleomavaega To
Intervene As Of Right. .......................................................... 37
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 3 of 57
B. In The Alternative, The American Samoa Government
And Congressman Faleomavaega Request That This
Court Grant Them Permissive Intervention. ....................... 42
CONCLUSION ........................................................................................ 44
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 4 of 57
*Authorities chiefly relied upon.
387 U.S. 253 (1967) ........................................................................ 17
Alfred L. Snapp & Son, Inc. v. Puerto Rico, ex. rel., Barez,
458 U.S. 592 (1982) ........................................................................ 41
182 U.S. 243 (1901) .......................................................................... 9
258 U.S. 298 (1922) ........................................................................ 10
553 U.S. 723 (2008) .................................................................... 9, 22
Citizens United v. Fed. Election Comm'n,
558 U.S. 310 (2010) ........................................................................ 13
Corp. of Presiding Bishop of Church of Jesus Christ of
the Latter-Day Saints v. Hodel,
830 F.2d 374 (D.C. Cir. 1987)................................................... 22, 25
1 Am. Samoa 2d 11, 13 (1980) .......................................................... 5
Davis v. Commonwealth Election Comm’n,
14-CV-00002, 2014 WL 2111065
(D.N.M.I. May 20, 2014) ..................................................... 27, 28, 29
182 U.S. 1 (1901) .............................................................................. 9
Defenders of Wildlife v. Perciasepe,
714 F.3d 1317 (D.C. Cir. 2013)....................................................... 43
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 5 of 57
Deutsche Bank Nat’l Trust Co. v. FDIC,
717 F.3d 189 (D.C. Cir. 2013)................................................... 40, 43
530 U.S. 428 (2000) ........................................................................ 13
182 U.S. 222 (1901) .......................................................................... 9
195 U.S. 138 (1904) ........................................................................ 10
*Downes v. Bidwell,
182 U.S. 244 (1901) .................................................. 9, 10, 11, 16, 17
694 F.3d 1026 (9th Cir. 2012) .................................................... 9, 11
542 U.S. 1 (2004) ............................................................................ 40
Examining Bd. of Eng’rs, Architects and Surveyors
v. Flores de Otero,
426 U.S. 572 (1976) ........................................................................ 10
651 F.3d 684 (7th Cir. 2011) .......................................................... 30
Goetze v. United States,
182 U.S. 221 (1901) .......................................................................... 9
Gov’t of Virgin Islands v. Rijos,
285 F. Supp. 126 (D.V.I. 1968) ....................................................... 12
190 U.S. 197 (1903) (Hawaii) ......................................................... 19
Huus v. N.Y. & Porto Rico Steamship Co.,
182 U.S. 392 (1901) .......................................................................... 9
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 6 of 57
International Union, UAW, Local 283 v. Scofield,
382 U.S. 205 (1965) ........................................................................ 37
520 F.2d 1140 (D.C. Cir. 1975)................................................. 22, 30
138 F.3d 518 (3d Cir. 1998) ........................................................ 9, 12
Lexmark Int’l, Inc. v. Static Control Components, Inc.,
134 S.Ct. 1377 (2014) ..................................................................... 40
603 F. Supp. 2d 129 (D.D.C. 2009) ................................................. 12
18 U.S. 317 (1820) .......................................................................... 18
549 U.S. 497 (2007) ........................................................................ 41
4 Wheat. 316 (1819) ....................................................................... 16
132 S. Ct. 2566 (2012) .................................................................... 21
*NRLB v. Noel Canning,
Slip No. 12-1281, 573 U.S. __ (2014) .................................. 15, 16, 22
466 U.S. 429 (1984) ........................................................................ 27
356 U.S. 44 (1958) .......................................................................... 16
505 U.S. 833 (1992) .................................................................. 13, 14
*Rabang v. INS,
35 F.3d 1449 (9th Cir. 1995) .......................................... 9, 11, 12, 16
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 7 of 57
197 U.S. 516 (1905) ........................................................................ 19
354 U.S. 1 (1957) ............................................................................ 22
Roeder v. Islamic Republic of Iran,
333 F.3d 228 (D.C. Cir. 2003)......................................................... 43
*Slaughter-House Cases,
83 U.S. 36 (1872) ............................................................................ 18
408 F.2d 175 (D.C. Cir. 1969)......................................................... 38
279 U.S. 655 (1929) ........................................................................ 16
United States v. Burwell,
690 F.3d 500 (D.C. Cir. 2012)......................................................... 13
494 U.S. 259 (1990) ........................................................................ 10
169 U.S. 649 (1898) ........................................................................ 19
136 F.3d 914 (2d Cir. 1998) ........................................................ 9, 12
*Wabol v. Villacrusis,
958 F.2d 1450 (1990) .......................................................... 28, 29, 31
Welch v. Texas Dep’t of Highways & Pub. Transp.,
483 U.S. 468 (1987) ........................................................................ 14
1866 Civil Rights Act, 14 Stat. 27, § 1 .................................................... 20
48 U.S.C. §1421 ................................................................................. 17, 31
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 8 of 57
8 U.S.C. § 1406 .................................................................................. 17, 31
8 U.S.C. §1407 ......................................................................................... 31
Act of March 24, 1976, Pub. L. No. 94-241,
§301, 90 Stat. 266 ..................................................................... 17, 31
Am. Samoa Code Ann. § 37.0204(a) (1992) ............................................. 26
American Samoa must consider independence - congressman,
Radio Australia, May 18, 2012, available at
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/
program/pacific-beat/american-samoa-must-consider-
independence-congressman/946070 ............................................... 34
Jones-Shafroth Act of 1917,
Pub. L. 64-368, 39 Stat. 951 ............................................... 10, 17, 31
1 Stat. 414, § 1 ................................................................................ 21
*Revised Const. of Am. Samoa art. 1 .................................................... 4, 5
*U.S. Const. art. IV, § 3 .......................................................................... 33
Arnold H. Leibowitz, American Samoa: Decline of a Culture,
10 Cal. W. Int’l L.J. 220, 224–25 (1980) ................................ 4, 5, 24
Erwin Chemerinsky, Decision-Makers: In Defense of Courts,
71 Am. Bankr. L.J. 109, 128 (1997) ............................................... 14
Jeffrey B. Teichert, J.D., Resisting Temptation in the Garden of
Paradise: Preserving the Role of Samoan Custom in the Law
3 Gonz. J. Int’l L. 35 (2000) ............................................................ 26
Pedro Malavet, The Inconvenience of a “Constitution (That)
Follows the Flag … but Doesn’t Quite Catch Up with It”:
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 9 of 57
From Downes v. Bidwell to Boumediene v. Bush,
80 Miss. L.J. 181, 182 (2010) ......................................................... 13
*Revised Constitution of Am. Samoa: Hearing before the
Subcomm. on Energy Conservation
and Supply of the Comm. on Energy and Natural Res.,
98th Cong. (May 8, 1984) ....................................... 24, 25, 26, 27, 32
Stanley K. Laughlin, Jr., Cultural Preservation in
Pacific Islands: Still A Good Idea-and Constitutional,
27 U. Haw. L. Rev. 331 (2005) ....................................................... 24
Stanley K. Laughlin, Jr., The Application of the Constitution
in the United States Territories: American Samoa, A Case Study,
2 U. Haw. L. Rev. 337 (1981) ......................................................... 24
Statement of Cong. Eni F.H. Faleomavaega,
Stmt. before the United Nations Special Committee on
Decolonization (May 23, 2001), available at
https://web.archive.org/web/20120702002618/http://www.
house.gov/list/ speech/as00_faleomavaega/
undecolonization.html ...................................................................... 3
Fed. R. Civ. P. 24(a)(2) ............................................................................ 37
Fed. R. Civ. P. 24(b)(1)(B) ....................................................................... 42
Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern
of America, Proclamation No. 4534,
42 Fed. Reg. 56,593 (Oct. 24, 1977) § 805 ...................................... 28
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 10 of 57
Fa’a Samoa — the Samoan way of life
Matai — chiefs of Samoan extended families
‘Aiga — the organization of Samoan households according to large,
Fono — a council, legislative assembly
CNMI — Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
1. Whether the district court correctly concluded, consistent with
over a century of precedent and practice, that the Citizenship Clause of the
U.S. Constitution does not grant birthright citizenship to persons born in
the unincorporated territory of American Samoa.
2. Whether the district court erred in resolving this purely legal
question on a motion to dismiss.
Relevant statutes and regulations are reproduced in the Addendums
to the Plaintiffs-Appellants’ and Defendants’-Appellees’ Briefs.
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 11 of 57
Whether birthright citizenship should extend to the people of
American Samoa is a question for the people of American Samoa, and not
for this Court to decide. In every other case in which people born in
overseas territories were granted birthright citizenship, Congress, not the
courts, has made that decision. There simply is no legal basis for
upsetting one hundred years of precedent indicating that the Citizenship
Clause does not apply in every territory subject to the jurisdiction of the
United States. Nor would doing so make any sense. Many aspects of the
fa’a Samoa—the Samoan way of life—are wholly unlike anything either in
the other territories or the continental United States, and this way of life
and foundational, cultural institutions would be jeopardized if subjected to
scrutiny under the Fourteenth Amendment. For these reasons, this
appeal presents unique and serious concerns to the elected representative
of the American Samoan people, Congressman Eni F.H. Faleomavaega and
the American Samoa Government, and they should be permitted to
intervene in a suit that seeks to upend their sovereignty, autonomy, and
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 12 of 57
During the period spanning from 1857 to 1947, the United States
gained control of a number of lands outside the continental United States.
The United States first took possession of a series of uninhabited islands
in the Pacific containing deposits of guano, which was prized for its use in
gunpowder and agricultural fertilizer. In 1899, Spain ceded control of
Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico to the United States in the Treaty
of Paris. In 1900, the tribal leaders of American Samoa ceded sovereignty
of the Samoan Islands to the United States. And in 1917, the United
States purchased the U.S. Virgin Islands from Denmark. Finally, in 1947,
the United Nations entrusted the United States with the Trust Territory
of the Pacific Islands, which included the Marshall Islands, Federated
States of Micronesia, Northern Mariana Islands, and Palau.
The relationship between the United States and these lands has
changed over time in response to the will of the people inhabiting them.
The Philippines gained self-governance and, eventually, full independence.
The Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau became
independent, but freely associated with the United States following the
end of a trusteeship. American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 13 of 57
Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have all remained
American Samoa is unique among the territories of the United
States. In contrast to many other former colonies, “American Samoa has
never been conquered, never been taken as a prize of war, and never been
annexed against the will of [its] people.” See Statement of Cong. Eni F.H.
Faleomavaega, Stmt. before the United Nations Special Committee on
https://web.archive.org/web/20120702002618/http://www.house.gov/list/
speech/as00_faleomavaega/undecolonization.html. Instead, American
Samoa’s tribal leaders, the matai, voluntarily ceded sovereignty to the
United States Government in 1900.
American Samoa is predominantly a self-governing territory. Its
Constitution establishes a bicameral legislature, elected by the Samoan
people; a judiciary appointed by the Secretary of the Interior; and a
popularly-elected territorial governor. See Joint Appendix at 13. The
Constitution includes a Bill of Rights that recognizes freedom of speech,
freedom of religion, due process under law, freedom from unreasonable
searches and seizures, and many other protections of civil rights. See
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Revised Const. of Am. Samoa art. 1 §§ 1, 2, 5. And since 1978, American
Samoa has had representation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Although American Samoa has adopted many of the governing
values of the United States, it retains a vibrant and unique culture, the
Samoan way of life or fa’a Samoa. Samoan households, for example, are
notable for their organization according to large, extended families, known
as ‘aiga. These extended families, under the authority of matai, or chiefs,
remain a fundamental social unit in Samoan society. See Arnold H.
Leibowitz, American Samoa: Decline of a Culture, 10 Cal. W. Int’l L.J. 220,
224–25 (1980). These deep kinship and social ties are also highly
conducive to a strong sense of community. For example, the matai
traditionally organize the resources of the ‘aiga to undertake projects for
the benefit of the entire community. Id. at 224. At the same time, an
intricate series of ceremonial exchanges of goods and food provide a private
social safety net within Samoan society. See id. at 225–26.
A key aspect of the traditional kinship practices and social structures
is the land. As island people, Samoans are acutely aware of the scarcity of
land. The importance of land as a place for creating a home, for sustaining
a livelihood, and for gathering together the ‘aiga are fundamental to
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 15 of 57
Samoan culture. See Craddick v. Territorial Registrar, 1 Am. Samoa 2d
11, 13 (1980), available at http://www.asbar.org/index.php?
option=com_content&view=article&id=641:craddick-v-territorial-
registrar&catid=50&Itemid=254. As the High Court of American Samoa
Land to the American Samoan is life itself. He cherishes the
land where his ancestors came hundreds of years ago, and
where he and his children were born. Land is the only thing he
values above anything else because it belongs to him and will
belong to his children, just as it belonged to his predecessors
Id. Communal ownership of land is a fundamental aspect of American
Samoan identity because other important parts of Samoan culture, such as
the ‘aiga and the matai, are intimately and historically predicated upon
control of the land. See Leibowitz, supra, at 222–23. As such, the
American Samoa Bill of Rights specifically provides restrictions on
alienation of land to prevent “the destruction of the Samoan way of life and
language, contrary to [the] best interests [of the Samoan people].” Revised
Const. of Am. Samoa art. 1, § 3.
Although the people of American Samoa are proud of their
relationship with the United States, they have never come to a consensus
about whether they should ask for Congress to grant them citizenship at
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 16 of 57
birth. Instead, people born in American Samoa are U.S. nationals, not
U.S. citizens, by birth. They owe allegiance to the United States, are able
to enter the United States freely, and may apply for U.S. citizenship
without satisfying the requirements of permanent residence. Many
American Samoans also serve with distinction in the U.S. Armed Forces.
Five U.S. nationals born in American Samoa and the Samoan
Federation of America, a private organization serving Samoans in Los
Angeles, sued the United States and related parties entrusted with
executing its citizenship laws. In their complaint, they alleged that they
were entitled to U.S. citizenship as a birthright because the Citizenship
Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment extends to American Samoa and
that the failure of the U.S. government to recognize this right had caused
them various harms.
The district court permitted the Honorable Eni F.H. Faleomavaega to
participate as amicus curiae. Congressman Faleomavaega filed an amicus
brief and—at the request of the district court—a reply brief to the
Plaintiffs-Appellants’ opposition to the United States’ motion to dismiss.
The Congressman also participated in the oral argument on the United
States’ motion to dismiss.
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 17 of 57
As amicus curiae, Congressman Faleomavaega argued on behalf of
the defendants that the district court should dismiss the Plaintiffs-
Appellants’ complaint. Congressman Faleomavaega agreed with the
defendants that longstanding precedent of the Supreme Court foreclosed
the plaintiff Samoans’ arguments, but he also offered additional context
and arguments about the application of birthright citizenship to
unincorporated territories. Congressman Faleomavaega argued that
Congress, not the courts, should determine whether birthright citizenship
should extend to the people of American Samoa, as it has in every other
case in which people born in overseas territories were granted birthright
citizenship. Congressman Faleomavaega also explained that mandating
birthright citizenship by judicial fiat could have unintended and
potentially harmful consequences for American Samoan society because
many aspects of the fa’a Samoa, which are wholly unlike anything either
in the other territories or the continental United States, might be
jeopardized if subjected to scrutiny under the Fourteenth Amendment.
The district court agreed with the defendants and Congressman
Faleomavaega and dismissed the complaint. The district court explained
that, although “none of the Insular Cases directly addressed the
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 18 of 57
Citizenship Clause, they suggested that citizenship was not a
‘fundamental’ right that applied to unincorporated territories.” Joint
Appendix at 47. The district court cited Congressman Faleomavaega’s
brief multiple times, particularly his argument about the longstanding and
non-controversial practice of congressional grants of birthright citizenship
to people born in other overseas territories of the United States.
On appeal, Congressman Faleomavaega and the American Samoa
Government seek to intervene on behalf of the Defendant-Appellee United
States. This appeal presents unique and serious concerns to the
Congressman and the American Samoa Government as the elected
representatives of the American Samoan people.
Plaintiffs-Appellants’ suit is foreclosed by the Insular Cases.
Citizenship by judicial fiat would undermine the American Samoan way of
life and interfere with American Samoan cultural autonomy and
sovereignty by effectively removing the resolution of American Samoa’s
status from the democratic process.
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 19 of 57
APPELLANTS’ CLAIMS.
The constitutional framework that governs the outlying territories of
the United States has been in place for over a century. Through a series of
decisions in 1901 known as the Insular Cases, the Supreme Court
acknowledged the limited application of the Constitution in the
Since then, this “century-old doctrine,” Boumediene v. Bush,
553 U.S. 723, 759 (2008), has been followed by every appellate court to
address the issue to find that the Citizenship Clause does not apply in
every territory subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
Supreme Court has affirmed the basic principle of the Insular Cases,
stating that “[o]nly ‘fundamental’ constitutional rights are guaranteed to
inhabitants” of unincorporated United States territories. See, e.g., United
See, e.g., De Lima v. Bidwell, 182 U.S. 1 (1901); Goetze v. United
States, 182 U.S. 221 (1901); Dooley v. United States, 182 U.S. 222 (1901);
Armstrong v. United States, 182 U.S. 243 (1901); Downes v. Bidwell, 182
U.S. 244 (1901); Huus v. N.Y. & Porto Rico Steamship Co., 182 U.S. 392
See Eche v. Holder, 694 F.3d 1026, 1027-28 (9th Cir. 2012); Valmonte
v. INS, 136 F.3d 914 (2d Cir. 1998); Lacap v. INS, 138 F.3d 518 (3d Cir.
1998); Rabang v. INS, 35 F.3d 1449 (9th Cir. 1995).
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 20 of 57
States v. Verdugo-Urquidez, 494 U.S. 259, 268 (1990) (citing Dorr v. United
States, 195 U.S. 138, 149 (1904)); Balzac v. Porto Rico, 258 U.S. 298, 312-
13 (1922); Examining Bd. of Eng’rs, Architects and Surveyors v. Flores de
Otero, 426 U.S. 572, 599 n.30 (1976).
One of the most famous Insular Cases, Downes v. Bidwell, is long-
cited as authority for the proposition that citizenship is not one such
“fundamental right” applicable to the territories. 182 U.S. 244, 282 (1901).
While Downes lacked a single majority opinion, both Justices Brown and
White’s opinions in the case stated that citizenship is “unnecessary to the
proper protection of individuals” and is therefore not a “natural right.” Id.
at 382-83. Downes went on to find that the Uniformity Clause did not
apply in the territory of Puerto Rico prior to Congress’s grant of statutory
citizenship to inhabitants of that territory. Id.; see also Jones-Shafroth Act
of 1917, Pub. L. 64-368, 39 Stat. 951. Though Downes was a plurality
opinion that addressed the Citizenship Clause in dicta, these dicta are
persuasive and have been both cited and undisputed for over a hundred
years. The reasoning in Downes should control here just as it has for other
lower courts seeking a coherent rubric for the application of constitutional
provisions in other territories.
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 21 of 57
One such case, Rabang v. Boyd, rejected a Filipino national’s claim
that “his status as a national” bore a “close relationship to the
constitutionally secured birthright of citizenship acquired by the
American-born.” 353 U.S. 427, 430 (1957). Amici contend that Rabang is
not on point, since it deals with Congress’s power to divest those in the
territories of non-alien status. Br. of Constitutional Law Scholars at 15
n.8. But limits on the power to grant and divest rights are similarly
affected by citizenship. Far from assuming rights of citizenship applied to
Filipino then-nationals, as Plaintiffs-Appellants would have the court do
with respect to American Samoa, Rabang reiterated Congress’s power to
“prescribe upon what terms the United States will receive its inhabitants,
and what their status shall be.” Id. at 432 (citing Downes, 182 U.S. at 279)
(internal quotation marks omitted). That power is at the heart of this
Since 1901 lower courts have adhered to the precedent of the Insular
Cases in cases involving the Philippines, the Northern Mariana Islands,
and the United States Virgin Islands. See Eche v. Holder, 694 F.3d 1026,
1027-28 (9th Cir. 2012) (finding the Citizenship Clause did not apply to the
Northern Mariana Islands); Valmonte v. INS, 136 F.3d 914 (2d Cir. 1998);
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 22 of 57
Lacap v. INS, 138 F.3d 518 (3d Cir. 1998); Rabang v. INS, 35 F.3d 1449
(9th Cir. 1995) (all finding that “United States” in the Citizenship Clause
did not include the Philippines during its time as an unincorporated
territory); Licudine v. Winter, 603 F. Supp. 2d 129, 132-34 (D.D.C. 2009)
(finding that, as an unincorporated territory, the Philippines did not enter
the orbit of the Fourteenth Amendment); Gov’t of Virgin Islands v. Rijos,
285 F. Supp. 126, 129 (D.V.I. 1968) (citing the Insular Cases to state that
“[i]t is settled” that the Fifth Amendment right to a grand jury indictment
does not govern a prosecution for offenses against the Virgin Islands
“without Congressional approval”). These cases send a clear and
consistent message: the territories of the United States are not
automatically invested with constitutional citizenship. If all territories
ought to be treated alike, as amici contend, see Br. of Certain Members of
Congress at 9, then the Insular Cases are to be applied to American Samoa
just as they have been to her sister territories. And although amici also
claim that the Insular Cases should no longer be considered good law, Br.
of Constitutional Law Scholars, at 4, this is simply not the case. See Pedro
Malavet, The Inconvenience of a “Constitution (That) Follows the Flag …
but Doesn’t Quite Catch Up with It”: From Downes v. Bidwell to
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 23 of 57
Boumediene v. Bush, 80 Miss. L.J. 181, 182 (2010) (“While they disagreed
on whether or not the rule should apply to Guantanamo, the dissenting
justices and those in the majority agreed that the over-a-century-old rule
of the Insular Cases … is still good law.”).
In short, courts have refused to apply the Citizenship Clause to other
territories for over a century. That precedent should be followed with
respect to American Samoa. The Supreme Court and this Circuit have
repeatedly emphasized that longstanding precedent should only be
overruled in limited situations, such as when it has proven unworkable.
See, e.g., Citizens United v. Fed. Election Comm’n, 558 U.S. 310, 362
(2010); Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833, 854-55 (1992); United
States v. Burwell, 690 F.3d 500, 504 (D.C. Cir. 2012). Where there is “wide
acceptance in the legal culture,” that is also “adequate reason not to
overrule” precedent. Dickerson v. United States, 530 U.S. 428, 443-44
(2000) (finding, even without approval of Miranda’s reasoning or resulting
rule, Miranda warnings were too embedded in routine police practice to
justify overruling that precedent). Respect for precedent is also
“indispensable” and “fundamental” to the rule of law, and serves many
valuable policy ends. Planned Parenthood, 505 U.S. at 854; Welch v. Texas
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 24 of 57
Dep’t of Highways & Pub. Transp., 483 U.S. 468, 494 (1987). In particular,
it enhances efficiency, promotes consistency, and fosters predictability.
See Erwin Chemerinsky, Decision-Makers: In Defense of Courts, 71 Am.
Bankr. L.J. 109, 128 (1997).
Given that federal courts across the country have “adhered to the
precedents of the Insular Cases” in cases involving unincorporated
territories, Joint Appendix at 50, judicial policy favoring the application of
settled precedent applies here. Should the Insular Cases be abandoned, it
would upset a consistent history of deference to Congress on the
management of unincorporated territories, while automatically
naturalizing tens of thousands of people, and hampering the flexibility of
the United States to distinguish between territory “in the United States”
and territory “subject to the jurisdiction thereof,” as the Constitution
intended. U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1. Plaintiffs-Appellants rightly point
out that “[b]irthright citizenship has already been recognized by
statute…in the Territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands,
and the Northern Mariana Islands.” Brief of Plaintiffs-Appellants
(“Appellants’ Br.”) at 58. Plaintiffs-Appellants’ own argument thereby
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makes clear the fundamental issue presented here: statutory citizenship is
the norm, constitutional citizenship the exception.
Although Plaintiffs-Appellants’ suit is foreclosed by the Insular
Cases, even supposing it were not and that this is an issue of first
impression, as Plaintiffs-Appellants contend, this Court should still follow
the Insular Cases, in harmony with the Supreme Court’s recent decision in
Noel Canning. NRLB v. Noel Canning, Slip No. 12-1281, 573 U.S. __
The Supreme Court in Noel Canning made clear that when
interpreting a constitutional provision “for the first time in more than 200
years, [the Court] must hesitate to upset the compromises and working
arrangements that the elected branches of Government themselves have
reached.” Id. at 9. This is especially true, the court observed, where the
Plaintiffs-Appellants rely heavily on Judge Sentelle’s approach in
Noel Canning when it was before this Court. In their reading it supports
the proposition that the Court should look to the original meaning of a
constitutional provision over its historical practice and such a reading
should be followed regardless of the then-imminent, now-recent Supreme
Court opinion. Appellants’ Br. at 15 n.7. But this disclaimer
notwithstanding, the fact is that the majority of the Supreme Court
decidedly rejected and overruled this Court’s approach even as it agreed as
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question concerns “the allocation of power between two elected branches of
Government.” See id. at 7 (citing The Pocket Veto Case, 279 U.S. 655, 689
(1929); McCullough v. Maryland, 4 Wheat. 316, 401 (1819)). Here, the
Insular Cases did just that: confirming Congress’s power to decide the
“status” of the territories. See Downes, 182 U.S. at 279 (asserting that
Congress has the power to grant statutory rights to territories and to
“prescribe … what their status shall be”). The interpretation of the
Insular Cases has not only been followed by federal courts for over a
hundred years, but Congress has also acquiesced, acting through
legislation to grant statutory citizenship rights to certain territories as
appropriate. Acquiescence to historical practice under is particularly
warranted in this case, and the Court below rightly recognized such. Joint
Appendix at 53 (“[T]his Court is mindful of the years of past practice in
which territorial citizenship has been treated as a statutory, and not a
constitutional, right.”).
Furthermore, applying the Citizenship Clause to American Samoa
would effectively decide its status within the political system of the United
States. The Supreme Court in Rabang treated the question of citizenship
as a question about status, and rightly so. Citizenship is “nothing less
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 27 of 57
than the right to have rights.” Perez v. Brownell, 356 U.S. 44, 64 (1958)
(Warren, C.J., dissenting), majority opinion overruled by Afroyim v. Rusk,
387 U.S. 253, 267 (1967). Amici do not disagree. See Br. of David Cohen
at 5. Yet Plaintiffs-Appellants and amici inexplicably claim that deciding
the application of the Citizenship Clause to American Samoa will not
decide the status of American Samoa as a permanent part of the United
States. See Appellants’ Br. at 26; Br. of Certain Members of Congress at
22-23. In doing so, Plaintiffs-Appellants draw a strained distinction
between seeking birthright citizenship and seeking wholesale
naturalization. Appellants’ Br. at 36. But the effect of bestowing
birthright citizenship on territories through a constitutional provision, as
opposed to Act of Congress,
is that naturalization of all American
Samoans results. See Downes, 182 U.S. at 306 (White, J., concurring)
(cautioning that if any “territory when acquired becomes absolutely
incorporated into the United States, every provision of the Constitution
See, e.g., statutes conferring citizenship on every other territory: 48
U.S.C. §1421 (Guam); Jones-Shafroth Act of 1917, Pub. L. 64-368, 39 Stat.
951 (Puerto Rico); 8 U.S.C. § 1406 (U.S. Virgin Islands); Act of March 24,
1976, Pub. L. No. 94-241, §301, 90 Stat. 266 (Northern Mariana Islands).
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 28 of 57
which would apply under that situation is controlling in such acquired
In addition to conferring status, citizenship also confers other rights.
Plaintiffs-Appellants’ own cited authority, the Slaughter-House Cases,
supports that all “fundamental rights, privileges, and immunities which
belong to [an individual] as a free man and a free citizen, now belong to
him as a citizen of the United States.” Appellants’ Br. at 50 (citing 83
U.S. 36, 95 (1872)). Even amici in support of Plaintiffs-Appellants argue
that “[a]t the most tangible level, citizenship is a ‘turn-key’—a right that
unlocks a set of other rights that federal, state, and local laws have keyed
to the legal concept of citizenship.” Br. of David Cohen at 4. Plaintiffs-
Appellants cannot have it both ways; either citizenship will not affect
application of other constitutional provisions to American Samoa or it will.
Importantly, Plaintiffs-Appellants offer no coherent method of
interpreting the Fourteenth Amendment. Instead, they rely on a series of
question-begging inferences to support their interpretation of the phrase
“in the United States.” First, Plaintiffs-Appellants cite the Slaughter-
House cases as authoritative on whether the Citizenship Clause reaches to
the territories. That precedent assumed only that citizenship applied
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“within the United States.” 83 U.S. 36, 72-73 (1872); see also
Loughborough v. Blake, 18 U.S. 317, 319 (1820) (noting that “the United
States” includes the “district of Columbia” and “the territory west of the
Missouri”).
This meaning of “within the United States” is circular.
Furthermore, the Slaughter-House cases largely interpreted the Privileges
or Immunities Clause, not the Citizenship Clause. With respect to the
Citizenship Clause, they primarily observed that the Fourteenth
Amendment had overturned Dred Scott to grant citizenship to all persons
born “in the United States.” 83 U.S. at 73-74. Again, the meaning of this
phrase is precisely what is at issue in this suit. Plaintiffs-Appellants next
invoke Wong Kim Ark, another case that applied the Fourteenth
Amendment to an American-born individual in San Francisco, without
disputing that San Francisco was “within the United States.” 169 U.S.
649, 693 (1898). Both Slaughter-House and Wong Kim Ark affirm that
The cases Plaintiffs-Appellants do not cite, curiously, are those
finding the Citizenship Clause does apply to the then-territories of Hawaii
and Alaska. See generally Hawaii v. Mankichi, 190 U.S. 197 (1903)
(Hawaii); Rassmussen v. United States, 197 U.S. 516 (1905) (Alaska).
Clearly, there is a recognized dichotomy between incorporated and
unincorporated territories. But even without this dichotomy, the
Plaintiffs-Appellants’ application of the phrase “the United States” in
these cases is inapposite.
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 30 of 57
citizenship applies “within the United States.” But as Plaintiffs-
Appellants point out, the very scope of the phrase “in the United States” is
the issue here. Appellants’ Br. at 10. Therefore, these cases cannot be
“authoritative.” Id. at 25.
As additional support for the supposedly far-reaching consensus on
the meaning of “in the United States,” Plaintiffs-Appellants refer to acts of
Congress. First, they cite to the 1866 Civil Rights Act, which famously
predated, and precipitated, the Fourteenth Amendment. Section 1 of the
“all persons born in the United States and not subject to any
foreign power … are hereby declared to be citizens of the
United States; and such citizens … shall have the same right,
in every State and Territory in the United States.”
Appellants’ Br. at 22 (citing 14 Stat. 27, § 1 (1866)). Plaintiffs-Appellants
use this statutory provision to support the proposition that “in the United
States” includes both “State[s] and Territor[ies]. Id. But the provision
clearly draws a distinction between the grant of citizenship “in the United
States” and its recognition in States and territories. It never defines “in
the United States” related to the grant of citizenship.
Second, Plaintiffs-Appellants draw comparisons between the
Citizenship Clause and provisions of the Naturalization Act. But all this
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 31 of 57
act does is condition naturalization on residence “within the limits and
under the jurisdiction of the United States,” which may include one year
“within the state or territory” where the petition is heard. Naturalization
Act of 1795, 1 Stat. 414, § 1, ¶¶ 2-3. Far from being a clear and
authoritative interpretation of the text of the Citizenship Clause (or the
Naturalization Clause, for that matter), the Naturalization Act clarifies
the residency requirement for naturalization, saying nothing about
birthright citizenship. Indeed, Plaintiffs-Appellants themselves highlight
the difference between the birthright citizenship and naturalization as
reassurance that citizenship would not have far-reaching results.
Appellants’ Br. at 36. The Naturalization Act does not speak to the status
of citizens or the meaning of “the United States” for purposes of the
Citizenship Clause. And, indeed, a statute does not necessarily determine
constitutional interpretation at all. See Nat’l Fed’n of Indep. Bus. v.
Sebelius, 132 S. Ct. 2566, 2583 (2012) (explaining that Congress cannot
decide the meaning of a phrase “for constitutional purposes simply by
describing it as one or the other [in a statute]”).
In short, this court is faced with the choice between Plaintiffs-
Appellants’ chaotic array of non-persuasive sources on the one hand, and
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over a century of precedent and practice on the other. The Supreme Court
just this term observed that shorter periods of historical practice are
worthy of deference. See Noel Canning, at 7 (“at least twenty years … is
entitled to great regard in determining the true construction of a
constitutional provision”); id. at 31-33 (“three-quarters of a century” of
practice is entitled to “great regard”). And even if there are scattered
examples that counter historical practice, that does not upset its
reliability. Id. at 21. Although some courts, following the Insular Cases,
have extended “fundamental rights” to unincorporated territories, see, e.g.,
Boumediene, 553 U.S. at 757-58, those rights have been interpreted very
narrowly, see Joint Appendix at 52-53 (citing Corp. of Presiding Bishop of
Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints v. Hodel, 830 F.2d 374,
385 (D.C. Cir. 1987) (excluding due process access to Article III courts from
those “principles which are the basis of all free government”)). And the
only cases to explicitly recognize rights of citizenship in territories dealt
with American citizens in those territories. See, e.g., King v. Morton, 520
F.2d 1140, 1147 (D.C. Cir. 1975); Reid v. Covert, 354 U.S. 1, 75 (1957).
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 33 of 57
Whether or not to extend birthright citizenship to the people of
American Samoa is a question for Congress and not the courts. In every
other territory, the grant of birthright citizenship has been made by
Congress without any significant controversy. This is as it should be,
because questions of birthright citizenship are tied to questions of political
status, and thus necessarily political questions.
Has Long Protected.
American Samoa occupies a truly unique position among the
territories of the United States. As explained above, American Samoa is a
territory of the United States that has managed to maintain unique
cultural practices such as matai titles and community-owned American
Samoan land; these traditions are unlike anything else in the United
States, and Congress has made sure to preserve this unique culture for
The American Samoan way of life, the fa’a Samoa, is of critical
importance to the American Samoan people. For example, American
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Samoa’s land-tenure system and its clan-based restrictions on ownership
are longstanding and rooted in the very nature of insular life and the
scarcity of land it entails. See Stanley K. Laughlin, Jr., The Application of
the Constitution in the United States Territories: American Samoa, A Case
Study, 2 U. Haw. L. Rev. 337, 371 (1981) (explaining the “land oriented”
culture of “Insular peoples” due to their “limited land resources”);
Statement of Hon. Salanoa S.P. Aumoeualogo, LH, Revised Constitution of
Am. Samoa: Hearing before the Subcomm. on Energy Conservation and
Supply of the Comm. on Energy and Natural Res., 98th Cong. (May 8,
1984) (“Constitution Hearing”) (“Land to the American Samoan is life
itself.”). As such, American Samoan social institutions revolve around the
communal ownership and management of the land for the good of the
community. This is primarily accomplished through the ‘aiga or extended
family or clan, which is the basic social unit of American Samoan society.
See Stanley K. Laughlin, Jr., Cultural Preservation in Pacific Islands: Still
A Good Idea-and Constitutional, 27 U. Haw. L. Rev. 331, 337 (2005). The
‘aiga, which can range in number from dozens to thousands, own the land
in common for the benefit of the group, and the property is managed via
the matai or chiefs. Id. at 338. The matai, in turn, supervise the economic
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 35 of 57
activity of the common land and meet with each other in council, known as
fono, to organize larger projects. See Arnold H. Leibowitz, American
Samoa: Decline of a Culture, 10 Cal. W. Int’l L.J. 220, 224-25 (1980). Since
all of this occurs in the context of communal land, it is unsurprising that
this Court has observed, “Communal ownership of land is the cornerstone
of the traditional Samoan way of life.” Corp. of Presiding Bishop, 830 F.2d
The United States has long recognized the importance of the
American Samoan way of life and the American Samoan people value the
role the United States and Congress play as the protectors of this way of
life. When Congress voted to amend the American Samoan Constitution in
1984, the legislative history was instructive of this relationship. It made
clear that “[i]t has been the constant policy of the United States, partly as
a matter of honor, partly as a result of treaty obligations, not to impose our
way of life on Samoa.” Statement of Robert B. Shanks, Deputy Assistant
Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel, Constitution Hearing at 53.
Indeed, as the then-Governor of American Samoa said to Congress during
the same hearing, “[t]he United States in turn has guaranteed protection
to American Samoa not only of our islands themselves but also of our land,
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customs and traditions.” Statement of Hon. Peter Tali Coleman,
Constitution Hearing at 10. Governor Coleman went on to note that
“Congress has played, and we pray, that it will continue to play a
meaningful role in our development, and particularly, the role of being the
protector of the Samoan way of life.” Id. at 16.
Birthright citizenship by judicial fiat would upend this longstanding
relationship and jeopardize the fa’a Samoa. The traditional way of life in
American Samoa would likely face heightened scrutiny under the United
States Constitution if the scope of the Citizenship Clause were read to
reach American Samoa. Most problematically, the communal land system
at the heart of the fa’a Samoa is protected by Samoan law restricting the
sale of community land to anyone with less than fifty percent racial
Samoan ancestry. Am. Samoa Code Ann. § 37.0204(a) (1992). This
restriction is consistent with practice going back to when America
assumed possession of American Samoa in 1900 and Commander B.F.
Tilley prohibited the alienation of land to non-Samoans. Jeffrey B.
Teichert, J.D., Resisting Temptation in the Garden of Paradise: Preserving
the Role of Samoan Custom in the Law of American Samoa, 3 Gonz. J. Int’l
L. 35, 47 (2000). As the Department of Justice noted to Congress during
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American Samoa’s constitutional debates of 1984, protecting the American
Samoan culture and way of life
has been based partly on treaty and partly simply on our sense
of obligation of not imposing our ways arbitrarily on others.
That protection … has been accomplished in part through a
legal isolation of American Samoa, which stems in part from
the fact that American Samoans are noncitizen nationals rather
Statement of Robert B. Shanks, Constitution Hearing at 47 (emphasis
added). Without the buffers of national-status and the Insular Cases,
American Samoa’s restrictions on land alienation might be subject to “the
most exacting scrutiny.” Palmore v. Sidoti, 466 U.S. 429, 432 (1984).
As experience in other territories shows, even clear protections for
traditional practices are quickly circumscribed when courts begin to
scrutinize the rights of citizens under the Equal Protection Clause. Just
this last May, the United States District Court for the Northern Mariana
Islands struck down the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands’
(CNMI’s) laws restricting voting in constitutional referenda to the
indigenous people of CNMI (known as Chamorros and Carolinians).
Perhaps tellingly, CNMI is the only territory not represented in
Plaintiffs-Appellants’ amici.
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Davis v. Commonwealth Election Comm’n, 14-CV-00002, 2014 WL
2111065 (D.N.M.I. May 20, 2014). Those voting restrictions were put in
place to safeguard CNMI’s racial land-alienation provisions in its
Nevertheless, the court found that “[a]ll citizens have an
equal interest in whether they are entitled to buy real property, and on
what terms.” Id. at *38. Indeed, the court went on to conclude,
The interest of the non-privileged class in whether the
privilege will be extended to them is as substantial as the
interest of the privileged class in whether it will remain
exclusive. This is not to discount the interest of Northern
Marianas Chamorros and Carolinians, recognized in the
Covenant and validated in Wabol, to preserve their ancestral
lands. But that interest does not override the stake the
Commonwealth’s non-[Northern Mariana descent] citizens
have in whether they will ever be able to own outright the land
on which they make their homes.
Amici for Plaintiffs-Appellants make much of the fact that these
racial-alienation laws have been upheld so far under Equal Protection
challenge. See Wabol v. Villacrusis, 958 F.2d 1450, 1460-61 (1990). But
the alienation laws in CNMI, importantly, are not in fact similar to those
of American Samoa. In the former case there are simply restrictions on
who may buy land. Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the
America, Proclamation No. 4534, 42 Fed. Reg. 56,593 (Oct. 24, 1977) § 805
(restricting for a period of time “the alienation of permanent and long-term
interest in real property so as to restrict the acquisition of such interests to
persons of Northern Mariana Islands descent”). In American Samoa the
racial land alienation rules are tied into the communal ownership of land
and its relation to both the matai hierarchy and the ‘aiga clan system.
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 39 of 57
Id. at 38-39. That is, even with the CNMI’s racial-alienation laws being
held constitutional under established precedent, equal citizenship will not
permit one group of people to be privileged in CNMI law over another.
It also does not avail Plaintiffs-Appellants to say that the land-
alienation laws of CNMI have been found constitutional in the past. See
Appellants’ Br. at 58. The entire point of this lawsuit is that prior
determinations of constitutionality do not control. As explained above,
courts have repeatedly concluded that the Citizenship Clause does not
apply to unincorporated territories of the United States over the course of
decades, and yet Plaintiffs-Appellants insist that the courts must set aside
those determinations in favor of a novel revisionist reading of the
Citizenship Clause. While seeking to dismantle a century of precedent,
Plaintiffs-Appellants incredibly tell the people of American Samoa not to
worry about their traditional way of life because there is legal precedent
But there is not. The case cited by Plaintiffs-Appellants in support of
the theory that land-alienation laws can survive equal protection
challenge, Wabol v. Villacrusis, was critically decided under the framework
of the Insular Cases. See Wabol, 958 F.2d at 1459 (“It is well established
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 40 of 57
that the entire Constitution applies to a United States territory ex proprio
vigore—of its own force—only if that territory is “incorporated.”
Elsewhere, absent congressional extension, only “fundamental”
constitutional rights apply in the territory.”) Plaintiffs-Appellants and
amici seek to upend this very framework in extending the Citizenship
Clause to American Samoa. Once the Insular Cases no longer govern the
relationship between the United States and American Samoa, new
challenges to aspects of the fa’a Samoa will be subject to new analysis
consistent with newly articulated constitutional principles. See, e.g., Ezell
v. City of Chicago, 651 F.3d 684, 707-10 (7th Cir. 2011) (inferring the
appropriate standard of review for first-impression challenges to Chicago’s
gun laws in the wake of Heller and McDonald).
These new cases of first impression will also involve the
constitutional rights of natural-born citizens of the United States.
Citizens have already been involved in the cases importing American legal
principles to American Samoa. King v. Morton, 520 F.2d 1140, 1141 (D.C.
Cir. 1975). This should come as no surprise: as amicus David Cohen notes
in his brief, “At the most tangible level, citizenship is a “turn-key”—a right
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 41 of 57
that unlocks a set of other rights that federal, state, and local laws have
keyed to the legal concept of citizenship.” Br. of David Cohen at 4.
Last, all the other assurances given to the people of American Samoa
by amici from her sister territories that citizenship presents no difficulties
are inapposite for precisely the reasons presented here: these territories
received citizenship by statute, as required by the Constitution. Amici
claim that citizenship has not proved impractical in any other territory,
citing the experience of Guam, Puerto Rico, CNMI, and the U.S. Virgin
Islands. Br. of Certain Members of Congress at 4-13. Tellingly, though,
not one of these territories received citizenship by judicial fiat. Each
received it by Act of Congress. See 48 U.S.C. §1421 and 8 U.S.C. §1407
(Guam); Jones-Shafroth Act of 1917, Pub. L. 64-368, 39 Stat. 951 (Puerto
Rico); Act of March 24, 1976, Pub. L. No. 94-241, § 301, 90 Stat. 266
(CNMI); 8 U.S.C. § 1406 (U.S. Virgin Islands). Indeed, the territory most
analogous to American Samoa, CNMI (which, again, is not represented by
amici) was able to strike a careful balance through legislation to preserve
aspects of its culture that might not conform to mainland legal values. See
Wabol, 958 F.2d 1450; 8 U.S.C. § 1406 (U.S. Virgin Islands) (establishing a
procedure to renounce birthright citizenship in favor of national status).
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 42 of 57
If American Samoa is to take solace from the experience of the other
territories, it should not be denied the right to resolve these questions
legislatively like they were. If anything, these examples prove the point:
the fa’a Samoa is not threatened by legislative grants of citizenship, and
thus any such grant should come from Congress.
B. The Imposition Of Birthright Citizenship Would Upset
A Political Process That Ensures Self-Determination
For The People Of Unincorporated Territories.
If Plaintiffs-Appellants and amici are correct and the courts must set
aside the framework of the Insular Cases, it would undercut the very
predicate of the fa’a Samoa. American Samoa has worked closely with
Congress to maintain a deliberate distance between the territory and the
law of the United States. It has done so because this distance is necessary
to respect the cultural autonomy of American Samoa and its way of life.
See Statement of Hon. Salanoa S.P. Aumoeualogo, LH, Constitution
Hearing at 15, 16 (“American Samoa enjoy and welcome our present status
as an unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States. It
signifies our desire to be part of the American Family, and at the same
time, it preserves and protects our communal land and matai system, the
basic core of our Samoan way of life.”). If the courts bridge this distance
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 43 of 57
with a novel application of the Citizenship Clause it would effectively
decide the political status of American Samoa without any democratic
Ultimately, a decision for citizenship is a decision for statehood.
Proposed Intervenors cannot think of any example of a territory that was
deemed part of the United States for constitutional citizenship purposes
where the result has been anything other than closer union. Any such
decision must be made by Congress and the people of American Samoa.
Plaintiffs-Appellants attempt to distinguish the highly relevant
Filipino citizenship cases on the grounds that the Philippines were not
expected to stay in the United States for the long term. See Appellants’
Br. at 41-44. While Plaintiffs-Appellants are correct in quoting
Congressman Faleomavaega noting that American Samoa values its
relationship with the United States, see id. at 43, the fact is that American
Samoa has not requested a change in its status. Nevertheless, it is neither
for Plaintiffs-Appellants nor an Article III court nor Congressman
Faleomavaega to proclaim how long American Samoa will maintain its
status as a United States territory. See U.S. Const. art. IV, § 3. That is a
legislative and political decision. Indeed, Congressman Faleomavaega has
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 44 of 57
long advocated that the people of American Samoa put serious thought
into their status in the United States. See American Samoa must consider
independence - congressman, Radio Australia, May 18, 2012, available at
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/program/pacific-
beat/american-samoa-must-consider-independence-congressman/946070.
Among the options currently available to American Samoa are closer
relationship (like Puerto Rico or the CNMI), Free Association (like the
Marshall Islands or the Federated States of Micronesia), or even
independence (like the Philippines).
But a decision extending constitutional citizenship to American
Samoans would short-circuit this process and undeniably put American
Samoa on a path to greater union with the United States. And accepting
the Plaintiffs-Appellants’ view would have some of the same political
implications for the other unincorporated territories. But this union,
however, could not mean statehood for American Samoa given its small
population (of 55,519 people according to the 2010 Census) and remote
location. With statehood and nationhood foreclosed, American Samoa
would be permanently precluded from equal voting representation at the
national government level. Thus, if Plaintiffs-Appellants have their way,
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 45 of 57
American Samoa will be rendered a permanent unequal territory of the
United States. Ironically, under the guise of “equality,” the judiciary
would achieve what the U.S. Navy could not: the conquest of American
PERMITTED TO INTERVENE.
The American Samoa Government and Congressman Faleomavaega
have distinct and exceptionally important interests at stake in this appeal,
which, if successful, would have a significant impact on the entire people of
American Samoa. Because the Government and the Congressman’s
interests will not be adequately represented by the parties to this appeal,
respectfully move to intervene as of right or, in the alternative, seek
permission to intervene as an exercise of this Court’s discretion.
The American Samoa Government is the elected government of the
people of American Samoa, and the Honorable Eni F.H. Faleomavaega
represents the territory of American Samoa in the United States House of
Representatives. Congressman Faleomavaega has held his position since
1989 and was reelected to his thirteenth term in November 2012. In
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 46 of 57
addition to his responsibilities in the U.S. Congress, Congressman
Faleomavaega holds the matai orator title Faleomavaega in American
have a unique perspective on the relationship between the U.S.
Government and the people of American Samoa. The American Samoa
Government is tasked with the day-to-day administration of the territory
and communicates with the federal government about issues important to
its people. Since he began his congressional tenure more than 20 years
ago, Congressman Faleomavaega has taken a particularly important role
in strengthening the bonds between the federal government and the
American Samoa Government while carefully protecting the special status
Importantly, while Plaintiffs-Appellants have marshaled an array of
parties as amici in support of their position, none of these parties have any
direct connection to or interest in American Samoa. The American Samoa
Government and Congressman Faleomavaega are the only parties to this
appeal who can credibly claim to represent the interests of the people who
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 47 of 57
will be most affected by its outcome: the people of American Samoa who
Samoa Government and Congressman Faleomavaega
To Intervene As Of Right.
Although the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure do not explicitly
provide for intervention on appeal, the Supreme Court has counseled that
“the policies underlying intervention [outlined in the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure] may be applicable in appellate courts.” International Union,
UAW, Local 283 v. Scofield, 382 U.S. 205, 217 n.10 (1965). Under Federal
Rule of Civil Procedure 24(a)(2), a court must grant a timely motion to
intervene when the movant “claims an interest relating to the property or
transaction that is the subject of the action, and is so situated that
disposing of the action may as a practical matter impair or impede the
movant’s ability to protect its interest, unless existing parties adequately
represent that interest.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 24(a)(2). The American Samoa
Government and Congressman Faleomavaega satisfy each of these
have a direct and substantial interest in the subject matter of this action
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 48 of 57
and are so situated that disposing of the action may impede their ability to
protect that interest. This Court has explained that the interest test of
Rule 24(a) is “primarily a practical guide to disposing of lawsuits by
involving as many apparently concerned persons as is compatible with
efficiency and due process.” Smuck v. Hobson, 408 F.2d 175, 179 (D.C. Cir.
1969) (en banc) (internal quotation marks omitted).
The American Samoa Government is the democratically elected
government of the people of American Samoa, and Congressman
Faleomavaega is the only elected representative of the American Samoa
people to the U.S. Congress. A decision from this Court that the
Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment applies would impede
the historical ability of the American Samoa Government to negotiate with
the federal government about the naturalization status of American
Samoans and the ability of Congressman Faleomavaega to represent the
Samoan people on this important issue before Congress.
The interests of American Samoa will not be adequately represented
by the parties to this action. As Congressman Faleomavaega explained to
the district court, a ruling that the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment encompasses the people of American Samoa could have
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 49 of 57
unintended and harmful effects on their culture. The American Samoa
Government shares this view. The position of the Plaintiffs-Appellants
and their non-Samoan amici is directly opposed to it. The Plaintiffs-
Appellants assert individual harms based on their status as U.S.
nationals, but they do not consider the potential societal harms that their
proposed remedy could cause in American Samoa. And although the U.S.
defendants have taken the legal position that Proposed Intervenors
advocate, the U.S. defendants have no particular interest in protecting the
traditional way of life in American Samoa.
The request of American Samoa to intervene is timely and will not
prejudice any of the parties. Their Motion to Intervene was filed in
accordance with the initial order of this Court. Because Congressman
Faleomavaega participated as amicus curiae in the district court, the
parties are well aware of the arguments that Congressman Faleomavaega
advances on this subject. In fact, no fewer than two amici and Plaintiffs-
Appellants themselves have already responded to arguments advanced by
Congressman Faleomavaega and the American Samoa Government. The
district court also heard from Congressman Faleomavaega in briefs and at
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oral argument and relied upon some of the Congressman’s arguments in
also have standing to participate in this suit. Under the law of this circuit,
all movants who seek to intervene as of right must demonstrate both
Article III and prudential standing. Deutsche Bank Nat’l Trust Co. v.
FDIC, 717 F.3d 189, 193 (D.C. Cir. 2013). “It is axiomatic that Article III
requires a showing of injury-in-fact, causation, and redressability.” Id.
And, although elements of the prudential standing inquiry have recently
been called into question by the Supreme Court, there remains a general
prohibition on a “litigant’s raising another person’s legal rights” and the
“adjudication of generalized grievances more appropriately addressed in
the representative branches.” See Lexmark Int’l, Inc. v. Static Control
Components, Inc., 134 S.Ct. 1377, 1386 (2014), abrogating in part Elk
Grove Unified Sch. Dist. v. Newdow, 542 U.S. 1, 12 (2004). The American
Samoa Government satisfies these requirements in its capacity as parens
patriae, and Congressman Faleomavaega satisfies these requirements
because of his personal interest in the action.
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The American Samoa Government possesses parens patriae
standing. See Alfred L. Snapp & Son, Inc. v. Puerto Rico, ex. rel., Barez,
458 U.S. 592, 607–08 (1982) (concluding that Puerto Rico had parens
patriae standing in a suit involving the federal employment system). As
the Supreme Court has counseled, “One helpful indication in determining
whether an alleged injury to the health and welfare of its citizens suffices
to give the State standing to sue as parens patriae is whether the injury is
one that the State, if it could, would likely attempt to address through its
sovereign lawmaking powers.” Id. at 607; see also Massachusetts v. EPA,
549 U.S. 497, 519 (2007). Naturalization laws fall squarely in this
category. Through this suit, the plaintiff Samoans seek to circumvent the
historical role of the American Samoa Government in negotiating with the
United States about the rights of the American Samoan people, and this
Court should not exclude the America Samoa Government from that
litigation, particularly because the interests advanced by the Plaintiff-
Appellant Samoans are adverse to those advanced by the American Samoa
Although Congressman Faleomavaega shares the interest of the
American Samoa Government in representing the will of the Samoan
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 52 of 57
people, Congressman Faleomavaega also has personal interests at stake in
the action. If the Plaintiff-Appellant Samoans succeed in this suit,
Congressman Faleomavaega will suffer several, specific harms: it will
undermine his role as advisor to Congress on the question of Samoan
citizenship; it will nullify his ability to guide legislation through the House
of Representatives on the subject of Samoan citizenship; it may preclude
him from choosing U.S. national status in the future; and it can jeopardize
his matai standing as Faleomavaega. For these reasons, Congressman
Faleomavaega also has standing to intervene in this suit.
Court Grant Them Permissive Intervention.
For many of the same reasons explained above, the American Samoa
Government and Congressman Faleomavaega also meet the standard for
permissive intervention under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 24(b). The
American Samoa Government and Congressman Faleomavaega intend to
support the position of the United States that the Citizenship Clause does
not apply to persons born in American Samoa and, as a result, they “ha[ve]
a claim or defense that shares with the main action a common question of
law or fact.” See Fed. R. Civ. P. 24(b)(1)(B). And because Congressman
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Faleomavaega participated extensively as amicus curiae below and the
movants timely filed their motion, their intervention would not “unduly
delay or prejudice the adjudication of the original parties’ rights.” Id.
“It remains … an open question in this circuit whether Article III
standing is required for permissive intervention,” Defenders of Wildlife v.
Perciasepe, 714 F.3d 1317, 1327 (D.C. Cir. 2013), but, if this Court is
inclined to address the question in this matter, this Court should conclude
that the American Samoa Government and Congressman Faleomavaega
need not establish standing to obtain permissive intervention on behalf of
the defendant-respondents. As this Court has acknowledged in dicta,
“requiring standing of someone who seeks to intervene as a defendant runs
into the doctrine that the standing inquiry is directed at those who invoke
the court’s jurisdiction.” Roeder v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 333 F.3d 228,
233 (D.C. Cir. 2003). This Court has since required individuals who seek
to intervene as of right on behalf of defendants to establish standing—in
no small part a prophylactic measure intended to address the potential
problems that arise from an unwieldy number of intervenors. See
Deutsche Bank, 717 F.3d at 195–96 (Silberman, J., concurring). Such
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concerns are neither present in permissive intervention, in which courts
possess substantial discretion to decide whether the intervention would
serve the interests of judicial economy and justice, nor present in this case,
as the would-be intervenors are the American Samoa Government itself
and the only representative of the American Samoan people in Congress.
For the foregoing reasons, this Court should affirm the district
court’s decision dismissing the Plaintiffs-Appellants’ claims as a matter of
August 25, 2014 Respectfully submitted,
/s/ Michael F. Williams
Samoa Government and
Congressman Eni F.H.
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Pursuant to Fed. R. App. P. 32(a)(7), I hereby certify that this brief
contains 8734 words, excluding the parts of the brief exempted by Fed. R.
App. P. 32(a)(7)(B)(iii) and D.C. Cir. R. 32(a)(1), on the basis of a count
made by the word processing system used to prepare the brief.
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 56 of 57
I hereby certify that on this day, August 25, 2014, I filed the above
document using the ECF system, which will automatically generate and
send service to all registered attorneys participating in this case.
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1509225 Filed: 08/25/2014 Page 57 of 57
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