SCOTUS Rejects Citizenship For American Samoans

NBC News reports:

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider whether American Samoans have full U.S. citizenship at birth, a dispute that would have given the justices the opportunity to repudiate past rulings suffused with racist language that helped determine that those in U.S. territories would not have the same rights as other Americans.

U.S. nationals can live and work anywhere within the United States and can travel under a U.S. passport, although the challengers’ lawyers note that their passports include a statement saying “NOT A UNITED STATES CITIZEN,” which they say carries a stigma.

U.S. nationals can apply for full U.S. citizenship via an expedited process. American Samoa is the only territory to which Congress has not extended birthright citizenship.

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