Source: Right for DemocracyPago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA —American Samoans in Alaska are being criminally targeted based on confusion related to Alaska’s election administration system and because they are labeled so-called “non-citizen” U.S. Nationals by the federal government. On Friday, May 2nd, ten American Samoans will be arraigned in Anchorage after receiving summons on charges of perjury, voter misconduct, and other alleged offenses related to their birth in American Samoa.
The charges follow a large-scale police raid last September in which two dozen Alaska State Troopers descended in unmarked vehicles on the small town of Whittier, Alaska, population 250, interrogating Michael Pese and other American Samoan residents at their homes, places or work, and even in the street about their “immigration status” and voting record. In 2023, Alaska State troopers arrested Pese’s wife, Tupe Smith, who was also born in American Samoa, handcuffing her at home in front of her children after she won election to her local school board with 96% of the vote. The most serious charges could mean up to ten years in jail.
Pese, who has served as a volunteer firefighter in Whittier, expressed shock at how the State of Alaska is targeting the American Samoan community: “We have gone from feeling like valued members of the community to feeling like unwanted criminals.”
Tupe Smith remains traumatized by her arrest, recalling how her two young children cried as she was being handcuffed, the embarrassment of Alaska State Troopers marching her out of the apartment building where nearly all Whittier’s residents live, and the shame of being strip searched and forced to wear a prison uniform: “This was the lowest point of my life. I never thought I would go through something like this. Had Alaska issued me a summons like they did my husband and other family members, I would have shown up in court. There was no need to handcuff me in front of my kids.”
ALASKAN ELECTION OFFICIALS SEND CONTRADICTORY MESSAGES
“Idiosyncrasies in Alaska law and the ambiguous nature of so-called ‘non-citizen’ U.S. national status mean public officials in Alaska have often sent contradictory messages to American Samoans about their eligibility to vote,” said Neil Weare, Co-Director of Right to Democracy, a nonprofit that defends the rights of people from U.S. territories, and who is part of the legal team defending Ms. Smith in court. “American Samoans and public officials alike are confused because it is confusing.”
Like all Alaska residents, American Samoans are eligible to apply for Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD), an annual cash payment made to residents of the state. Once they apply, they are often automatically registered to vote – even when they indicate they are not a U.S. citizen and make clear they are a U.S. national only. Once registered, Alaska sends them a voter registration card and reminders to vote. Alaska law also defines “United States citizen” to include “nationals from American Samoa” for the purpose of certain state welfare benefits, but does not recognize them as U.S. citizens for other benefits.
“When American Samoans move to Alaska — or really any state — it is often unclear what rights they do and do not enjoy. Most understand that when they are no longer residents of American Samoa they can no longer vote there. But many have the impression that once they establish residency in a state they can vote in state and local elections, just not federal ones,” said American Samoan Attorney Charles Ala’ilima, who also represents Ms. Smith.
Ala’ilima added: “Because American Samoans carry a U.S. passport, many public officials in Alaska might assume they are U.S. citizens. As a result, many American Samoans report being told by state and local officials that they are in fact eligible to vote. When American Samoans ask which box to check on voter registration and other forms, people report that public officials often instructed them to select the box indicating they are a U.S. citizen when there is no box for ‘U.S. National.’ Some elected officials in Alaska have even organized ‘Get-Out-The-Vote’ campaigns encouraging the American Samoan community to register and vote.”
ALASKA COURT OF APPEALS
The new charges filed by Alaska came just two months after the Alaska Court of Appeals granted review of an Alaska Superior Court decision concluding that for Alaska to prove voter misconduct it did not matter that “Ms. Smith may have thought she could vote for state elections” or that “a voting official may have given her incorrect information,” even as it noted it was “sympathetic towards the confusing nature of the PFD automatic voter registration, the lack of voting right information regarding U.S. nationals, and navigating rights as a U.S. national.” The Court of Appeals is now considering whether Alaska is required to prove that someone accused with voter misconduct “intended to mislead or deceive a public official.”
“Criminality in the context of voting is generally tied to some intent to deceive or mislead. That kind of fraudulent intent is typically the dividing line between actions that may be criminal and actions that are not,” said Mara Kimmel, Executive Director of Alaska ACLU. “We are disappointed that the State of Alaska is choosing to waste precious resources and file new voter misconduct charges against 10 Alaskans before the Court of Appeals has had a chance to define the legal standard applicable in this situation.”
ARE PEOPLE BORN IN AMERICAN SAMOA U.S. CITIZENS?
Alaska prosecutors also explained in their recent charging documents that the reason investigators targeted American Samoans in Whittier was because voting records showed their “identified place of birth was outside of the United States.”
“Whether American Samoa is ‘outside of the United States’ or ‘in the United States’ is the key question — it is the difference between having a constitutional right to be recognized as a U.S. citizen and not having such a right,” said Mr. Ala’ilima. “The answer should be clear — American Samoa has been a territory of the United States since the early 1900’s. Six generations born in American Samoa have owed their allegiance at birth to the United States of America. Generations of American Samoa’s sons and daughters confirmed their allegiance through their service in the U.S. Armed Forces at higher rates than any state.”
The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides: “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.”
“Federal statutes that label American Samoans as ‘nationals but not citizens’ cannot be squared with the text and history of the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees U.S. citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil,” said Mr. Weare. “Federal, state, and local officials who have sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution must follow its command, not reflexively defer to a discriminatory federal statute.”
April 17, 2025 marked 125 years since American Samoa became a part of the United States when American Samoa’s traditional leaders signed a Deed of Cession transferring sovereignty over their islands to the United States. President Donald Trump commemorated the anniversary in a video address to the people of American Samoa stating that “your beautiful Islands are a beloved part of the United States.” He explained: “The Chiefs who first chose to raise the Stars and Stripes over Samoa gave their descendants the greatest gift of all, the gift of being part of the Greatest Country in the History of the World.”
“American Samoa has now been a part of the United States for more than half the existence of the United States itself. It is clearly ‘in the United States.’ The State of Alaska should follow the Constitution and stop prosecuting American Samoans born on U.S. soil,” said Tafilisaunoa Toleafoa, Executive Director of the Pacific Community of Alaska.
“American Samoans in Alaska are fearful that police might show up on their door next. The criminal targeting of our community based on unconstitutional discrimination must end now,” said Maddy Unutoa, CEO, MAXXON Corporation and Founder, Beyond the Territory Line (BTTL) Movement.
“Alaska state officials should take a closer look and ask themselves if criminally prosecuting American Samoans under these circumstances is really the best use of their law enforcement resources. When the U.S. Army discovered in 2018 that some American Samoans not recognized as U.S. citizens were nonetheless serving as military officers, those individuals were not kicked out or court-martialed. The Army worked to fix the problem and improve its own internal procedures moving forward. Similar issues with automatic voter registration and confusion among election officials have recently arisen in Oregon. But in Oregon the solution has been to fix the problem moving forward, not press charges. Alaska should be working to fix the problem, not jail American Samoans who didn't know they did anything wrong,” concluded Mr. Ala’ilima.
The ten recently charged American Samoans will be arraigned at the Nesbett court at 9am on Friday, May 2nd.
Opening briefs before the Alaska Court of Appeals in Alaska v. Smith due on Friday, May 16th.
More information about Alaska v. Smith and the criminal targeting of American Samoans in Alaska is available at: togetherwithtupe.org
Contact Neil Weare at [email protected] for more information.
Section: RegionalTags: Alaska
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