ent legal residents. This position stems from a strong appreciation to local customs, which in American Samoa dictate more than cultural decisions. The local village politics systems of faamatai and faasamoa still dominate life at every level, from family to territorial matters. These two systems dictate policies that would be inconsistent with the total application of the US Constitution and federal laws, for instance in areas like property ownership, which according to local practices is subject to familial requirements, which only ethnic Samoans can meet. Therefore, further integration with the United States, through incorporation, statehood, or automatic extension of citizenship would come in conflict with these highly-valued customs.
At the same time, historically, efforts to move the islands towards independence have remained unsuccessful, seemingly contradicting the resistance to integration. However, in the scope of its history, and practical realities, to some, the status quo remains a happy medium, whereby the territory stands under the protective umbrella of the US, with access to locals who wish to move to the mainland, but also maintaining their ability to continue local customs they otherwise would have to abandon. This shapes American Samoa as a unique jurisdiction, even among the other territories. As a matter of fact, American Samoa is the only territory that controls its immigration system. A consequence of this structure, is that the territory is also the only major jurisdiction in the US not considered as a state for purposes of immigration, which means a US legal permanent resident that moves there, can be considered to have abandoned their permanent legal residence in the US.
American Samoans are not American citizens, and that’s a disadvantage
Complexities of the status of American Samoa notwithstanding, the territory still remains subject to the absolute control of the President and Congress. Lacking a vote for either one of these, residents are under a tremendous disadvantage, and are prone to bearing the consequences of decisions they had no say in, at a disproportional rate. American Samoa stands as the top US jurisdiction in terms of military recruitment, above any other state, territory, or free associated state of the US. As such, decisions by the US to go to war reverberate locally with disproportional casualty rates.
The fact that American Samoans are not American citizens stands as indicative of the territory’s history, its cultural idiosyncrasies, but also of its political, civil, and practical disadvantages. Like in the other territories, locals face the question of whether culture, traditions, and non-permanent autonomy have more value than integration; or on the other hand, if access to the world’s superpower is worth more than the risk of becoming independent. As they ponder, the reality stands that as territories they face a political disadvantage, and in American Samoa’s case, despite its inextricable patriotism and ties to the US, that extends to effectively being considered the last of the last: an unincorporated, unorganized territory, with no American citizens.