Tenth Circuit denies birthright citizenship to nationals in US territories

In FITISEMANU v. US, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled that the U.S. Constitution provides no guarantee of citizenship to people born in U.S. territories. This reverses a 2019 district court decision holding that the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment applied in states and territories alike.  

Judge Carlos Lucero wrote for the majortiy. Chief Judge Timothy Tymkovich wrote a concurrence. Judge Robert Bacharach wrote a 55-page dissent setting forth how the Constitution’s text, purpose, and history all “unambiguously” support recognizing that the Constitution’s guarantee of birthright citizenship extends to people born in U.S. territories and noting the problematic reliance on the Insular cases, which many considered discredited. Only a year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court stated in upholding the constitutionality of the Puerto Rico Oversight Board that “the Insular Cases should not be further extended,” questioning their “continued validity” and calling them “much-criticized.”

The full 10th circuit opinion in Fitisemanu v. United States is available here. All court filings and additional information about the case is available here. A more extensive analysis about the “interstitial citizenship” of U.S. nationals from America Samoa by Rose Cuison Villazor appears here.

MHC (h/t Neil Weare of Equally American)