Committee briefed on Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander immigration statuses and municipal election implications

Tuffy Saumnoa Tule Afua, executive director of the Pacific Community of Alaska, briefed the Anchorage Assembly Quality Municipal Services, Ethics and Elections Committee on the immigration statuses of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander residents and how those statuses can create confusion in municipal and state interactions, including voter-registration processes.

Afua told the committee that Pacific Island peoples fall into several legal categories: U.S. citizens (for example, those born in the state of Hawaii or the territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands), U.S. nationals who are not U.S. citizens (people born in American Samoa and Swains Island), and citizens of Compact of Free Association (COFA) states (for example, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands). “I’m here to educate and just, you know, provide some information, about the statuses immigration statuses of the community that we serve,” Afua said.

Afua said the distinction matters in everyday municipal interactions because forms and clerks often present only dichotomous choices (U.S. citizen vs. non–U.S. citizen). Afua said that leads many American Samoans, who hold U.S. passports and Social Security cards but are legally U.S. nationals, to be recorded as U.S. citizens by clerks and on forms. “When we dichotomize our, you know, or or only give 2 options for citizenship, it's like US citizen, non US citizen. And then you have COFA citizens who are, like, in the middle and then US nationals who are also kinda, like, in the middle,” Afua said.

Committee members discussed how that confusion has affected voter registration. Afua said the state added “U.S. national” to the Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) form, but that automatic voter-registration systems have nonetheless enrolled some U.S. nationals. Afua said the state election director instructed Pacific Community of Alaska to tell American Samoan applicants to call the elections office to remove their names from the voter roll if they do not qualify to vote. Afua described that process as burdensome and circular: residents receive PFD paperwork, are given a voter-registration card, and then must contact elections to be removed if they are not eligible to vote under state rules.

Assembly member George Martinez asked whether the PFD change is being used to adjust voter-registration procedures. Afua said that state officials are working on changes and that some legislators are preparing bills and resolutions; Afua urged the committee to consider municipal steps such as reviewing forms and possibly adopting supportive language or an ordinance to clarify municipal processes.

Afua also described the practical differences among statuses: U.S nationals from American Samoa may serve in the U.S. military but cannot become commissioned officers unless they naturalize; COFA citizens have a compact permitting admission and unlimited length of stay but are not U.S. citizens; and citizens of nonaffiliated Pacific islands must naturalize to become U.S. citizens.

Chair Felix Rivera noted the state-level nature of voter eligibility and said the assembly can highlight the issue and encourage state action. Afua said some state legislators are moving legislation and requested the assembly consider supporting American Samoan residents.

No formal vote or ordinance was introduced at the committee meeting; the item was presented for information and committee members requested follow-up research on municipal forms and administrative processes.