GivenreporterJuliaLongoria’slongloveaffairwiththeSupremeCourt,it’snosurpriseshe’sbecomethenewhostofMorePerfect(https://zpr.io/4R9fMg9gJ96k),ashowallabouthowtheSupremeCourtgottobeso…supreme.Thisweek,wetalktoJuliaaboutherjourneytothehostseat,andwehighlightanepisodesheproducedforRadiolabin2019aboutaspecificcase:Gonzálezv.Williams. 

In1903theU.S.SupremeCourtrefusedtosaythatIsabelGonzálezwasacitizenoftheUnitedStates.Thenagain,theysaid,shewasn’texactlyanimmigranteither.AndtheysaidthattheU.S.territoryofPuertoRico,Isabel’shome,was“foreigntotheUnitedStatesinadomesticsense.”Sincethen,theU.S.hasclearedupatleastsomeoftheconfusionaboutU.S.territoriesandthestatusofpeopleborninthem.

But,morethanahundredyearslater,thereisstillaU.S.territorythathasbeenleftinlimbo:AmericanSamoa.ItistheonlyplaceonEarththatisU.S.soil,butpeoplewhoareborntherearenotautomaticallyU.S.citizens.WhenwevisitAmericanSamoa,wediscoverthattherearesomeprettysurprisingreasonswhymanyAmericanSamoanspreferitthatway. 

EPISODECREDITS 

Reportedby-JuliaLongoria

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