EVEN AMONG THE GREAT FRONTIER TOWNS OF ALASKA, WHITTIER IS UNIQUE.

ROAD ACCESS IS THROUGH A ONE-WAY TUNNEL.

NEARLY ALL THE RESIDENTS LIVE IN ONE BIG BUILDING.

THE BACKDROP IS BREATHTAKING…

AND NOW, WHITTIER IS THE SETTING FOR A FIGHT OVER THE MEANING OF BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP AND ALLEGATIONS OF VOTER FRAUD.

OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF DECADES, DOZENS OF AMERICAN SAMOANS HAVE MOVED TO WHITTIER.

SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Pese, American Samoan in Alaska:

“My mom has a store here in Whittier. So I figured maybe I should come over here. And this is where I found my calling as a first responder. That's where I started to set roots.”

BUT THOSE ROOTS ARE NOW ON UNSTABLE GROUND.

ALASKA PROSECUTORS ARE PURSUING FELONY CHARGES AGAINST 11 RESIDENTS OF WHITTIER, ALLEGING THAT THEY FALSELY CLAIMED U.S. CITIZENSHIP WHEN REGISTERING TO VOTE.

THE DEFENDANTS WERE ALL BORN IN AMERICAN SAMOA, AN ARCHIPELAGO IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC AND THE ONLY U.S. TERRITORY WHERE RESIDENTS HAVE NOT AUTOMATICALLY BEEN GRANTED CITIZENSHIP BY VIRTUE OF HAVING BEEN BORN ON U.S. SOIL.

SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Pese, American Samoan in Alaska:

“It felt like a raid to us because there were more than 20-plus state troopers that came in and 12 unmarked state trooper vehicles. And they came for every single American Samoan family that lived in Whittier and came knocking at our doors. We felt like we were being targeted because they didn't visit anyone else but the American Samoans community in Whittier.”

THE CASE IN WHITTIER BEGAN WHEN PESE'S WIFE, TUPE SMITH, RAN FOR AN OPEN SCHOOL BOARD SEAT BECAUSE ABOUT HALF OF THE SCHOOL’S CHILDREN ARE AMERICAN SAMOAN.

SOUNDBITE (English) Tupe Smith, American Samoan in Alaska:

“I was like, why not? We have most of our kids going to this, and I would love to represent them as well.”

SHE WON WITH 95% OF THE VOTE. COURT RECORDS SAY SMITH TOLD AUTHORITIES SHE KNEW WASN’T ALLOWED TO VOTE IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS BUT THOUGHT IT WAS OKAY IN LOCAL MATTERS.

SOUNDBITE (English) Neil Weare, Tupe Smith's attorney:

“It's the burden of Alaska to prove that these individuals are not citizens in order to meet their burden of proof. We don't believe they will be able to do that in large part or in complete part due to the text and command of the 14th Amendment, which says if you're born in the United States, quote, in the Unites States, and quote, subject to the jurisdiction thereof, you have a constitutional right to citizenship that can't be denied by any federal, state, or local actor.”

THE STATUS OF AMERICAN SAMOANS HAS CREATED CONFUSION IN OTHER STATES AS WELL, INCLUDING OREGON, WHERE OFFICIALS INADVERTENTLY REGISTERED NEARLY 200 AMERICAN SAMOAN RESIDENTS TO VOTE WHEN THEY GOT THEIR DRIVER'S LICENSES.

TEN PEOPLE VOTED, BUT OFFICIALS DETERMINED NO CRIME HAD BEEN COMMITTED.

SOUNDBITE (English) Neil Weare, Tupe Smith's attorney:

“Confusing situation of American Samoans voting is low-hanging fruit that some prosecutors I guess have decided to pursue. Even as folks in Oregon and other states have recognized this is fundamentally an election administration problem, not a problem of criminal activity.”

COMMUNITY LEADERS SAY BACK IN AMERICAN SAMOA MOST PEOPLE DON’T WANT TO BECOME AUTOMATIC U.S. CITIZENS.

SOUNDBITE (English) Siniva Bennett, Samoa Pacific Development Corporation:

“So we are the last territory where folks are born U.S. Nationals, which is an old pulled over from, you know, U.S. Colonialism... But in some ways, that protects the territory and maintains what's called fa-samo. So that's our cultural practices and also our communal land holdings amongst our families and our clans.”