Update: Former US Rep David Cohen Reaction To Arrest of Minister Keil

Update: Reaction from David Cohen, United States Former Representative to the Pacific Community on the arrest of Samoa’s Government Minister Hans Joachim Keil.

During his term as the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Insular Affairs, Cohen was reportedly the highest ranking Pacific person in the US Bush Administration. He holds the Malietoa title of Papali’i conferred by Samoa’s late Head of State Malietoa Tanumafili II.

Cohen left his government posts earlier year…returning to law as a partner with Davis Tremaine Wright. It has offices in key cities around the United States and an office in China. Cohen is based in its Los Angeles office.

Cohen on the Keil case:

I’m not familiar with the details of Minister Keil’s case, but I certainly hope that he will be treated with the respect due to a cabinet minister from Samoa.

Cohen on  the legal status of American Samoans (Keil’s mother was reportedly born in American Samoa) in terms of holding American citizenship.

Persons born in American Samoa are not U.S. citizens, but they are U.S. nationals entitled to travel with a U.S. passport.  Persons born in the Independent State of Samoa, on the other hand, are not U.S. citizens, and are not entitled to travel on a U.S. passport unless their application for U.S. citizenship has been approved after having satisfied all of the requirements.

I am unaware of where Minister Keil was born.  I do know, however, that there is often much honest confusion over this subject, especially because many citizens of Samoa travel frequently to American Samoa, which controls its own immigration.

It’s easy to forget that authorization to enter American Samoa does not confer authorization to travel to anywhere else in the U.S.  The fact that Minister Keil served in the U.S. Air Force does not necessarily mean that he is a U.S. citizen.

Read original post

Local newspaper in Springfield Missouri is today reporting (US Time, one day behind NZ) on the diplomatic protest by Samoa’s Government

National Examiner

Fort Mill Times

---