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Governor urges public to assist in protecting our borders
Governor Togiola Tulafono announced during his weekend radio program that the Office of Vital Statistics is working hard to prevent fraud when it comes to combating the misuse of personal records like birth and death certificates.
According to Togiola, it is our own people who manipulate the law when they bring in elderly people to serve as witnesses and swear that certain people were born in the territory when in fact, they were not.
(There have been cases were foreigners, specifically people from Samoa, have been able to obtain American Samoa birth certificates).
But the Office of Vital Statistics is now part of the local Department of Homeland Security and this means American Samoa must comply with federal regulations regarding the protection of birth certificates, and the careful monitoring of proper records – all of which play a critical role in protecting our borders.
The Governor said ASDHS is working on computerizing records for birth certificates and other legal documents like marriage licenses and death records. In addition, work is being carried out to change the paper currently being used for birth certificates.
Togiola said the change is necessary in order for such documents issued in the territory to be recognized by the federal government.
Because the government does not have the man power to monitor and fully enforce local regulations, the Governor is calling on members of the general public for their assistance in preventing fraud and identity theft by contacting the ASDHS or the Governor’s Office if they know of a person who was born in Samoa but holds an American Samoa birth certificate.
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