Congresswoman Amata Radewagen is in San Diego to attend the Pacific Islander Festival this weekend. Amata Coleman Radewagen (Republican) was elected as American Samoa’s third member of Congress.
She is the first woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives from American Samoa, the first Republican woman of Samoan descent in Congress, and the highest-ranked elected Asian-Pacific Republican officeholder.
In her time here, she stopped by the Republican Party of San Diego County headquarters to hold a roundtable with local Republicans to emphasize the importance of involving the local Pacific Islander community in the local political scene.
Congresswoman Radewagen discussed the importance of removing an Obama era policy regarding fishing sanctuaries and the vital contributions of the tuna fishing industry here in San Diego. She also got to chat with President Trump about the fishing sanctuaries and how the situation can be improved.
The group of attendees learned how American-Samoans are U.S. nationals and the individuals who moved to the United States mainland still have to apply to become citizens and pay a $700 application fee. This practice keeps many Samoans from becoming American citizens, while many are also discouraged because of the Democrats’ support of allowing virtually anyone to enter the U.S. and be granted automatic citizenship.
The congresswoman was able to discuss how she can be more involved in the upcoming elections and help turn out the vote of local Pacific Islanders for the Republican Party.
