A new census form has been developed for American Samoa to accurately reflect the status of those born in the US territory.
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Congresswoman Aumua Amata Radewagen's office says American Samoa will receive a different census form than the mainland, allowing people to correctly record their citizenship status.
The form it replaces would not allow people to record they were born in American Samoa or their resulting citizenship status as 'US Nationals'.
Aumua's office says the new form addresses concerns that American Samoans be accurately represented in the census, key for determining federal funding, policies and programs.
Congresswoman Aumua Amata Radewagen's office said the US islands will receive a different census form than the mainland, addressing concerns that the Census Bureau's original proposal did not allow American Samoans to correctly record their citizenship status.
Unlike Guam, the CNMI, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, American Samoans could not declare on that form, they were born in American Samoa.
Nor could they claim they are 'US Nationals,' the status of those born in American Samoa.
But the congresswoman's office said the island form does address Aumua Amata's concerns that American Samoans be accurately represented in the census, key for determining federal funding, policies and programs.
The island 2020 census form that Amata's office said American Samoans will receive, includes a specific question, "is this person a citizen or national of the United States?"
The first box under that question allows the respondent to indicate, "yes, born in American Samoa." Another response is "born abroad of US citizen or US national parent or parents".
The island census form also includes a question about race, and lists several, including "Samoan, Native Hawaiian, and Chamorro."
The Census Bureau cites the use of race and ethnicity data as "critical factors" in planning and funding government programs for specific groups, monitoring anti-discrimination compliance, and research on civil rights.
Earlier reports that the census survey would omit a 'US national' option for American Samoans caused some living in the US to raise concern they wouldn't be counted properly, or might even be treated as foreigners.