Immigration Office remains closed
By Samoa News Staff reporters@samoanews.com

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The Immigration Office at the A.P. Lutali Executive Office Building in Utulei remained closed Friday as officers and agents from OTICIDE were still at the office seeking additional information and documents based on a Jan. 6 search warrant issued by the District Court.

The search warrant, sought by the Independent Prosecutor’s Office, was executed around 8:30 a.m. on Thursday resulting in the closure of the office that day. Members of the public who showed up later in the day were told the office would be re-opened Friday.

A supervisor answering the telephone at the Immigration Office yesterday said the office was closed and will reopen on Monday. This was the same information provided by the Attorney General’s Office when contacted Friday afternoon.

Law enforcement agents took out of the Immigration Office on Thursday more than 15 plastic bins and one large cabinet file containing immigration documents, sought by the search warrant.


In the meantime, national and international media have picked up the story, including Associated Press and the New York Times.

Read updates and additional details in Monday's edition.
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Comments to this story (9)
SATANI  wrote:
10 Jan 2010 10:51 AM
Thank so much to the IP for not afraid to do his job. This is what needed to be done a very long long time and finally someone put the HAMMER down. Standby for the next episode!!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR AMERIKA SAMOA!!!!!!!!!
Anonymous  wrote:
10 Jan 2010 05:51 AM
Is about time that these people (high ranking official's) take responsible for their action's. It as gone to long. I don't care who it is, from the top to the bottom, from the Governor to the Fai Fa'atoaga or from the Faifeau Toeina to the Tiakono, NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW. Please, United States Federal LAW, by all mean take over this Immigration Office in American Samoa. I have seen a lot of fraudulent document's been sold and handed out to those people that are now here in the United States. Happy New Year "Immigration Office in American Samoa"
Anonymous  wrote:
10 Jan 2010 01:29 AM
The question is how many years has this practice been going on for? The mind boggles at the number of chinese or east asian aliens entering Amerika Samoa illegally if you do your calculations.The number of chinese illegal aliens not including Filipinos, South Koreans and others arriving in the territory between May and December of 2009 as divulged by the international media is 60. Times that by the number of years this practice has been going on say ten years and you will have 600 illegals chinese only residing in the territory. I hope the territory have enough lands, and resources to accomodate and handle conflicts that would arised from future generations who adhered only to bribery and corruptions as is the normal practice in most east asian countries. The Amerika Samoa govt is totally inept,lacked directions and formulatted policies in place to monitor anomaly within each govt departments.Pardon the expression, but no one should be above the law or is it the case of the blind leading the blind.
UA A LA?  wrote:
10 Jan 2010 01:13 AM
THEY NEED TO REMAIN CLOSED UNTIL NEW MANAGEMENT TAKES OVER; WITH NEW EMPLOYEES. WHAT A SHAME AND DISGRACE THESE GREED, CORRUPTED OFFICIALS DO TO THE PEOPLE OF AMERIKA SAMOA. SE TA INOINO I NEI TAGATA LEAI SE ALOFA.
DubboTAP  wrote:
09 Jan 2010 05:22 PM
Good Job as usual to the OTICIDE Crew.
Mary Sahagun  wrote:
09 Jan 2010 04:52 PM
OMG its about time. THANK YOU JESUS and thank you to the independent prosecutor for finally taking action. I thought I would never see the day. Most of the employees at the Immigration (not all of them but who knows),but you know who you are, have been receiving bribes and money on the side for years and years and finally someone took notice and do something about it! It has been corrupt for so long I am surprised it went on this long. C'mon now its an Island for crying out loud and everyone knows everyone and what they are doing under the table but I guess if you get a piece of the pie then its okay to turn a blind eye. My hat off to the INDEPENDENT prosecutor. JOB WELL DONE......I hope you will get enough evidence to prosecute the criminals at IMMIGRATION...
Jail All Immigration Persons  wrote:
09 Jan 2010 12:58 PM
Put everyone in jail, until we get to the bottom of this dark mark on US again.
justiceplease  wrote:
09 Jan 2010 11:53 AM
OKA, OKA, WHAT A SHAME TO EXPOSE AMERIKA SAMOA AGAIN BY THE INTERNATIONAL MEDIA. AND ESPECIALLY WHAT WE WENT THROUGH AFTER THE TSUNAMI, AND THE DONATIONS POURED IN FROM ALL OVER....AND NOW? WHAT A SAD MESS AMERIKA SAMOA IS GOING THROUGH. EXCELLENT MOVE BY THE FEDS...THEY NEED TO TAKE OVER THE IMMIGRATION. ITS BEEN 3 YEARS, WE ARE STILL WAITING FOR AN ID FOR A DOMESTIC WORKER. MAYBE IT TOOK LONG FOR US LOW, COMMON PEOPLE WHO HAVE NO CONNECTION TO THE HIGHER-UPS. FINALLY, GOD HEARD OUR CRIES FOR JUSTICE!!!!
Tama Samoa Moni  wrote:
09 Jan 2010 10:11 AM
Embarassing, insulting, slap in the face, possibility of US Federal government taking over local Immigration, no more corporation sponsored individuals, CI's will be scrutinzed to the max, Passports will be near impossible without ALL documents and including affivadit supported birth certificates. Damn, Gov. Togiola please replace, fire, terminate some of your directors and associates. You need to send a strong message of "will not be tolerated" of these actions and continued bahviors. If you do not do anything the public will see as just another governor who continue to cover up for his cabinet members, even it they are not doing their jobs, or are an embarrassment to your administraion.
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