AG joins lawsuit that bars territories from receiving SSI

Guam Attorney General Leevin Camacho has filed a “friend of the court” brief with the U.S. Supreme court in a Puerto Rico lawsuit on the denial of certain federal aid programs to the territories.

According to a news release, Camacho was joined by a coalition of 18 other Attorneys General in urging the high court to reject the exclusion of Guam and other territories from the supplemental security income program. Camacho argues that it's irrational because the CNMI is eligible for SSI. He adds that the exclusion also “harms some of the neediest Americans.”

The Puerto Rico case is very similar to a case won last June by Guam resident, Katrina Schaller. She was denied SSI when she moved to Guam from Pennsylvania. Her attorney Rodney Jacob explained.

"Katrina was unable to care for herself because of her disability and chose to come live with her loving sister and brother-in-law," he said. "And when she did, the United States terminated her SSI benefits because they considered Guam to be outside of the United States."

In her ruling in favor of Katrina’s case, Guam Chief District Court Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood wrote, "the court finds that the discriminatory provisions of the SSI statute and any related implementing regulations that discriminate on the basis of status as a resident of Guam violate the Constitution and Organic Act's guarantees of Equal Protection."