A federal judge in Utah ruled Thursday that American Samoans are U.S. citizens at birth and should be given passports that reflect the fact, CNN reports.

"This court is not imposing 'citizenship by judicial fiat.' The action is required by the mandate of the Fourteenth Amendment as construed and applied by Supreme Court precedent," U.S. District Court Judge Clark Waddoups wrote.

The Supreme Court in 2016 decline to hear a case from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in which the court ruled that the Constitution does not confer citizenship on those born in American Samoa.