Equally American and nine other civil rights groups are calling on House Leadership to pass a bi-partisan House Resolution that condemns the racist Insular Cases and their doctrine of “territorial incorporation.” The House Resources Committee held a hearing on H.Res 279 last year. The Resolution has received broad support, including from the Chairs of both the House Resources and House Judiciary Committees who are encouraging its passage. House resolutions do not need to be voted out of committee before being voted on by the full House. Just two weeks of voting remain in the 117^th Congress.

Residents of U.S. territories are treated as second-class citizens in many obvious ways: they cannot vote for President, are denied voting representation in Congress, and are ineligible for many critical federal benefits programs. But one area that is often overlooked is how residents of U.S. territories are rendered invisible by unequal treatment in the federal statistical system, including the U.S. Decennial Census. With the 2020 Census reporting a population decline of more than 11% in U.S. territories, the need for timely and accurate data collection in these communities is more important than ever. A new study by the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality’s Economic Security and Opportunity Initiative (GCPI ESOI) and Equally American titled “Advancing Data Equity for U.S. Territories” seeks to spotlight the urgent need for treating residents of U.S. territories the same as residents of other U.S. jurisdictions when it comes to the census and other federal data collection programs. 

For the second time in as many months, the Supreme Court has denied review of a petition calling to overrule the Insular Cases.

Tomorrow, Friday, November 18, 2022, the Supreme Court will once again have the opportunity to overrule the Insular Cases. The question is: will they take it or once again pass?

Statements following the Supreme Court’s denial of review in Fitisemanu v. United States

Microjuris, Equally American and Latino Justice PRLDEF present:

Insular Cases: "Odious and wrong". Voices from the Territories