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The Insular Cases split the Territorial Clause atom by formally distinguishing, for the first time, between so-called incorporated and un-incorporated territories. The former was the "classical" definition of the Clause; the latter constituted a doctrinal innovation that did not imply the start of the annexation process. Balzac v. Porto Rico reinforced the distinction and made clear that un-incorporation could be a permanent condition. Recently, the Supreme Court announced a series of decisions regarding the territories, particularly Puerto Rico, that do not mention the incorporated/un-incorporated distinction--refering to "territories" in general, without any additional characterization. This paper analyzes the journey of the Territorial Clause from its singular, classic, incorporated version, through its split into two distinct categories (classic and new) in the Insular Cases and Balzac, to its present form as a singular, un-incorporated version that appears to silently replace the classic version. The possibility of a populated territory remaining in permanent limbo signals that current U.S. law views colonialism as constitutionally valid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the Spanish-American War of 1898, the United States invented a new tradition of territorial expansionism with a corresponding constitutional doctrine to rule Puerto Rico and other unincorporated territories. For more than a century, the United States has relied on this racist constitutional interpretation to legitimate the separate and unequal rule of Puerto Rico. Drawing on an analysis of the Congressional Research Index for all legislative sessions between 1898 and 2018, this note describes all the territorial government and incorporation bills introduced in Congress throughout this period. Although upward of 134 status bills for Puerto Rico were introduced, and in some cases debated, in Congress, only eleven provide for the creation of a territorial government or the incorporation of Puerto Rico. All but one of these bills were introduced prior to the enactment of the Puerto Rican Constitution of 1952. For more than a century, Congress has refused to enact territorial legislation that expressly incorporates Puerto Rico and repudiates the racist doctrine of territorial incorporation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1917 the United States Congress imposed citizenship on the inhabitants of Puerto Rico. It was a contingent citizenship subject to legal redefinition and tailored to Puerto Rico's colonial status within the U.S. empire. Many scholars have argued that racism was determinative in the decision to consign Puerto Ricans a diminished citizenship. But it is necessary to point out that the U.S. had crafted an adaptive racial narrative that distinguished among racialized people under its sovereignty in terms of their capacities for self-government and ability to comprehend Anglo-Saxon political and legal institutions. Moreover, in addition to racism, strategic considerations and territorial policies and legal precedents figured prominently in the decision to impose an unprecedented citizenship status on Puerto Ricans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Absent the 1917 Jones Act, would people born in Puerto Rico today be U.S. citizens? The Supreme Court has yet to provide a definitive answer to this question. But it may be presented the opportunity to do so as the result of legal challenges to federal laws that deny recognition of citizenship to individuals born in the U.S. territory of American Samoa. The status of people born in American Samoa today has parallels to the status of Puerto Ricans prior to the 1917 Jones Act: neither citizens nor aliens. This article argues that the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees birthright citizenship throughout the territorial sovereignty of the United States: States, Territories, and the District of Columbia alike. Congress has no power to deny citizenship to people born in Puerto Rico, American Samoa, or any other U.S. territory. Resolving the question of citizenship in U.S. territories may also provide the Supreme Court an opportunity to finally reconsider the Insular Cases and their controversial doctrine of "separate and unequal" status for residents of so-called "unincorporated" U.S. territories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnic minorities rely on news outlets to promote their causes. Nevertheless, human rights issues about United States territories are seldom addressed in national news media. This qualitative content analysis of news stories about the campaign for release for Puerto Rican political prisoner Óscar López Rivera studies the portrayal of this domestic human right issue in elite and local Spanish language news media. This case study revealed that coverage about Puerto Rico in national media showcases culture and entertainment, as well as sports topics. However, they showed lack of interest in the human rights issues of US territories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]