Online Petition Calls on Biden Justice Department to Reject Insular Cases

An online petition is calling on the Biden-Harris Administration to reject the Insular Cases after the U.S. Supreme Court granted the U.S. Justice Department additional time to decide whether it will support or oppose calls to overrule the series of racist decisions from the turn of the 19th century in a case that could be heard this fall.

The Justice Department now has until Aug. 29 to respond to the petition for certiorari, or review, in Fitisemanu v. United States. The case about birthright citizenship in U.S. territories asks the Supreme Court, in part, “whether the Insular Cases should be overruled,” according to a press release from Equally American. The nonprofit organization focuses on advancing equality and civil rights for the 3.5 million citizens living in U.S. territories, 98 percent of whom are racial or ethnic minorities.

The Supreme Court is expected to decide whether to take up Fitisemanu and the question of the Insular Cases this fall, said Equally American.

The Insular Cases are the series of century-old, racist decisions that established a colonial framework of “separate and unequal” status for people living in U.S. territories. As a result, residents of the five U.S. territories today continue to be treated like second-class citizens, while at the same time being denied their right to self-determination and decolonization, according to the press release. This means being denied equality in federal social safety net programs like Supplemental Security Income, Medicaid, and SNAP, while at the same time lacking any vote in the federal laws they must follow, it said.