Background

Whereas, under article IV, section 3, clause 2, the Constitution states: The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States;; Whereas, Supreme Court of the United States precedents, known collectively as the Insular Cases, stands for the proposition that Congress has the power to legislate with respect to the United States territories, including citizenship status; Whereas, Congress has previously granted citizenship by statute to four of the five United States territories but not to the people of American Samoa; Whereas, the decision in Trump v. Barbara did not address or call into question any of these Insular Case based statutes; and Whereas, Congress has the inherent authority to change statutes relating to citizenship of persons born in the territories.