PLASKETT AND HERNANDEZ INTRODUCE RESOLUTION REAFFIRMING CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED FOR U.S. TERRITORIES AHEAD OF 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE

For Immediate Release Contact: Tionee Scotland

July 2, 2026 202-808-6129

PRESS RELEASE

PLASKETT AND HERNANDEZ INTRODUCE RESOLUTION REAFFIRMING CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED FOR U.S. TERRITORIES AHEAD OF 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE

Washington, DC - Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett (D-VI) and Congressman Pablo Hernandez (D-PR) this week introduced a resolution reaffirming that the principle of "consent of the governed" applies with full and equal force to the more than 3.6 million Americans living in U.S. territories and commonwealths, as the nation marks 250 years since the Declaration of Independence.

The resolution rejects the racist reasoning of the Insular Cases - a series of early 1900s Supreme Court decisions that stripped territorial residents of full constitutional protections - and calls on Congress to confront the gap between the nation's founding ideals and the lived reality of territorial residents who pay federal taxes, serve in the military at some of the highest rates in the nation, and still cannot vote for President or have a voting Member in the Senate.

Plaskett and Hernandez introduced the resolution this week as the U.S. Virgin Islands prepares to celebrate Emancipation Day on July 3rd, commemorating the 1848 abolition of slavery in the Danish West Indies, and as the country prepares to mark Independence Day on July 4th.

"This year we celebrate 250 years since the Declaration of Independence. But what that means for people in U.S. territories is different from what it means for the rest of the United States," said Congresswoman Plaskett. "As set forth in unequivocal terms in the Declaration, we are all 'created equal' and a just government comes from the 'consent of the governed.' A year ago I stood up in the House to highlight what should be obvious: this country has a Territories and Colonies problem. As we talk these days about the importance of protecting our democracy, it must be recognized that Virgin Islanders and others in U.S. territories are still waiting for democracy and self-determination."

The resolution notes that current Supreme Court justices across the ideological spectrum have condemned the Insular Cases' foundations, including Justice Neil Gorsuch's finding that the cases have no basis in the Constitution and instead rest on racial stereotypes, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor's description of the cases as premised on beliefs "both odious and wrong." The U.S. Department of Justice itself declared in a 2024 letter to Congress that it "unequivocally condemns the racist rhetoric and reasoning of the Insular Cases."

"This week, as Virgin Islanders celebrate Emancipation Day and our nation prepares to celebrate its 250th Independence Day, we are reminded that freedom is never finished business," Plaskett continued. "Our nation's Founders never intended our country to work this way. Many of them, including Alexander Hamilton, who spent his formative years in my home of St. Croix, risked their lives to reject colonial rule. Ultimately, it comes down to the basic ideals of 'consent of the governed' and all 'created equal' that the United States was founded on. Colonial rule was wrong in 1776. It remains wrong today."

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