Lawmakers seek disavowal of Supreme Court's racist 'Insular Cases' that limited rights of people in U.S. territories
Lawmakers join a renewed push for the Justice Department to condemn racist Supreme Court "Insular Cases" rulings that deprived U.S. territories of equal rights.
WASHINGTON — A mostly Democratic group of lawmakers are among those launching a renewed push for the Justice Department to condemn racist Supreme Court rulings from a century ago that shaped a legal landscape in which people living in U.S. territories were essentially treated as second-class citizens.
Civil rights groups and professional legal associations are also joining the effort targeting the so-called Insular Cases, beginning with a letter sent to the Attorney General Merrick Garland this week.
Members of both the House and the Senate will also hold a news conference Wednesday to bring attention to the issue.
Among the 43 lawmakers signing the new letter are Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., the ranking member of House Judiciary Committee.
"Today, the Department of Justice has the opportunity to redress this historic error by unequivocally rejecting the discriminatory and racist doctrine of territorial incorporation established by the Insular Cases," the lawmakers wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by NBC News.
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