Civil Rights Groups To DOJ: Stop Using Racist 100-Year Old Precedents In Court

We call on the Justice Department to help dismantle this egregious example of systemic racism by publicly condemning the Insular

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

A group of 13 civil rights organizations sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland last week, calling on the Department of Justice to stop using a series of racist, century-old Supreme Court precedents in its court arguments.

The letter ― signed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Hispanic Federation, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, among other groups ― targets a series of Supreme Court rulings from the early 20th century, known as the Insular Cases.

These rulings denied the full benefits of citizenship to residents of America’s colonial territorial possessions, on the grounds that they were supposedly populated by “savage tribes” and “alien” and “uncivilized race[s]” who were “absolutely unfit to receive” them.

“We call on the Justice Department to help dismantle this egregious example of systemic racism by publicly condemning the Insular Cases and bringing an end to any reliance on them in future court filings,” the letter states.

Today, the Insular Cases still deprive the more than 3.5 million Americans living in America’s colonial territories of the right to vote in federal elections, equal application of the law and equal access to federal benefits and rights, despite those people’s claim to birthright citizenship as provided for in the 14th Amendment. Read more.

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