; Whereas Justice Harlan, who penned the lone dissent to Plessy v. Ferguson, also wrote a series of powerful dissents to the Insular Cases, declaring in Downes that [t]he idea that this country may acquire territories anywhere upon the earth, by conquest or treaty, and hold them as mere colonies or provinces—the people inhabiting them to enjoy only such rights as Congress chooses to accord to them—is wholly inconsistent with the spirit and genius, as well as with the words, of the Constitution ; Whereas the Insular Cases and the territorial incorporation doctrine have long received significant criticism from the Supreme Court and a broad range of jurists and legal scholars; Whereas, in 2022, Justice Gorsuch declared that It is past time to . . . admit what we know to be true: The Insular Cases have no foundation in the Constitution and rest instead on racial stereotypes. They deserve no place in our law. ; Whereas Justice Gorsuch continued, [T]he time has come to recognize that the Insular Cases rest on a rotten foundation. And I hope the day comes soon when the Court squarely overrules them. We should follow Justice Harlan and settle this question right. , and Justice Sotomayor agreed, emphasizing that the Insular Cases were premised on beliefs both odious and wrong ; Whereas, nonetheless, just months later the Supreme Court surprised many court watchers by denying review of a case expressly asking whether the Insular Cases should be overruled ; Whereas the powerful statements by Justice Gorsuch and Justice Sotomayor followed a 2020 Supreme Court decision that questioned the continued validity of the Insular Cases, indicating that the Insular Cases should not be further extended