Acknowledging that the United States Supreme Court's decisions in the Insular Cases and the "territorial incorporation doctrine" are contrary to the text and history of the United States Constitution, rest on racial views and stereotypes from the era of Plessy v. Ferguson that have long been rejected, are contrary to our Nation's most basic constitutional and democratic principles, and should be rejected as having no place in United States constitutional law.

House Resolution 314 is a formal statement expressing the sense of Congress that a series of early 20th-century Supreme Court decisions known as the "Insular Cases" should be rejected. These historical rulings established the "territorial incorporation doctrine," which currently allows the federal government to deny certain constitutional rights and protections to residents of U.S. territories—such as Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands—that are automatically granted to residents of the 50 states. By condemning these precedents as being based on outdated racial stereotypes, the resolution seeks to affirm that fundamental constitutional and democratic principles should apply equally to all people living under U.S. jurisdiction, regardless of whether they reside in a state or a territory.