2nd Podcast Script

Elijah, Justin, Elizabeth

Introduction:
(Music fade in and fade out)
Elijah: Hello welcome to our podcast my name is Elijah
Justin: Im Justin
Elizabeth: And Im Elizabeth
Elijah: And today we will be discussing how the U.S territories dont have certain
rights than the rest of the American States do
Elijah: So what are US Territories-Territories of the United States are subnational
administrative divisions directly from our government.

Justin: Ever since Independence US has had territories separate from states
Every state other than the 13 original states were considered territories at one point
Today the US has 16 territories. Five of which are inhabited including Guam, Puerto
Rico, American Samoa, The Northern Mariana Islands and the US Virgin Islands.
Elizabeth: People born in the Territories still gain automatic citizenship the same way
that people born in the states do excluding American Samoa. Samoans can only
claim citizenship if they have parents who were citizens; otherwise they have to go
through a non-American naturalization process.
Justin: We still look to a court case in 1901 stating that these territories were
Inhabited by Alien Races and would not be able to understand anglo-saxon rules
and lifestyle. This has been placed under the umbrella of the Insular Cases, a series
of bizarre and racist court decisions from the early 20th century. In these cases, The
Supreme Court distinguished between incorporated territoriesthose destined for
eventual statehood, such as Arizona and New Mexicoand the unincorporated
territories recently acquired in the Spanish American War. This prevented citizens
living in unincorporated territories from gaining citizenship at birth. Eventually Guam,
Puerto Rico, The Northern Mariana Islands and the US Virgin Islands gained the right
of citizenship at birth through statute but American Samoa is still just considered an
overseas possession.
Elijah: Although American Samoa doesn't even have the basic citizenship of the
United States, the rest of the territories arent too better off, for example Guam has

2nd Podcast Script

Elijah, Justin, Elizabeth
of its land covered by Navy and Air force bases because of its ideal military
placement.

Elizabeth: Yeah, Guam has a higher percentage of its population who joins the armed
forces than majority of the official states. Approximately one in eight citizens living in
Guam have served or are currently serving in the US Military compared to the US
states where 1 in 20 citizens have or are currently serving. Even though a much
larger percentage of their population join the armed forces, they came in dead last
when looking at how much medical support from the US government was dedicated
to Veterans and their families.
Elijah: Even with so many Guam Citizens enlisted in U.S armed forces, Guam
citizens and any other territory are not allowed to vote. Even citizens have expressed
their opinion in regards to this issue.
(Clip of citizen mentioning voting unfairness)
Elijah: If a territory has a high enough population and has a desire to become a state
they can apply to the US to become one. Due to its size, population and short
distance to the US mainland, Puerto Rico is really the only territory with a chance at
statehood.
Justin: There has recently been referendums conducted by Puerto Rico, asking its
citizens what they would prefer concerning its future. They cast a poll asking two
questions, the first Do you agree that Puerto Rico should continue to have its present
form of territorial status?
Elizabeth: 46% answered yes and 54% answered no so majority of the population did
not want to continue being a territory. So they then asked which non-territory option
they would prefer, Statehood, Independence, or a Sovereign Free Associated State.
Elijah: 61% Voted for statehood so you would think theres no question as to whether
Puerto Rico wants to be a State.
Justin: However, the Government of Puerto Rico wants another option, they would
prefer something called an enhanced commonwealth. An enhanced commonwealth is
a situation where Puerto Rico would get many of the benefits of being a state like
Military Protection, Financial Support and Citizenship at Birth but would not be bound
by US Federal Laws. This would never be approved by the US and Puerto Rico has
been advised to stop trying to achieve this.

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Elijah, Justin, Elizabeth

Elizabeth: Since an Enhanced Commonwealth was not on the ballot the Puerto Rican
governments feels the vote was not complete and unfairly leaned towards statehood.
So they have not made a decision on the territories future. However there will be
another referendum, the first to be federally funded by the US, this will also be a poll
without the option of an Enhanced Commonwealth.
Elijah: If Puerto Rico votes to become a state in this poll then it will be almost
impossible for the Puerto Rican government to ignore.
Justin: Just because land is owned by the United States doesn't mean it, or the
people living in it are all equals. People born in the territories are without many of the
basic rights we have living in the states take for granted. Things like voting rights, lack
of healthcare for veterans, and citizenship. This isnt completely permanent because
in at least one case there is a chance for statehood, but for now things will continue
as they are.