I read an interesting comment from Jefferson who called himself a native of Pennsylvania but a resident of Virginia for many years. I hadn’t known that.
In the piece you just posted, ‘resident’ status required an intentional appearance before a judge and not just living in a location.
Yes, back in the day, the courts were the ones entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing all immigration and naturalization, to which they then sent reports to DC. Later, as the federal government established agencies in the several states, the responsibility was lifted from the courts.