I’m just saying it makes no sense to come up with a territorial definition where the citizens are not treated equal to the citizens of the 50 states. The “citizens” in those territories are subject to the same laws and regulations as the 50 states. It just sounds like the rules are arbitrary and the citizens in those territories are treated as less than citizens. Why call them citizens if they can’t vote for president and other congressional seats like people in the other 50 states?
If the idea is that they’re not really citizens and not real Americans, then, cut all of them loose, in all of the territories. I highly doubt that any member of congress would want P.R. or Guam or any other “territory” to be cut loose, but let’s stop the hypocrisy.
You make some good points. I think what we see is a legal status of American possessions which are not states, which just evolved, with no thought to legal rights of people living in those jurisdictions.