As the United States prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Right to Democracy is bringing together a bipartisan group of lawmakers on June 4, 2026, for a congressional briefing that will examine the meaning of “consent of the governed” for residents of Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
The briefing, “What Does ‘Consent of the Governed’ Mean in U.S. Territories?” is organized in coordination with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Members of Congress from several U.S. territories. It will also include special guest Daniel Immerwahr, NYT bestselling author of How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States. The briefing will provide Members of Congress and their staff with historical background on the current relationship between U.S. territories and the United States through the lens of the Declaration of Independence.
Adi Martínez-Román, Co-Director of Right to Democracy, which works to advance democracy, equity, and self-determination in U.S. territories commented, “250 years ago, the United States declared a foundational democratic concept: that legitimate governments derive their just powers from the ‘consent of the governed.’ Yet for 125 years, the federal government has ruled U.S. territories without full constitutional or civil rights and without a clear pathway to self-determination “This congressional briefing is an important step for the federal government to recognize that this undemocratic framework is unsustainable and a violation of basic rights under U.S. and international law.”
Right to Democracy’s Environment and Democracy Fellows –community leaders representing each territory– will share how federal decisions made without democratic participation shape their daily lives— from public health and disaster relief to voting rights and environmental policy. Andra Samoa and Sabrina Suluai-Mahuka are attending the briefing.
Neil Weare, Co-Director of Right to Democracy said “For 125 years, the Insular Cases have normalized the federal government denying people in U.S. territories democracy and self-determination based on the Supreme Court’s troubling view that they were ‘alien races’ or ‘savage tribes.
“The 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence is a proper occasion for the federal government and the general public to recognize that U.S. colonial rule is real, wrong, and needs to end now.”
The briefing is open to congressional staff, press, and the public.
