Territories of the United States
Territories of the United States are subnational geographical and political areas governed as administrative divisions and dependent territories under the sovereignty of the United States. Although all are subject to the constitutional and territorial sovereignty|territorial] jurisdiction of the U.S. federal government, territories differ from states and Indian reservations in that they are not inherently sovereign. While states have dual sovereignty and Native American tribes have sovereignty in the United States|tribal sovereignty] in relation to the federal government, the self-governing powers of territories ultimately derive from the U.S. Congress, as per the Territorial Clause in Article IV of the U.S. Constitution. Territories are classified as "organized" or "unorganized" depending on whether they operate under an organic act, and "incorporated" or "unincorporated" depending on whether the U.S. Constitution applies fully or partially to them. As areas belonging to, but not integral parts of, the U.S., territories are their own distinct nations centered around a collective identity based on their land, history, ethnicity, culture, and language.
All territories of the U.S. are insular areas. The U.S. has sovereignty over three archipelagos or islands in the Caribbean Sea and eleven in the Pacific Ocean. Five territories are permanently inhabited, unincorporated territories; the other nine, known as the United States Minor Outlying Islands, are small islands, atolls, and reefs with no native population. Of the 14, only one is classified as an incorporated territory. Two additional territories are claimed by the U.S. but administered by Colombia. Historically, territories were created to administer newly acquired land, and most eventually attained statehood. The most recent territory to become a U.S. state was Hawaii on August 21, 1959.
Residents of the U.S. territories cannot vote in United States presidential elections, and they have only non-voting representation in the U.S. Congress. According to 2012 data, territorial telecommunications and other infrastructure are generally inferior to that of the continental U.S. and Hawaii. Poverty rates are higher in the territories than in the states, though these figures do not take into account indigenous and trust land ownership that exists across the U.S. territories of CNMI, Guam, and American Samoa. Three of the territories, namely the United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Guam, are on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories maintained by the Special Committee on Decolonization.
The territories have embraced a variety of strategies towards their relationship with the United States, with some advocating for closer integration into the United States, and others opting to remain as independent as possible. Several territories retain collective or trust ownership of native or indigenous lands, speak their indigenous or native languages, and retain indigenous cultural practices which might not survive under full incorporation to the United States framework. Residents of some U.S. territories enjoy a high quality of life, for instance in Guam, which has comparable health to the United States, and American Samoa, which has a crude death rate of 7.2 per 1,000, compared to the United States rate of 9.2 per 1,000. Research suggests that indigenous diets and lifestyles play a positive role in Samoans' health, particularly neonatal mortality rates.
Organized vs. [|unorganized] territories
Definitions
Organized territories are lands under federal sovereignty that were given a measure of self-governance by Congress through an organic act subject to the Congress's plenary powers under the Territorial Clause of the Constitution's Article Four, section 3. The term unorganized historically had two applications. One application was to a newly acquired region not yet constituted as an organized incorporated territory. The other was to a region that was previously part of an organized incorporated territory, but subsequently left "unorganized" after part of it had been organized and had achieved the requirements for statehood.Historical practice
The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 created the Kansas and Nebraska Territories, bringing organized government to the region once again. The creation of Kansas and Nebraska left the Indian Territory as the only unorganized territory in the Great Plains. In 1858, the western part of the Minnesota Territory became unorganized when it was not included in the new state of Minnesota; this area was organized in 1861 as part of the Dakota Territory. In 1890, the western half of the Indian Territory was organized as Oklahoma Territory. The eastern half remained unorganized until 1907, when it was joined with Oklahoma Territory to form the State of Oklahoma. Additionally, the Department of Alaska was unorganized from its acquisition in 1867 from Russia until organized as the District of Alaska in 1884; it was organized as Alaska Territory in 1912. Hawaii was also unorganized from the time of its annexation by the U.S. in 1898 until organized as Hawaii Territory in 1900.Regions that have been admitted as states under the United States Constitution in addition to the original thirteen were, most often, prior to admission, territories or parts of territories of this kind. As the United States grew, the most populous parts of the organized territory would achieve statehood. Some territories existed only a short time before becoming states, while others remained territories for decades. The shortest-lived was Alabama Territory at two years, while New Mexico Territory and Hawaii Territory both lasted more than 50 years.
Of the 50 states, 31 were once part of an organized, incorporated U.S. territory. In addition to the original 13, six subsequent states never were: Kentucky, Maine, and West Virginia were each separated from an existing state; Texas and Vermont were both sovereign states when they entered the Union; and California was part of unorganized land ceded to the United States by Mexico in 1848 at the end of the Mexican–American War.
Federal administration of current territories
All of the five major U.S. territories are permanently inhabited and have locally elected territorial legislatures and executives and some degree of political autonomy. Four of the five are organized, but American Samoa is technically unorganized. All of the U.S. territories without permanent non-military populations are unorganized.The Office of Insular Affairs coordinates federal administration of the U.S. territories and freely associated states, except for Puerto Rico.
On March 3, 1849, the last day of the 30th Congress, a bill was passed to create the U.S. Department of the Interior to take charge of the internal affairs of United States territory. The Interior Department has a wide range of responsibilities.
In contrast to similarly named Departments in other countries, the United States Department of the Interior is not responsible for local government or for civil administration except in the cases of Indian reservations, through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and island dependencies administered by the Office of Insular Affairs.
Permanently inhabited territories
The U.S. has five permanently inhabited territories: Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands in the North Pacific Ocean, and American Samoa in the South Pacific Ocean. American Samoa is in the Southern Hemisphere, while the other four are in the Northern Hemisphere. In 2020, their combined population was about 3.62 million, over 90% of which is accounted for by Puerto Rico alone.People born in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands acquire U.S. citizenship by birth, and foreign nationals residing there may apply for U.S. citizenship by naturalization. People born in American Samoa acquire U.S. nationality but not U.S. citizenship by birth if they do not have a U.S. citizen parent, as the American Samoan people have consistently refused birthright citizenship, fearing this would undermine indigenous land ownership, governance, and culture. U.S. nationals without U.S. citizenship may hold U.S. passports and reside in any part of the United States without restriction. However, to become U.S. citizens they must apply for naturalization, like foreigners, and may only do so while residing in parts of the United States other than American Samoa. Foreign nationals residing in American Samoa cannot apply for U.S. citizenship or U.S. nationality at all.
Each territory is self-governing with three branches of government, including a locally elected governor and a territorial legislature. Each territory elects a non-voting member to the U.S. House of Representatives. Although they cannot vote on the passage of legislation, they can introduce legislation, have floor privileges to address the house, be members of and vote in committees, are assigned offices and staff funding, and may nominate constituents from their territories to the Army, Naval Academy|Naval], Air Force Academy|Air Force] and Merchant Marine Academy|Merchant Marine] academies.
As of the 119th Congress, the territories are represented by Uifa’atali Aumua Amata Radewagen of American Samoa, James Moylan of Guam, Kimberlyn King-Hinds of Northern Mariana Islands, Pablo Hernández Rivera of Puerto Rico and Stacey Plaskett of U.S. Virgin Islands. The District of Columbia's delegate is Eleanor Holmes Norton ; like the district, the territories have no vote in Congress and no representation in the Senate. Additionally, the Cherokee Nation has delegate-elect Kimberly Teehee, who has not been seated by Congress.
Every four years, U.S. political parties nominate presidential candidates at conventions which include delegates from the territories. U.S. citizens living in the territories can vote for presidential candidates in these primary elections but not in the general election.
The territorial capitals are Pago Pago, Hagåtña, Saipan, San Juan and Charlotte Amalie. Their governors are Pula Nikolao Pula, Lou Leon Guerrero, David M. Apatang, Jenniffer González-Colón and Albert Bryan Jr..
Among the inhabited territories, Supplemental Security Income is available only in the Northern Mariana Islands; however, in 2019 a U.S. judge ruled that the federal government's denial of SSI benefits to residents of Puerto Rico is unconstitutional. This ruling was later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, allowing for the exclusion of territories from such programs. In the decision, the court explained that the exemption of island residents from most federal income taxes provides a "rational basis" for their exclusion from eligibility for SSI payments.
American Samoa is the only U.S. territory with its own immigration system. American Samoa also has a communal land system in which 90% of the land is communally owned; ownership is based on the Samoan system of governance, in which a political entity called a matai own land communally and administers it on behalf of the polity or nu'u.
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 American Samoaconvert|197.1|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on|sortable=onrefn|group=note|American Samoa, technically unorganized, is de facto organized.HistoryAmerican Samoa: territory since 1900; after the end of the Second Samoan Civil War, the Samoan Islands were divided into two regions. The U.S. took control of the eastern half of the islands. In 1900, the Treaty of Cession of Tutuila took effect. The Manuʻa Islands became part of American Samoa in 1904, and Swains Island became part of American Samoa in 1925. Congress ratified American Samoa's treaties in 1929. For 51 years, the U.S. Navy controlled the territory. American Samoa is locally self-governing under a constitution last revised in 1967. The first elected governor of American Samoa was in 1977, and the first non-voting member of Congress was in 1981. By jus soli, people born in American Samoa are U.S. nationals, but not U.S. citizens. American Samoa is technically unorganized, and its main island is Tutuila.Guam: territory since 1899, acquired at the end of the Spanish–American War. Guam is the home of Naval Base Guam and Andersen Air Force Base. It was organized under the Guam Organic Act of 1950, which granted U.S. citizenship to Guamanians and gave Guam a local government. In 1968, the act was amended to permit the election of a governor.Northern Mariana Islands: A commonwealth since 1986, the Northern Mariana Islands together with Guam were part of the Spanish Empire until 1899 when the Northern Marianas were sold to the German Empire after the Spanish–American War. Beginning in 1919, they were administered by Japan as a League of Nations mandate until the islands were captured by the United States in the Battle of Saipan and Battle of Tinian and the surrender of Aguiguan during World War II. They became part of the United Nations [Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands] in 1947, administered by the United States as U.N. trustee. The other constituents of the TTPI were Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands. Following failed efforts in the 1950s and 1960s to reunify Guam and the Northern Marianas, a covenant to establish the Northern Mariana Islands as a commonwealth in political union with the United States was negotiated by representatives of both political bodies; it was approved by Northern Mariana Islands voters in 1975, and came into force on March 24, 1976. In accordance with the covenant, the Northern Mariana Islands constitution partially took effect on January 9, 1978, and became fully effective on November 4, 1986. In 1986, the Northern Mariana Islands formally left U.N. trusteeship. The abbreviations "CNMI" and "NMI" are both used in the commonwealth. Most residents in the Northern Mariana Islands live on Saipan, the main island.Puerto Rico: unincorporated territory since 1899; Puerto Rico was acquired at the end of the Spanish–American War, and has been a U.S. commonwealth since 1952. Since 1917, Puerto Ricans have been granted U.S. citizenship. Puerto Rico was organized under the Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1950. In November 2008, a U.S. District Court judge ruled that a series of Congressional actions have had the cumulative effect of changing Puerto Rico's status from unincorporated to incorporated. The issue is proceeding through the courts, however, and the U.S. government still refers to Puerto Rico as unincorporated. A Puerto Rican attorney has called the island "semi-sovereign". Puerto Rico has a statehood movement, whose goal is to make the territory the 51st state. See also Political status of Puerto Rico.U.S. Virgin Islands: purchased by the U.S. from Denmark in 1917 and organized under the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands in 1954. U.S. citizenship was granted in 1927. The main islands are Saint Thomas, Saint John and Saint Croix.StatisticsExcept for Guam, the inhabited territories lost population in 2020. Although the territories have higher poverty rates than the mainland U.S., they have high Human Development Indexes. Four of the five territories have another official language, in addition to English.
The territories do not have administrative counties. The U.S. Census Bureau counts Puerto Rico's 78 municipalities, the U.S. Virgin Islands' three main islands, all of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands' four municipalities, and American Samoa's three districts and two atolls as county equivalents. The Census Bureau also counts each of the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands as county equivalents. For statistical purposes, the U.S. Census Bureau has a defined area called the "Island Areas" which consists of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The U.S. Census Bureau often treats Puerto Rico as its own entity or groups it with the states and D.C. Puerto Rico data is collected annually in American Community Survey estimates, but data for the other territories is collected only once every ten years. Governments and legislaturesThe five major inhabited territories contain the following governments and legislatures:
Political party statusThe following is the political party status of the governments of the U.S. territories following completion of the 2024 United States elections. Instances where local and national party affiliation differs, the national affiliation is listed second. Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands have unicameral territorial legislatures.CourtsEach of the five major territories has its own local court system:
DemographicsWhile the U.S. mainland is majority non-Hispanic White, this is not the case for the U.S. territories. In 2010, American Samoa's population was 92.6% Pacific Islander ; Guam's population was 49.3% Pacific Islander and 32.2% Asian ; the population of the Northern Mariana Islands was 34.9% Pacific Islander and 49.9% Asian; and the population of the U.S. Virgin Islands was 76.0% African American. In 2019, Puerto Rico's population was 98.9% Hispanic or Latino, 67.4% white, and 0.8% non-Hispanic white.Throughout the 2010s, the U.S. territories lost population. The combined population of the five inhabited territories was 4,100,594 in 2010, and 3,569,284 in 2020. The U.S. territories have high religiosity rates—American Samoa has the highest religiosity rate in the United States. EconomiesThe economies of the U.S. territories vary from Puerto Rico, which has a GDP of $104.989 billion in 2019, to American Samoa, which has a GDP of $636 million in 2018. In 2018, Puerto Rico exported about $18 billion in goods, with the Netherlands as the largest destination.Guam's GDP shrank by 0.3% in 2018, the GDP of the Northern Mariana Islands shrank by 19.6% in 2018, Puerto Rico's GDP grew by 1.18% in 2019, and the U.S. Virgin Islands' GDP grew by 1.5% in 2018. In 2017, American Samoa's GDP shrank by 5.8%, but then grew by 2.2% in 2018. American Samoa has the lowest per capita income in the United States—it has a per capita income comparable to that of Botswana. In 2010, American Samoa's per capita income was $6,311. As of 2010, the Manuʻa District in American Samoa had a per capita income of $5,441, the lowest of any county or county-equivalent in the United States. In 2018, Puerto Rico had a median household income of $20,166. Also in 2018, Comerío Municipality, Puerto Rico had a median household income of $12,812 Guam has much higher incomes Minor Outlying IslandsThe United States Minor Outlying Islands are small uninhabited islands, atolls, and reefs. Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Atoll, Palmyra Atoll, and Wake Island are in the Pacific Ocean while Navassa Island is in the Caribbean Sea. The additional claimed territories of Bajo Nuevo Bank and Serranilla Bank are also located in the Caribbean Sea. Palmyra Atoll is the only incorporated territory, a status it has maintained since Hawaii became a state in 1959. All are uninhabited except for Midway Atoll, whose approximately 40 inhabitants were employees of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and their services provider; Palmyra Atoll, whose population varies from four to 20 Nature Conservancy and Fish and Wildlife staff and researchers; and Wake Island, which has a population of about 100 military personnel and civilian employees.The two-letter abbreviation for the islands collectively is "UM". The status of several islands is disputed. Navassa Island is disputed by Haiti, Wake Island is disputed by the Marshall Islands, Swains Island is disputed by Tokelau, and Bajo Nuevo Bank and Serranilla Bank are both administered by Colombia, whose claim is disputed by the U.S.
Claimed territoriesThe following two territories are claimed by multiple countries and are not included in ISO 3166-2:UM. However, they are sometimes grouped with the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands. According to the GAO, "the United States conducts maritime law enforcement operations in and around Serranilla Bank and Bajo Nuevo consistent with U.S. sovereignty claims."
Incorporated vs. unincorporated territoriesPursuant to a series of Supreme Court rulings, Congress decides whether a U.S. territory is incorporated or unincorporated. The U.S. Constitution applies to each incorporated territory as it applies to the local governments and residents of a state. The sole incorporated territory of the U.S., Palmyra Atoll, is an insular part of the U.S., but is not a possession.In unincorporated territories, "fundamental rights apply as a matter of law, but other constitutional rights are not available", raising concerns about how the population in these territories can take part in the political process. Selected constitutional provisions apply, depending on congressional acts and judicial rulings according to U.S. constitutional practice, local tradition, and law. As a result, these territories are often considered colonies of the United States. The judicial term "unincorporated" was coined to legitimize the late-19th-century territorial acquisitions without citizenship and their administration without constitutional protections temporarily until Congress made other provisions. The case law allowed Congress to impose discriminatory tax regimes with the effect of a protective tariff upon territorial regions which were not domestic states. In 2022, the United States Supreme Court in United States v. Vaello Madero held that the territorial clause of the constitution allowed wide congressional latitude in mandating "reasonable" tax and benefit schemes in Puerto Rico and the other territories, which are different from the states, but did not address the incorporated/unincorporated distinction. In a concurrence with the court's overall ruling on the propriety of the differential tax structures, one of the justices opined that it was time to overrule the doctrine of unincorporated territories, as wrongly decided and founded in racism; the dissent agreed with this view. Insular CasesThe U.S. Supreme Court, in its 1901–1905 Insular Cases opinions, ruled that the Constitution extended ex proprio vigore to the continental territories. The Court also established the doctrine of territorial incorporation, in which the Constitution applies fully to incorporated territories and partially in the unincorporated territories of Guam, Puerto Rico, and, at the time, the Philippines.In the 1901 Supreme Court case Downes v. Bidwell, the Court said that the U.S. Constitution did not fully apply in unincorporated territories because they were inhabited by "alien races". The U.S. had no unincorporated territories until 1856. Congress enacted the Guano Islands Act that year, authorizing the president to take possession of unclaimed islands to mine guano. The U.S. has taken control of many islands and atolls, especially in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, under this law; most have been abandoned. It also has acquired territories since 1856 under other circumstances, such as under the Treaty of Paris (1898) which ended the Spanish–American War. The Supreme Court considered the constitutional position of these unincorporated territories in 1922 in Balzac v. People of Porto Rico, and said the following about a U.S. court in Puerto Rico: In Glidden Company v. Zdanok, the Court cited Balzac and said about courts in unincorporated territories: "Upon like considerations, Article III has been viewed as inapplicable to courts created in unincorporated territories outside the mainland... and to the consular courts established by concessions from foreign countries". The judiciary determined that incorporation involves express declaration or an implication strong enough to exclude any other view, raising questions about Puerto Rico's status. In 1966, Congress made the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico an Article III district court. This sets Puerto Rico apart judicially from the other unincorporated territories, and U.S. district judge Gustavo Gelpí has expressed the opinion that Puerto Rico is no longer unincorporated: In Balzac, the Court defined "implied": On June 5, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled 3–0 in Tuaua v. United States to deny birthright citizenship to American Samoans, ruling that the guarantee of such citizenship to citizens in the Fourteenth Amendment does not apply to unincorporated U.S. territories. In 2016 the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the appellate court's decision. In 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit upheld the District Court decision in Segovia v. United States, which ruled that former Illinois residents living in Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands did not qualify to cast overseas ballots according to their last registered address on the U.S. mainland. In October 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the 7th Circuit's decision. On June 15, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled 2–1 in Fitisemanu v. United States to deny birthright citizenship to American Samoans and not to overrule the Insular Cases. The court cited Downes and ruled that "neither constitutional text nor Supreme Court precedent" demands that American Samoans should be given automatic birthright citizenship. The case was denied certiorari by the U.S. Supreme Court. On April 21, 2022, in the case United States v. Vaello Madero, Justice Gorsuch urged the Supreme Court to overrule the Insular Cases when possible as they "rest on a rotten foundation" and called the cases "shameful". In analyzing the Insular Cases, Christina Duffy Ponsa wrote in The New York Times: "To be an unincorporated territory is to be caught in limbo: although unquestionably subject to American sovereignty, they are considered part of the United States for certain purposes but not others. Whether they are part of the United States for purposes of the Citizenship Clause remains unresolved." Supreme Court decisions about current territoriesThe 2016 Supreme Court case Puerto Rico v. Sanchez Valle ruled that territories do not have their own sovereignty. That year, the Supreme Court declined to rule on a lower-court ruling in Tuaua v. United States that American Samoans are not U.S. citizens at birth.The Supreme Court ruled in 2022 in United States v. Vaello-Madero that Congress is not required to extend all benefits to Puerto Ricans, and that the exclusion of Puerto Ricans from the Supplemental Security Income program was constitutional. Supreme Court decisions about former territoriesIn Rassmussen v. U.S., the Supreme Court quoted from Article III of the 1867 treaty for the purchase of Alaska:The act of incorporation affects the people of the territory more than the territory itself by extending the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the Constitution to them, such as its extension to Puerto Rico in 1947; however, Puerto Rico remains unincorporated. Alaska TerritoryRassmussen arose from a criminal conviction by a six-person jury in Alaska under federal law. The court held that Alaska had been incorporated into the U.S. in the treaty of cession with Russia, and the congressional implication was strong enough to exclude any other view:Concurring justice Henry Brown agreed: Florida TerritoryIn Dorr v. U.S., the court quoted Chief Justice John Marshall from an earlier case:In Downes v. Bidwell, the court said: "The same construction was adhered to in the treaty with Spain for the purchase of Florida... the 6th article of which provided that the inhabitants should 'be incorporated into the Union of the United States, as soon as may be consistent with the principles of the Federal Constitution'." Southwest TerritoryJustice Brown first mentioned incorporation in Downes:Louisiana TerritoryIn Downes, the court said:Puerto RicoScholars agreed as of 2009 in the Boston College Law Review, "Regardless of how Puerto Rico looked in 1901 when the Insular Cases were decided, or in 1922, today, Puerto Rico seems to be the paradigm of an incorporated territory as modern jurisprudence understands that legal term of art". In November 2008, a district court judge ruled that a sequence of prior Congressional actions had the cumulative effect of changing Puerto Rico's status to incorporated. However, in 2022, the United States Supreme Court held that the territorial clause of the U.S. constitution allows wide congressional latitude in mandating "reasonable" tax and benefit schemes in Puerto Rico and the other territories that are different from the states, but the Court did not address the incorporated/unincorporated distinction. As a result, the status quo remains, so the U.S. government still defines the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as a U.S. unincorporated territory.Former unincorporated territories and administered areasFormer unincorporated territories
Former U.S.-administered areas
Former U.S. military occupations
Flora and faunaThe territories of the United States have many plant and animal species found nowhere else in the United States. All U.S. territories have tropical climates and ecosystems.ForestsThe USDA says the following about the U.S. territories :Forests in the U.S. territories are vulnerable to invasive species and new housing developments. El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico is the only tropical rain forest in the United States National Forest system. American Samoa has 80.84% forest cover and the Northern Mariana Islands has 80.37% forest cover—these are among the highest forest cover percentages in the United States. BirdsU.S. territories have many bird species that are endemic.Introduction of the invasive brown tree snake has harmed Guam's native bird population—nine of twelve endemic species have become extinct, and the territorial bird is extinct in the wild. Puerto Rico has several endemic bird species, such as the critically endangered Puerto Rican parrot, the Puerto Rican flycatcher, and the Puerto Rican spindalis. The Northern Mariana Islands has the Mariana swiftlet, Mariana crow, Tinian monarch and golden white-eye. Birds found in American Samoa include the many-colored fruit dove, the blue-crowned lorikeet, and the Samoan starling. The Wake Island rail was endemic to Wake Island, and the Laysan duck is endemic to Midway Atoll and the Northwest Hawaiian Islands. Palmyra Atoll has the second-largest red-footed booby colony in the world, and Midway Atoll has the largest breeding colony of Laysan albatross in the world. The American Birding Association currently excludes the U.S. territories from their "ABA Area" checklist. Other animalsAmerican Samoa has several reptile species, such as the Pacific boa and Pacific slender-toed gecko. American Samoa has only a few mammal species, such as the Pacific (Polynesian) sheath-tailed bat, as well as oceanic mammals such as the Humpback whale. Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands also have a small number of mammals, such as the Mariana fruit bat; oceanic mammals include Fraser's dolphin and the Sperm whale. The fauna of Puerto Rico includes the common coquí, while the fauna of the U.S. Virgin Islands includes species found in Virgin Islands National Park.American Samoa has a location called Turtle and Shark which is important in Samoan culture and mythology. Protected areasThere are two National Parks in the U.S. territories: the National Park of American Samoa, and Virgin Islands National Park. The National Park Service also manages War in the Pacific National Historical Park on Guam. There are also National Natural Landmarks, National Wildlife Refuges, El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico, and the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument.Public imageThe United Nations list of non-self-governing territories maintained by the Special Committee on Decolonization includes three US territories: American Samoa, Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands. Puerto Rico was removed from the list in 1952 when it became a Commonwealth. The Northern Mariana Islands were removed in 1990, after United Nations Security Council Resolution 683 recognized NMI's 1986 status change to Commonwealth.In The Not-Quite States of America, his book about the U.S. territories, essayist Doug Mack said: Representative Stephanie Murphy of Florida said about a 2018 bill to make Puerto Rico the 51st state, "The hard truth is that Puerto Rico's lack of political power allows Washington to treat Puerto Rico like an afterthought." According to Governor of Puerto Rico Ricardo Rosselló, "Because we don't have political power, because we don't have representatives, senators, no vote for president, we are treated as an afterthought." Rosselló called Puerto Rico the "oldest, most populous colony in the world". Rosselló and others have referred to the U.S. territories as American "colonies". David Vine of The Washington Post said the following: "The people of are all too accustomed to being forgotten except in times of crisis. But being forgotten is not the worst of their problems. They are trapped in a state of third-class citizenship, unable to access full democratic rights because politicians have long favored the military's freedom of operation over protecting the freedoms of certain U.S. citizens." In his article "How the U.S. Has Hidden Its Empire", Daniel Immerwahr of The Guardian writes, "The confusion and shoulder-shrugging indifference that mainlanders displayed at the time of Pearl Harbor hasn't changed much at all. give a truncated view of their own history, one that excludes part of their country." The 2020 U.S. census excludes non-citizen U.S. nationals in American Samoa—in response to this, Mark Joseph Stern of Slate said, "The Census Bureau's total exclusion of American Samoans provides a pertinent reminder that, until the courts step in, the federal government will continue to treat these Americans with startling indifference." GalleriesMore detail on all current territories
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