Some Legal Questions About Greenland, Puerto Rico, and Alberta
I realize many of the things that Trump says have no chance of becoming reality. But it is foolish to ignore him. I have a few legal questions about the logistics for some of Trump’s territorial aspirations.
First, let’s talk about Greenland. One of the primary reasons to acquire Greenland would be for its natural resources–in particular, the rare earth metals. I don’t pretend to know the first thing about how to extract those resources from the ground. But I do know that federal environmental would create significant obstacles to obtaining those resources. Moreover, the dreaded National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) would erect countless road blocks. Were the United States to acquire Greenland, could it by statute simply exempt that territory from all federal environmental laws? I think that sort of move would stimulate corporate investments needed to facilitate a potential acquisition of the territory. (The Truman administration offered Denmark about $100 million in gold and oil rights in 1946.) Moreover, could Congress grant exclusive jurisdiction for all Greenland cases to (let’s say) the Fifth Circuit? It never made sense to me why Puerto Rico is in the First Circuit, in far-away New England, rather than much closer in the Eleventh-formerly-Fifth Circuit.
Second, speaking of Puerto Rico, I suspect Trump’s aspirations may include adding some territories and dropping others. There is an ongoing debate whether Puerto Rico should be granted statehood or become independent. I realize the Puerto Rican people have not made a final decision on that issue. Congress has the “Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States.” Could Congress decide on its own to grant Puerto Rico independence, and deem it no longer a territory of the United States? Or is the United States obligated to maintain a territory forever?
I don’t know the answer. The United States granted the Philippines independence through a treaty. But could it be done unilaterally by statute? Justice Sotomayor alluded to this issue, indirectly in the PROMESA case:
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