Puerto Rican citizenship
A 1918 official report from the American colonial governor of Puerto Rico to the U.S. Secretary of War, this one after the Jones Act of 1917, had become law, states that the "passports...[are used to] prove a person's nationality," thus making clear that Puerto Rican citizenship and Puerto Rican nationality were one and the same. The United States government also recognizes this status in its own records. For example, the CIA World Fact Book, states that the nationality of Puerto Ricans is not "American" but, in fact, ""Puerto Rican"." The Spanish Government also recognizes Puerto Ricans as a people with Puerto Rican, "and not American," citizenship. It also provides Puerto Rican citizens privileges not provided to citizens of several other nations, such as Haití, Jamaica, Trinidad y Tobago y Guyana. Since 2007, the Government of Puerto Rico has been issuing "Certificates of Puerto Rican Citizenship" to anyone born in Puerto Rico or born outside of Puerto Rico with at least one parent who was born in Puerto Rico.
Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños
Centro regularly sponsors conferences and seminars that highlight the Puerto Rican experience. These include: Claiming the Center Stage: Critical Perspectives on Puerto Ricans and Dominicans in the U.S., cosponsored with the Dominican Studies Institute (DSI) of City College, focusing on timely issues affecting the Puerto Rican and Dominican communities in New York; Symposium: 100 Years of the Jones Act and Puerto Rican U.S. Citizenship, examining the history and legacy of the collective naturalization of Puerto Ricans as United States citizens; and the video conference Puerto Ricans in Cyberspace, a look at Puerto Ricans in social media.