Do Puerto Ricans have US citizenship?
Puerto Rican citizenship
Puerto Rican citizenship was first legislated by the United States Congress in Article 7 of the Foraker Act of 1900 and later recognized in the Constitution of Puerto Rico. Puerto Rican citizenship existed before the U.S. takeover of the islands of Puerto Rico and continued afterwards. Its affirmative standing was also recognized before and after the creation of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in 1952. Puerto Rican citizenship was recognized by the United States Congress in the early twentieth century and continues unchanged after the creation of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The United States government also continues to recognize a Puerto Rican nationality. Puerto Rican citizenship was once also recognized by the Spanish Government, which recognized Puerto Ricans as a people with Puerto Rican, and not American citizenship. It also at one time granted Spanish citizenship to Puerto Ricans on the basis of their Puerto Rican (and not American) citizenship.
Dolores Piñero
In 1917, with the advent of World War I, the United States approved the Jones–Shafroth Act which conferred U.S. citizenship on Puerto Ricans. Puerto Ricans, with the exception of the women, were eligible for the draft.
Manuel Olivieri Sanchez
His efforts helped to make the United States citizenship, which was granted to the citizens of Puerto Rico by way of the Jones Act of 1917, to be extended to the Puerto Ricans living there.
Statehood movement in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico is, by a considerable margin, the largest U.S. territory in terms of both population and geographical area, being similar to Connecticut with respect to population size and geographical area. Puerto Rican residents do not participate in the Presidential elections, although once they establish residency in any of the 50 states or the District of Columbia they become eligible voters. Statehood would allow the population to vote in all elections as the residents of states already can.
Politics of Puerto Rico
Puerto Ricans may enlist in the U.S. military. Since 1917, Puerto Ricans have been included in the compulsory draft whenever it has been in effect and more than 400,000 Puerto Ricans have served in the United States Armed Forces. Puerto Ricans have participated in all U.S. wars since 1898, most notably World War I, World War II, the Korean and Vietnam wars, as well as the current Middle Eastern conflicts. Several Puerto Ricans became notable commanders, five have been awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration in the United States, also several Puerto Ricans have attained the rank of General or Admiral, which requires a Presidential nomination and Senate confirmation. In World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War Puerto Ricans were the most decorated Hispanic soldiers and in some cases they were the first to die in combat.
Demographics of Puerto Rico
The federal Naturalization Act, signed into law on March 26, 1790, by President Washington stated that immigrants to the United States had to be White according to the definition under the British Common Law, which the United States inherited. The legal definition of Whiteness differed greatly from White Society's informal definition, thus Jews, Gypsies, Middle Eastern Peoples and those of the Indian Subcontinent were before 1917 classified as White for Immigration purposes but not considered White by the society at large. The Naturalization Act of 1870, passed during Reconstruction, allowed for peoples of African descent to become U.S. Citizens but it excluded other nonwhites. The U.S. Supreme Court in the case United States v. Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. 649 (1898) declared that all nonwhites who were born in the United States were eligible for citizenship via the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment. U.S. Immigration Policy was first restricted toward Chinese with the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the Gentleman's Agreement of 1907 in which Japan voluntarily barred emigration to the United States and the Immigration Act of 1917 or the Asiatic Barred Zone which barred immigrants from all of the Middle East, the Steppes and the Orient, excluding the Philippines which was then a US Colony. European Jews and Gypsies, although of Asiatic Ancestry, were not affected by the Asiatic Barred Zone, as they held European Citizenship. The Johnson-Reed act of 1924 applied only to the Eastern Hemisphere. The Act imposed immigration quotas on Europe, which allowed for easy immigration from Northern and Western Europe, but almost excluded the Mediterranean and Slavic Nations. Africa and Asia were excluded altogether. The Western Hemisphere remained unrestricted to immigrate to the United States. Thus under the Immigration Act of 1924 all Hispanics and Caribbeans could immigrate to the United States, but a White family from Poland or Russia could not immigrate. Puerto Rican Citizenship was created under the Foraker Act, Pub.L. 56–191, 31 Stat. 77 but it wasn't until 1917 that Puerto Ricans were granted full American Citizenship under the Jones–Shafroth Act (Pub.L. 64–368, 39 Stat. 951. Puerto Ricans, excluding those of obvious African ancestry, were like most Hispanics formally classified as White under U.S. Law, but this classification did not prevent informal discrimination against them by Anglo-Americans.
Demographics of New York City
New York City has the largest Puerto Rican population outside of Puerto Rico. Attributable to the changing citizenship status of the island's residents, Puerto Ricans can technically be said to have come to the City first as immigrants and subsequently as migrants. The first group of Puerto Ricans moved to New York in the mid-19th century, when Puerto Rico was a Spanish colony and its people Spanish subjects. The following wave of Puerto Ricans to move to New York did so after the Spanish–American War of 1898 made Puerto Rico a U.S. possession and after the Jones–Shafroth Act of 1917 gave Puerto Ricans U.S. citizenship, which allows travel without the need of a passport between the island and the United States mainland. The largest wave of migration came in the 1950s, in what became known as "The Great Migration"; as a result, more than a million Puerto Ricans once called New York City home. Presently the Puerto Rican population is around 800,000.
United States passport
By acts of Congress, every person born in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands is a United States citizen by birth. Also, every person born in the former Panama Canal Zone whose father or mother (or both) was a citizen is a United States citizen by birth.
Juan Mari Brás
In rejecting the renunciation, the Department noted that the Plaintiff in "Colón" demonstrated no intention of renouncing all ties to the United States, i.e., claiming to reject his United States citizenship, but nevertheless wishing to remain a resident of Puerto Rico. The Plaintiff's response was to claim a fundamental distinction between United States and Puerto Rican citizenship. The United States Department of State position asserted that renunciation of U.S. citizenship must entail renunciation of Puerto Rican citizenship as well. The court does decide to not enter to the merits of the citizenship issue; however the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia rejected Colón's petition for a writ of mandamus directing the Secretary of State to approve a Certificate of Loss of Nationality in the case because the plaintiff wanted to retain one of the primary benefits of U.S. citizenship while claiming he was not a U.S. citizen. The Court described the plaintiff as a person, "claiming to renounce all rights and privileges of United States citizenship, [while] Plaintiff wants to continue to exercise one of the fundamental rights of citizenship, namely to travel freely throughout the world and when he wants to, return and reside in the United States." The court based this decision on the Immigration and Nationality Act section 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(38), which defines the term "United States", and evince that Puerto Rico is a part of the United States for such purposes.
Puerto Ricans in the United States
In 1950, about a quarter of a million Puerto Rican natives lived "stateside", or in one of the U.S. states. In March 2012 that figure had risen to about 1.5 million. That is, slightly less than a third of the 5 million Puerto Ricans living stateside were born on the island. Puerto Ricans are also the second-largest Hispanic group in the USA after those of Mexican descent.
Juan Mari Brás
In "Lozada Colón v. U.S. Department of State" (1998), the plaintiff was a United States citizen, born in Puerto Rico and resident of Puerto Rico, who executed an oath of renunciation before a consular officer at the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. On April 23, 1998, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia held that the case was about "the much debated political question as to the status of Puerto Rico and its nationals in relation to the United States." It added that "While Plaintiff may well have strong political views with regard to Puerto Rican independence and the need for a citizenship separate and apart from the United States, this is not an issue for this Court to decide", and concluded that "the Plaintiff must seek another, more appropriate forum to express his political views." These actions and rulings continue to be a popular subject of debate.
Federal voting rights in Puerto Rico
The lack of direct voting representation in Congress for residents of the territory has been an issue since the U.S. Congress granted U.S. citizenship to Puerto Rico citizens in 1917. All judicial claims have been met with political or constitutional challenges; therefore, there has been no change in Puerto Rico's representation in the Congress or representation on the electoral college for the U.S. citizens residing in Puerto Rico.
Statelessness
Mari Brás claimed that as a Puerto Rican national born and raised in Puerto Rico, he was clearly a Puerto Rican citizen and therefore had every right to continue to reside, work, and, most importantly, vote in Puerto Rico. The State Department responded promptly, claiming that Puerto Rican citizenship did not exist independent of American citizenship, and in 1998, the department rescinded its recognition of his renunciation of citizenship. The official response to Mari Brás stated that Puerto Rican citizenship existed only as an equivalent to residency. However, the Puerto Rico State Department issues certificates of citizenship to people born outside of Puerto Rico to a Puerto Rican parent, including some people who may have never resided in the territory.
Timeline of Latino civil rights in the United States
The Jones act was signed by President Woodrow Wilson in 1917 and granted full U.S. citizenship to Puerto Ricans born on the island and gives them the right to travel freely to the Continental United States. However, the act also stated that because Puerto Rico was not a state, Puerto Ricans were to be represented in Congress by a delegate with limited powers and did not receive Senate representation.
Bills in U.S. Congress regarding the political status of Puerto Rico
In 2005, the U.S. House Committee on Resources concluded that Puerto Rico is still an unincorporated territory of the United States under the Territorial Clause, that the establishment of local self-government with the consent of the people can be unilaterally revoked by U.S. Congress, and Congress can withdraw, at any time, the American citizenship now enjoyed by the residents of Puerto Rico as long as it achieves a legitimate Federal purpose, in a manner reasonably related to that purpose.
United States politics and the political status of Puerto Rico
We believe that four million disenfranchised American citizens residing in Puerto Rico have the
right to the permanent and fully democratic status of their choice. The White House and Congress
will clarify the realistic status options for Puerto Rico and enable Puerto Ricans to choose among them.
We support the right of the United States citizens of Puerto Rico to be admitted to the Union as a fully sovereign state after they freely so determine. We recognize that Congress has the final authority to define the Constitutionally valid options for Puerto Rico to achieve a permanent non-territorial status with government by consent and full enfranchisement. As long as Puerto Rico is not a state, however, the will of its people regarding their political status should be ascertained by means of a general right of referendum or specific referenda sponsored by the United States government.
Puerto Ricans in the United States
Puerto Ricans who were born in Puerto Rico are American citizens as if they were born in the United States. Consequently, using the term Puerto Rican American only for those living in the continental United States is inaccurate and misleading.
Puerto Rico
Since 2007, the Puerto Rico State Department has developed a protocol to issue certificates of Puerto Rican citizenship to Puerto Ricans. In order to be eligible, applicants must have been born in Puerto Rico, born outside of Puerto Rico to a Puerto Rican–born parent, or be an American citizen with at least one year of residence in Puerto Rico.
Dependent territory
Under the Constitution of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico is described as a Commonwealth and Puerto Ricans have a degree of administrative autonomy similar to citizens of a U.S. state. Puerto Ricans "were collectively made U.S. citizens" in 1917 as a result of the Jones-Shafroth Act. The commonly used name in Spanish of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, "Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico", literally "Associated Free State of Puerto Rico", which sounds similar to "free association" particularly when loosely used in Spanish, is sometimes erroneously interpreted to mean that Puerto Rico's relationship with United States is based on a Compact of Free Association and at other times erroneously held to mean that Puerto Rico's relationship with United States is based on an Interstate compact. This is a constant source of ambiguity and confusion when trying to define, understand and explain Puerto Rico's political relationship with the United States. For various reasons Puerto Rico's political status differs from that of the Pacific Islands that entered into Compacts of Free Association with the United States. As sovereign states, these islands have full right to conduct their own foreign relations, while the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has territorial status subject to United States congressional authority under the Constitution's Territory Clause, "to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory… belonging to the United States.". Puerto Rico does not have the right to unilaterally declare independence, and at the last referendum (1998) the narrow majority voted for "none of the above", which was a formally undefined alternative used by commonwealth supporters to express their desire for an "enhanced commonwealth" option.
Implications of Puerto Rico's current political status
Since 1917, people born in Puerto Rico have been given U.S. citizenship. United States citizens residing in Puerto Rico, whether born there or not, are not residents of a state or the District of Columbia and, therefore, do not qualify to vote, personally or through an absentee ballot, in federal elections. "See also:" "Voting rights in Puerto Rico".
Juan Mari Brás
On July 11, 1994, Mari Brás renounced his American citizenship at the American Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela. "He did this to test a technicality in United States citizenship laws.", according to writer Mary Hilaire Tavenner Brás believed that a person holding United States citizenship and who subsequently renounces his citizenship would be deported to his country of origin. As Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States, Brás theorized the U.S. Department of State would have to deport him or any Puerto Rican who renounced his or her U.S. citizenship to Puerto Rico. The U.S. State Department approved Mari Brás' renunciation of his American citizenship on November 22, 1995.
Puerto Rican Nationalist Party revolts of the 1950s
The Federal government did not quite know how to classify Puerto Ricans at first. In 1904, the Immigration Service implemented more strict regulations that classified people from Puerto Rico as aliens who tried to enter the US, although previously they had easily migrated. In a case carried to the US Supreme Court by Isabel González in 1904, the court ruled that Puerto Ricans had the right of free travel to the US. In 1917, the US granted full US citizenship to residents of Puerto Rico; they were restricted from voting in presidential elections because they did not have the status of a state.
Implications of Puerto Rico's current political status
Since Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory (see above) and not a U.S. state, the United States Constitution does not fully enfranchise US citizens residing in Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rican women in the military
Spain ceded Puerto Rico to the United States in accordance with the agreement reached in the 1898 Treaty of Paris, which officially ended the Spanish–American War. On March 2, 1917, with the advent of World War I, U.S. citizenship was imposed upon Puerto Ricans as a result of the passage if the Jones–Shafroth Act (the Puerto Rican House of Delegates rejected US citizenship). Two months later, when Congress passed the Selective Service Act, conscription was extended to the island. Those who were eligible, with the exception of women, were expected to serve in the military. About 20,000 Puerto Rican men were drafted during World War I.
Cayetano Coll y Cuchí
On February 7, 1910, U.S. Congressman Marlin E. Olmsted, who at the time served as Chairman of the United States House Committee on Insular Affairs, presented a project before Congress in which U.S. citizenship would be optional for Puerto Ricans. If the Bill passed Puerto Ricans would have the option of having American citizenship instead of Puerto Rican citizenship with the condition that those who choose the American citizenship would swear allegiance to the United States. The Bill was also specific in that only the Puerto Ricans with the American citizenship would be allowed to vote in the local elections. The Union Party organized a protest committee which besides Coll y Cuchí included party president Luis Muñoz Rivera and Eugenio Benitez Castaño. The committee traveled to Washington, D.C., and presented their protest to the measure. The protest was successful and the Bill died in the U.S. Senate floor.
List of Puerto Ricans
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Political status of Puerto Rico
As a result of Puerto Rico's status as a U.S. territory, the citizens of Puerto Rico do not have any voting representation in the U.S. Federal government. Instead of outright representation through Senators and House Representatives, Puerto Rico has one non-voting Resident Commissioner in the House of Representatives. Furthermore, Puerto Rico is not represented in the Electoral College, and thus U.S. citizens resident there are unable to vote in U.S. presidential elections. Citizens of Puerto Rico can vote in the Republican and Democratic primary elections.
Statelessness
In 1994, Juan Mari Brás, a Puerto Rican lawyer and political historian, renounced his American citizenship before a consular agent in the United States Embassy of Venezuela. In December 1995, his loss of nationality was confirmed by the US Department of State. That same month, he requested that the Puerto Rico State Department furnish him with proof of his Puerto Rican citizenship. The request involved more than just a bureaucratic formality; Mari Brás tested the self-determination of Puerto Rico by trying to become the first Puerto Rican citizen who was not also an American citizen.
Politics of Puerto Rico
Both the Puerto Rican Independence Party and the New Progressive Party outright reject the status quo that permits disfranchisement. The remaining political organization, the Popular Democratic Party, is less active in its opposition of this case of disfranchisement but has officially stated that it favors fixing the remaining "deficits of democracy" that the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush Administrations have publicly recognized in writing through Presidential Task Force Reports.
On October 25, 2006, the Puerto Rico State Department conferred a certificate of Puerto Rican citizenship on Juan Mari Brás. The Puerto Rican citizenship was first legislated by the U.S. Congress in Article 7 of the Foraker Act of 1900 and recognized by the Puerto Rico constitution. The certificate of citizenship is not automatically conferred, and it must be requested. The certificates of Puerto Rican citizenship are issued to any persons born on the island as well as to those born outside of the island that have at least one parent who was born on the island. Any U.S. citizen with at least one year of residence on the island is also eligible for the official citizenship certificate. The certificate is not a valid travel document. Effectively, it is no more legally significant than a certificate of birth or residency.
Puerto Rico may not conclude treaties with other sovereign states, although it does belong to some international bodies such as:As a non-sovereign country, Puerto Rico hosts no embassies. However, like most states of the United States, it does host Consulates from several countries, mainly from the Western Hemisphere and Europe. While the Papal Nuncio in Washington, D.C. serves as the Vatican State's ambassador to the U.S. and the ecclesiastical liaison to the American Roman Catholic Church, the Holy See has designated the Papal Nuncio in the Dominican Republic as the ecclesiastical liaison to the Roman Catholic Church in Puerto Rico.
List of Puerto Rican military personnel
Puerto Rico became a territory of the United States upon the signing of the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898. Upon the outbreak of World War I, the U.S. Congress approved the Jones–Shafroth Act, which gave Puerto Ricans American citizenship with certain limitations. For example they were, and still are, not permitted to vote for the President of the United States, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, while residing on the island. However, with American citizenship, many Puerto Ricans, with the exception of women, became eligible for the military draft.
Politics of Puerto Rico
In 1917 "Puerto Ricans were collectively made U.S. citizens" via the Jones–Shafroth Act. All persons born in Puerto Rico after 1941 are considered natural-born citizens of the United States, one of the constitutional requirements to be President of the United States. In addition, this is reiterated by an April 2000 CRS report by the Congressional Research Service, this report asserts that citizens born in Puerto Rico, are legally defined as natural born citizens and are, therefore, also eligible to be elected President of the United States. However, according to a former edition of the US Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual, "the fact that someone is a natural born citizen pursuant to a statute does not necessarily imply that he or she is such a citizen for Constitutional purposes."
Proposed political status for Puerto Rico
Puerto Ricans and other U.S. citizens residing in Puerto Rico cannot vote in presidential elections as that is a right reserved by the U.S. Constitution to admitted states and the District of Columbia through the Electoral College system. Nevertheless, both the Democratic Party and Republican Party, while not fielding candidates for public office in Puerto Rico, provide the islands with state-sized voting delegations at their presidential nominating conventions. Delegate selection processes frequently have resulted in presidential primaries being held in Puerto Rico. U.S. Citizens residing in Puerto Rico do not elect U.S. Representatives or Senators, however, Puerto Rico is represented in the House of Representatives by an elected representative commonly known as the Resident Commissioner, who has the same duties and obligations as a representative, with the exception of being able to cast votes on the final disposition of legislation on the House floor. The Resident Commissioner is elected by Puerto Ricans to a four-year term and does serve on a congressional committee. Puerto Ricans residing in the U.S. states have all rights and privileges of other U.S. citizens living in the states.
51st state
On June 27, 2018, Jenniffer González-Colón, Puerto Rico's non-voting member of Congress, introduced the Puerto Rico Admission Act of 2018 (HR 6246) to Congress to admit Puerto Rico as a US state. The legislation would create a taskforce to repeal or amend any existing laws that have unequal application between Puerto Rico and the several States to phase in equality for Puerto Rico. Under this legislation (if passed), Puerto Rico would become incorporated (from its current unincorporated status) while equality with US States is phased in and Puerto Rico would fully become a US State by January 2021. The bill introduced into the House has bipartisan support with 37 cosponsors, including 22 Republicans and 15 Democrats. Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon is the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico. The Resident Commissioner is elected by the people of Puerto Rico to serve in the US House of Representatives but does not have full voting power, due to its unequal status as a US territory. The legislation cites the two referenda Puerto Rico voted on in favor of Statehood to call on Congress to admit Puerto Rico as a State as an expression of the will of the people in the territory.
Puerto Rico Democracy Act
Puerto Rico is a self-governing unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeastern Caribbean Sea, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands. It was ceded to the United States as part of the Treaty of Paris during the Spanish–American War. In 1952, the U.S. Congress ratified the Constitution of Puerto Rico, proclaiming Puerto Rico as an insular commonwealth. However, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has territorial status subject to United States congressional authority under the Territorial Clause of the U.S. Constitution, "to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory belonging to the United States." This has been subject of ongoing debate in Puerto Rico, the United States, and the United Nations. Three plebiscites have been held in recent decades to resolve the political status but no changes have been attained.
Puerto Ricans in World War II
Puerto Rico was annexed by the United States in accordance to the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898, ratified on December 10, 1898, as consequence of the Spanish–American War. U.S. Citizenship was imposed upon Puerto Ricans as a result of the 1917 Jones-Shafroth Act (the Puerto Rican House of Delegates rejected US citizenship) and were expected to serve in the military. When an Imperial Japanese Navy carrier fleet launched an unexpected attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Puerto Ricans were required to bear arms in defense of the United States. During World War II, it is estimated by the Department of Defense that 65,034 Puerto Ricans served in the U.S. military. Most of the soldiers from the island served in either the 65th Infantry Regiment or the Puerto Rico National Guard. As the induction of Puerto Ricans into the armed forces increased many were assigned to units in the Panama Canal Zone and the British West Indies to replace the continental troops serving in regular Army units. Those who resided in the mainland of the United States were assigned to regular units of the military. They were often subject to the racial discrimination that was widespread in the United States at the time.
Politics of Puerto Rico
Under the Constitution of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico is described as a Commonwealth and Puerto Ricans have a degree of administrative autonomy similar to that of a U.S. state.
Puerto Ricans "were collectively made U.S. citizens" in 1917 as a result of the Jones–Shafroth Act. The act was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson on March 2, 1917. U.S. Federal law approved by the President Harry S. Truman on June 27, 1952 declared all persons born in Puerto Rico on or after January 13, 1941 to be citizens of the U.S. at birth and all persons born in Puerto Rico between April 11, 1899, and January 12, 1941, and meeting certain other technical requirements, and not citizens of the United States under any other Act, were declared to be citizens of the U.S. as of January 13, 1941.
Bills in U.S. Congress regarding the political status of Puerto Rico
A number of amendments were debated, seeking, for example, to make English the official language, getting Congress to recognize that Puerto Rico is sociologically and culturally a Caribbean and Latin American nation with a distinctive culture, and recognizing the separate and distinct nature of Puerto Rican citizenship in relation to U.S. citizenship. Ultimately the bill died in the Senate.
Afro-Puerto Ricans
After the United States Congress approved the Jones Act of 1917, Puerto Ricans were granted US citizenship. As citizens Puerto Ricans were eligible for the military draft, and many were drafted into the armed forces of the United States during World War I. The armed forces were segregated until after World War II. Puerto Ricans of African descent were subject to the discrimination which was rampant in the military and the U.S.
Status quo movement in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico is currently a territory of the United States. As a Commonwealth, Puerto Rico receives less in federal funding than the states. Residents are US citizens and can vote in elections but do not have the right to vote in presidential elections. They receive lower Social Security and Medicare benefits. The Commonwealth or municipal governments of Puerto Rico are prohibited from filing for bankruptcy.
Union of Puerto Rico
The most divisive aspect of the Jones act was United States citizenship for Puerto Ricans. Both Muñoz, and the UPR delegates in Washington opposed Puerto Rican-U.S. Citizenship. Muñoz, in February 1914, introduced his own bill for the continuation of Puerto Rican citizenship- supported by the UPR delegates. However, dejected, the UPR delegates eventually chose to accept the provision "of individual citizenship outlined in the Shafroth bill".
List of Puerto Ricans
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Puerto Rican citizenship
In the case of "Colon v. U.S. Department of State", 2 F.Supp.2d 43 (1998), plaintiff was a United States citizen born in Puerto Rico and resident of Puerto Rico, who executed an oath of renunciation before a consular officer at the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. In rejecting Plaintiff's renunciation, the Department notes that Plaintiff demonstrated no intention of renouncing all ties to the United States. While Plaintiff claims to reject his United States citizenship, he nevertheless wants to remain a resident of Puerto Rico. Plaintiff's response to the Secretary's position is to claim a fundamental distinction between United States and Puerto Rican citizenship. The U.S. Department of State position asserts that renunciation of U.S. citizenship must entail renunciation of Puerto Rican citizenship as well. The court does decide to not enter to the merits of the citizenship issue; however the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia rejected Colon's petition for a writ of mandamus directing the Secretary of State to approve a Certificate of Loss of Nationality in the case because the plaintiff wanted to retain one of the primary benefits of U.S. citizenship while claiming he was not a U.S. citizen. The Court described the plaintiff as a person, "claiming to renounce all rights and privileges of United States citizenship, [while] Plaintiff wants to continue to exercise one of the fundamental rights of citizenship, namely to travel freely throughout the world and when he wants to, return and reside in the United States. The court based this decision on the Immigration and Nationality Act section 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(38), that provide the term "United States" definition and evince that Puerto Rico is a part of the United States for such purposes.
Puerto Ricans in the United States
According to the 2010 US census, of the stateside Puerto Rican population, about 53.1% self-identified as white, about 8.7% self-identified as black, about 0.9% as American Indian, about 0.5% as Asian, and 36.7% as mixed or other. Though over half self-identified as white, the Puerto Rican population is largely made up of multi-racials, most Puerto Ricans are mixed to varying degrees, usually of white European/North African, black West African, and indigenous Taino ancestry. The average genomewide individual ancestry proportions have been estimated as 56% European, 28% West African, and 16% Native American. However, there are significant numbers of (pure or nearly pure) blacks and whites within the Puerto Rican population as well. Historically, under Spanish and American rule, Puerto Rico underwent a whitening process, in particular, the island had laws like the "Regla del Sacar", in which people of mixed-race origin were identified as "white", the opposite of the one-drop rule in the United States.
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.
Puerto Rican government-debt crisis
The U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed Puerto Rican citizenship in "" (1904), which denied that Puerto Ricans were United States citizens and labeled them as non-citizen US nationals. This ruling effectively protected Puerto Ricans from conscription in the United States.
Puerto Ricans
The federal Naturalization Act, signed into law on March 26, 1790 by George Washington, explicitly barred anyone not of the White "race" from applying for U.S. citizenship. This law remained in effect until the 1950s, although its enforcement was tightened in the late nineteenth century regarding Asian immigrants, and by the Johnson-Reed act of 1924 imposing immigration quotas. In short, until late in the twentieth century, only immigrants of the White "race" could hope to become naturalized citizens. The people of Puerto Rico were declared U.S. citizens in 1917.
Puerto Ricans in the United States
Since 1898, Puerto Rico has been under the control of the United States, fueling migratory patterns between the mainland and the island. Even during Spanish rule, Puerto Ricans settled in the US. However, it was not until the end of the Spanish–American War in 1898 that a significant influx of Puerto Rican workers to the US began. With its 1898 victory, the United States acquired Puerto Rico from Spain and has retained sovereignty since. The 1917 Jones–Shafroth Act made all Puerto Ricans US citizens, freeing them from immigration barriers. The massive migration of Puerto Ricans to the mainland United States was largest in the early and late 20th century, prior to its resurgence in the early 21st century.
Luis Muñoz Rivera
On March 2, 1917, the Jones-Shafroth Act was signed, granting United States citizenship to Puerto Ricans and creating a bicameral Legislative Assembly. Still, he was not pleased with the Jones Act since the judicial and executive branches were still controlled by the United States. On March 16, 1916, he gave a speech in the house floor that seemed to argue in favor and against American citizenship. He declared that if the earth were to swallow the island, Puerto Ricans would prefer American citizenship to any citizenship in the world. But as long as the island existed, the residents preferred Puerto Rican citizenship.
Isabel González
Prior to 1898, the United States had organized new acquisitions from non-tribal governments into largely self-governing territories as a prelude to statehood and had generally extended broad constitutional protections and U.S. citizenship to free, non-tribal residents. After 1898, this process changed and in Puerto Rico, Congress established a centrally controlled administration and declined to recognize Puerto Ricans as U.S. citizens.
Puerto Rico
Puerto Ricans have been citizens of the United States since 1917, and enjoy freedom of movement between the island and the mainland. As it is not a state, Puerto Rico does not have a vote in the United States Congress, which governs the territory with full jurisdiction under the Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1950. However, Puerto Rico does have one non-voting member of the House called a Resident Commissioner. As residents of a U.S. territory, American citizens in Puerto Rico are disenfranchised at the national level and do not vote for president and vice president of the United States, nor pay federal income tax on Puerto Rican income. Like other territories and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico does not have U.S. senators. Congress approved a local constitution in 1952, allowing U.S. citizens on the territory to elect a governor. Puerto Rico's future political status has consistently been a matter of significant debate.
Puerto Rican migration to New York City
In 1902, the United States Treasury Department issued new immigration guidelines that changed the status of all Puerto Ricans to "foreigners." Isabel Gonzalez was a young single mother who was expecting her second child. Her fiancé, who was in New York, sent for her with the intention of getting married. When Gonzalez arrived in New York, she and all the Puerto Ricans who were with her, were detained in Ellis Island and denied entry. She was accused of being an alien and as an unwed parent she was deemed as a burden to the welfare system of the country. Gonzalez challenged the Government of the United States in the groundbreaking case "GONZALES v. WILLIAMS' (her surname was misspelled by immigration officials). The Supreme Court ruled that under the immigration laws González was not an alien, and therefore could not be denied entry into New York. It also stated that Puerto Ricans were not U.S. citizens, they were "noncitizen nationals." Gonzalez, who became an activist on behalf of all Puerto Ricans, paved the way for the Jones-Shafroth Act, which conferred United States citizenship on all citizens of Puerto Rico.
Relinquishment of United States nationality
People who relinquish U.S. citizenship generally have lived abroad for many years, and nearly all of them are citizens of another country. Unlike most other countries, the U.S. does not prohibit its citizens from making themselves stateless, but the State Department strongly recommends against it, and very few choose to do so. It is usually impossible to relinquish citizenship while in U.S. territory, and courts have rejected arguments that U.S. state citizenship or Puerto Rican citizenship give an ex-U.S. citizen the right to enter or reside in the U.S. without the permission of the U.S. government. Like any other foreigner or stateless person, an ex-U.S. citizen requires permission from the U.S. government, such as a U.S. visa or visa waiver, in order to visit the United States.
Juan Mari Brás
On 15 May 1996, Miriam J. Ramírez de Ferrer, a pro-statehood attorney, presented a formal complaint against Mari Brás before the Mayaguez Electoral Board, where Mari Brás was registered to vote, so he could not vote as he was not a U.S. citizen. It was denied because the Board had no jurisdiction. Upon appeal by Ramírez, the Puerto Rico Electoral Board subsequently supported the decision of the Mayaguez Board. Ramírez subsequently took the matter to the Puerto Rico Superior Court (Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de San Juan). As a result, the Superior Court declared unconstitutional Articles 2.003 y 2.023 of Puerto Rico's Electoral Law as they required U.S. citizenship as a condition to vote in Puerto Rico's elections. On November 18, 1997, Ramírez then took Mari Brás before the Puerto Rico Supreme Court alleging that if he had renounced his United States citizenship, then he also had renounced his right to vote in the local Puerto Rican elections. The Puerto Rican Supreme Court sided with Mari Brás, finding that "as a citizen of Puerto Rico" Mari Brás was eligible to vote.
Afro-Latin Americans
According to the 2010 U.S. Census taken in Puerto Rico, 75.8% of Puerto Ricans identified as being white, 12.4% of the population as being black or African American and 11.1% as mixed or of another ethnicity. An island-wide mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) study conducted by the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez revealed that 61% of Puerto Ricans have maternal Native American ancestry, 26.4% have maternal West or Central African ancestry, and 12.6% have maternal European ancestry. On the other hand, the Y chromosome evidence showed Puerto Ricans' patrilineage to be approximately 75% European, 20% African, and less than 5% indigenous.
Insular Cases
In 1898, the United States signed the Treaty of Paris (entered into force April 11, 1899), which ended the Spanish–American War and granted the United States the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam. Additionally, Cuba remained under the jurisdiction of the United States Military Government until its independence on May 20, 1902. Since there was nothing in the United States Constitution about governing newly acquired territories, the government used the guideline from Title IX of the Treaty of Paris. Those that were born in Spain but living in one of the territories, peninsulares, “could retain their Spanish citizenship,” or even eventually have the option to become United States citizens. Title IX of the Treaty of Paris did not grant the same rights to the indigenous population. Edguardo Melendez writes, “Puerto Ricans and Filipinos-- ‘the natives of the islands’-- not only remained colonial subjects but became stateless peoples too: they were denied the right to keep their Spanish citizenship, as well as their right to become U.S. citizens.”
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico has recently become the permanent home of over 100,000 legal residents. The vast majority of recent immigrants, both legal and illegal, come from the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Other sources sending in significant numbers of recent immigrants include Cuba, Mexico, Colombia, Panama, Jamaica, Venezuela, Spain, and Nigeria. Also, there are many non-Puerto Rican U.S. citizens settling in Puerto Rico, from the mainland United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as Nuyoricans (stateside Puerto Ricans) coming back to Puerto Rico. Most recent immigrants settle in and around San Juan.
Military history of Puerto Rico
Upon the outbreak of World War I, the U.S. Congress approved the Jones–Shafroth Act, which extended United States citizenship (the Puerto Rican House of Delegates rejected US citizenship) with limitations upon Puerto Ricans and made them eligible for the military draft. As citizens of the United States, Puerto Ricans have participated in every major United States military engagement from World War I onward.
United States territorial acquisitions
On July 25, 1898, during the Spanish–American War, Puerto Rico was invaded by the United States with a landing at Guánica. As an outcome of the war, the Jones–Shafroth Act granted all the inhabitants of Puerto Rico U.S. citizenship in 1917. The U.S. granted Puerto Ricans the right to democratically elect their own governor in 1948. In 1950, the Truman Administration allowed for a democratic referendum in Puerto Rico to determine whether Puerto Ricans desired to draft their own local constitution without affecting the unincorporated territory status with the U.S. A local constitution was approved by a Constitutional Convention on February 6, 1952, ratified by the U.S. Congress, approved by President Truman on July 3 of that year, and proclaimed by Gov. Muñoz Marín on July 25, 1952, the anniversary of the 1898 arrival of U.S. troops. Puerto Rico adopted the name of "Estado Libre Asociado" (literally translated as "Free Associated State"), officially translated into English as Commonwealth, for its body politic.
List of Puerto Rican Presidential Citizens Medal recipients
Three Puerto Ricans have been awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal. The Presidential Citizens Medal is an award bestowed by the President of the United States. It is the second highest civilian award in the United States, second only to the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Established on November 13, 1969, it recognizes individuals "who have performed exemplary deeds or services for his or her country or fellow citizens." The award is only eligible to United States citizens, and may be awarded posthumously. Baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente was also the posthumous recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The following people are the recipients of the Presidential Citizens Medal:
Taxation in Puerto Rico
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States and Puerto Ricans are US citizens. However, Puerto Rico is not a US state. Because of this, only Puerto Rican residents who are government employees, and those with income sources outside of the territory, pay federal income tax. All other employers and employees pay no federal "income" taxes. However, residents of Puerto Rico and businesses operating in Puerto Rico do pay some federal taxes, and the commonwealth's government has its own taxes as well.
Political status of Puerto Rico
The preamble of the Commonwealth constitution approved by the people of Puerto Rico in 1952 in part reads: "We consider as determining factors in our life our citizenship of the United States of America and our aspiration continually to enrich our democratic heritage in the individual and collective enjoyment of its rights and privileges;
Puerto Rican Nationalist Party
In 1914, the Puerto Rican House of Delegates voted unanimously for independence from the United States. In 1917, the US Congress passed an act by which it granted citizenship to Puerto Rican residents. This was overwhelmingly opposed by the island's political leaders. Critics said the US was simply interested in increasing the size of its conscription pool to get soldiers for World War I.
List of Puerto Ricans missing in action in the Vietnam War
Puerto Rico was officially ceded to the United States from Spain under the terms of the 1898 Treaty of Paris which concluded the Spanish–American War. It is a United States territory and upon the outbreak of World War I, the U.S. Congress approved the Jones–Shafroth Act, which granted Puerto Ricans citizenship. As a result, Puerto Ricans have participated in every war involving the United States from World War I onward.
Proposed political status for Puerto Rico
Puerto Ricans and other U.S. citizens residing in Puerto Rico cannot vote in presidential elections as that is a right reserved by the U.S. Constitution to admitted states and the District of Columbia through the Electoral College system. Nevertheless, both the Democratic Party and Republican Party, while not fielding candidates for public office in Puerto Rico, provide the islands with state-sized voting delegations at their presidential nominating conventions. Delegate selection processes frequently have resulted in presidential primaries being held in Puerto Rico. U.S. Citizens residing in Puerto Rico do not elect U.S. Representatives or Senators, however, Puerto Rico is represented in the House of Representatives by an elected representative commonly known as the Resident Commissioner, who has the same duties and obligations as a representative, with the exception of being able to cast votes on the final disposition of legislation on the House floor. The Resident Commissioner is elected by Puerto Ricans to a four-year term and does serve on congressional committee. Puerto Ricans residing in the U.S. states have all rights and privileges of other U.S. citizens living in the states.
Political status of Puerto Rico
More Puerto Ricans live stateside in the U.S. than in Puerto Rico. A 2009 report by the Pew Hispanic Center indicates that, as of 2007, 4.1 million Puerto Ricans lived in the mainland versus 3.9 million living in the Island. Since the 1967 referendum, there have been demands that stateside Puerto Ricans be allowed to vote in these plebiscites on the political status of Puerto Rico. Since the 1990s, the role of stateside Puerto Ricans in advocating for Puerto Rico in Washington, D.C., on issues such as the Navy's removal from Vieques and others has increased, especially given that there have been three voting members of the U.S. Congress who are stateside Puerto Ricans (two from New York City and one from Chicago), in contrast to Puerto Rico's single Resident Commissioner in the U.S. Congress with no vote.
Puerto Ricans in the United States
Although the 2010 Census counted the number of Puerto Ricans living in the States at 4.6 million, estimates in 2012 show the Puerto Rican population to be over 5 million.
Puerto Ricans
Puerto Ricans and other U.S. citizens residing in Puerto Rico cannot vote in presidential elections as that is a right reserved by the U.S. Constitution to admitted states and the District of Columbia through the Electoral College system. Nevertheless, both the Democratic Party and Republican Party, while not fielding candidates for public office in Puerto Rico, provide the islands with state-sized voting delegations at their presidential nominating conventions. Delegate selection processes frequently have resulted in presidential primaries being held in Puerto Rico. U.S. Citizens residing in Puerto Rico do not elect U.S. Representatives or Senators, however, Puerto Rico is represented in the House of Representatives by an elected representative commonly known as the Resident Commissioner, who has the same duties and obligations as a representative, with the exception of being able to cast votes on the final disposition of legislation on the House floor. The Resident Commissioner is elected by Puerto Ricans to a four-year term and does serve on congressional committee. Puerto Ricans residing in the U.S. states have all rights and privileges of other U.S. citizens living in the states.
Politics of Puerto Rico
U.S. citizens residing in Puerto Rico are counted in the decennial population census and in some other demographic studies carried out by the U.S. Census Bureau, but are not included in the national totals since Puerto Rico is only a territory of the US.
Implications of Puerto Rico's current political status
Puerto Ricans "were collectively made U.S. citizens" in 1917 as a result of the Jones–Shafroth Act. The act was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson on March 2, 1917.
Puerto Rican recipients of the Navy Cross
Puerto Ricans have served as members of the United States Armed Forces and have fought in every major conflict in which the United States has been involved from World War I onward. Many Puerto Ricans, including those of Puerto Rican descent, have distinguished themselves during combat as members of the five branches of the U.S. Military, the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and the Coast Guard.
Birthright citizenship in the United States
There are special provisions governing children born in some current and former U.S. territories or possessions, including Puerto Rico, the Panama Canal Zone, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. For example, states that "All persons born in Puerto Rico [between] April 11, 1899, and ... January 13, 1941 ... residing on January 13, 1941, in Puerto Rico ... [and] persons born in Puerto Rico on or after January 13, 1941, ... are citizens of the United States at birth."
Gag Law (Puerto Rico)
In 1914, the entire Puerto Rican House of Delegates demanded independence from the U.S. Instead, the U.S. imposed the Jones Act of 1917, which mandated U.S. citizenship on the entire island. The passage of the Jones Act coincided with America's entry unto World War I, and it allowed the U.S. to conscript Puerto Ricans into the U.S. military. The Jones Act was passed over the unanimous objection of the entire Puerto Rican House of Delegates, which was the legislature of Puerto Rico at that time. 
In addition to subjecting Puerto Ricans to the military draft, and sending them into World War I, the Jones Act created a bicameral, popularly elected legislature in Puerto Rico (following ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1913 providing for popular election of senators), a bill of rights, and executive functions similar to those in most states. Because Puerto Rico was not a state, it did not have electoral status for U.S. presidential elections. The Act authorized popular election of the Resident Commissioner, previously appointed by the President of the U.S.
Caribbean immigration to New York City
Puerto Ricans are Americans citizens by birth, so they are not immigrants.
Puerto Ricans in the United States
Puerto Rican culture is a blend of Spanish, Taíno, and West African cultures, with recent influences from the United States and neighboring Latin American and Caribbean countries. Due to Puerto Rico's status as a US territory, people in Puerto Rico have the most exposure to US culture and Puerto Ricans in the mainland United States tend to be the most "American-ized" of all major Hispanic groups. Though, 1st-generation Puerto Rico-born migrants tend to be more traditional, while people born in the US mainland of Puerto Rican ancestry tend to merge traditional Puerto Rican culture with mainland American culture.
Puerto Rico
In 1993 the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit stated that Congress may unilaterally repeal the Puerto Rican Constitution or the Puerto Rican Federal Relations Act and replace them with any rules or regulations of its choice. In a 1996 report on a Puerto Rico status political bill, the U.S. House Committee on Resources stated, "Puerto Rico's current status does not meet the criteria for any of the options for full self-government under Resolution 1541" (the three established forms of full self-government being stated in the report as (1) national independence, (2) free association based on separate sovereignty, or (3) full integration with another nation on the basis of equality). The report concluded that Puerto Rico "... remains an unincorporated colony and does not have the status of 'free association' with the United States as that status is defined under United States law or international practice", that the establishment of local self-government with the consent of the people can be unilaterally revoked by the U.S. Congress, and that U.S. Congress can also withdraw the U.S. citizenship of Puerto Rican residents of Puerto Rico at any time, for a legitimate Federal purpose. The application of the U.S. Constitution to Puerto Rico is limited by the Insular Cases.
Puerto Ricans in the United States
A Stateside Puerto Rican, also ambiguously Puerto Rican American (, ), is a term for residents in the United States who were born in or trace family ancestry to Puerto Rico.
Puerto Ricans
Puerto Ricans became citizens of the United States as a result of the passage of the Jones-Shafroth Act of 1917. Since this law was the result of Congressional legislation, and not the result of an amendment to the United States Constitution, the current U.S. citizenship of Puerto Ricans can be revoked by Congress, as they are "statutory citizens", not "14th Amendment citizens". The Jones Act established that Puerto Ricans born prior to 1899 were considered naturalized citizens of Puerto Rico, and anyone born after 1898 were U.S. citizens, unless the Puerto Rican expressed his/her intentions to remain a Spanish subject. Since 1948, it was decided by Congress that all Puerto Ricans, whether born within the United States or in Puerto Rico, were naturally born United States citizens.
Puerto Rican migration to New York City
In 1917, the United States entered World War I and that same year the United States Congress approved the Jones-Shafroth Act which gave Puerto Ricans U.S. citizenship. Puerto Ricans no longer needed a passport to travel to the U.S. and were allowed to seek public office in the mainland U.S. The economic situation in the island was bad and continued to worsen as a result of the many hurricanes which destroyed most of its crops. Many Puerto Rican families migrated to the United States, the bulk of whom went to New York, in search of a better way of life. In New York, they faced the same hardships and discrimination that earlier groups of immigrants, such as the Irish, the Italians, and the Jews, had faced before them. It was difficult for them to find well paying jobs because of the language barrier and their lack of technical working skills. The few men who found jobs worked for low salaries in factories. The women usually stayed home as housewives and tended to their children. Those who did not find jobs had the option of joining the United States Military. Prior to the Jones-Shafroth Act, Puerto Ricans in the mainland United States as all other non-citizens, who were permanent residents were required to register with the Selective Service System by law and could be drafted, however one of the effects of the Act was that all Puerto Ricans were now eligible for the military "draft" (conscription). One of the military units at that time was New York's U.S. 369th Infantry Regiment. Rafael Hernández was a Puerto Rican who served in the almost all Afro-American unit. The unit fought against the Germans in France and became known as the "Harlem Hell Fighters". Hernández, his brother Jesus and 16 other Puerto Ricans was assigned to the United States Army's Harlem Hell fighters musical band, the Orchestra Europe.
Nero Chen was one of the many Puerto Ricans who settled in East Harlem. He became the first Puerto Rican boxer to gain acclaim when in 1917 he fought against "Panama Joe Gans" at Harlem's Palace Casino which was located at 28 East 135th St., between Fifth and Madison Avenues, in Manhattan. As evidenced by an early 1924 poster, migrants in New York organized baseball teams which played against each other. The poster announces a game which was held at Howard Field in Brooklyn between two teams, the San Juan B.B.C. and the Porto Rican Stars, made of Puerto Ricans from the East Side section of Manhattan.
Puerto Rican migration to New York City
As of 1990, New Yorkers of Puerto Rican descent (Nuyoricans), numbered 143,974. Nearly 41,800 state residents (Nuyoricans) in 1990 had lived in Puerto Rico in 1985. According to the Census taken in the year 2000, Puerto Rican migrants made up 1.2% of the total population of the United States, with a population of well over 3 million Puerto Ricans (including those of Puerto Rican descent). If taken into account together with the almost 4 million Puerto Ricans who are U.S. citizens (nevertheless, excluded by the U.S. Census statistics of U.S. population), Puerto Ricans make up about 2.5% of the total population of U.S. citizens around the world (within and outside the U.S. mainland).
Privileges and Immunities Clause
Puerto Ricans were granted U.S. citizenship by the Jones–Shafroth Act in 1917; subsequently, the U.S. Congress passed a law (signed by President Truman in 1947) which expressly extended this constitutional clause to the U.S. citizens in the jurisdiction of Puerto Rico:
Antonio Rafael Barceló
In 1922, presiding Chief Justice of the United States, William Howard Taft made the following statement in regard to the :"Balzac v. Porto Rico" case: ""Puerto Rico belongs to the United States, but is not part of the United States. Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory and even though Puerto Ricans have American citizenship, they do not have the same rights as the common American citizen"".
Naturalization
Following the Spanish–American War in 1898, Philippine citizens were classified as U.S. nationals, and the 1917 Jones–Shafroth Act granted U.S. citizenship to natives of Puerto Rico. But the 1934 Tydings–McDuffie Act reclassified Filipinos as aliens, and set a quota of 50 immigrants per year, and otherwise applying the Immigration Act of 1924 to them.
Puerto Ricans
Puerto Ricans (; or boricuas) are people from Puerto Rico, the inhabitants and citizens of Puerto Rico, and their descendants. Puerto Rico is home to people of many different national origins.
Anarchism in Puerto Rico
The legal imposition of the United States citizenship and later the military draft on Puerto Ricans marked 1917. Iglesias had used the FLT and PS to push for the first, while anarchists didn't take a posture on the issue. Consequently, they didn't publicly react to the Jones Act. Resident commissioner Luis Muñoz Rivera and other politicians lobbied in favor of extending selective service to Puerto Rico and Enoch Crowder granted it. Institutionally, the FLT supported it and as president of the PS, Iglesias Pantín did as well. Anarchists, nationalists and independentists opposed the draft and campaigned against it. José M. Alicea was arrested during a month for refusing to register. After local legislation limiting speech and federal sedition laws were passed during World War I, Dieppa publicly attacked the authorities and was arrested, tough the case would later be decided in his favor. Pedro Calleja was detained while returning to Puerto Rico due to possessing Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), membership. As strikes continued to wage during the war, colonial governor Arthur Yager declared martial law and prohibited public demonstrations and leftist propaganda. As a result of disobeying and participating in a strikers meeting, Capetillo was arrested. Her treatment was protested by fellow anarchist Ramón Barrios and sympathizer Epifanio Fiz Jiménez.
Vicente Balbás Capó
Balbás Capó was among a group of 229 Puerto Ricans who, at the time of the imposition of American citizenship on Puerto Ricans in 1917, campaigned to reject the imposition of American citizenship and protested the American citizenship by failing to register for the American military service as required by Federal law.
Proposed political status for Puerto Rico
The Jones Act was approved by the U.S. Congress on December 5, 1916, and signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson on March 2, 1917. The law made Puerto Rico a United States territory which is "organized but unincorporated." Puerto Ricans were also collectively given a restricted U.S. citizenship. This implied that Puerto Ricans in the island did not have full American citizenship rights, such as the right to vote for electors for the president of the United States. The act divided governmental powers into three branches: executive (appointed by the President of the United States), legislative (consisting of a 19-member senate and a 39-member house of representatives, all elected by the Puerto Rican people), and judicial. A bill of rights, which established elections to be held every four years, was also created. The act also made English the official language of the Puerto Rican courts. Section 27 of the Jones Acts deals with cabotage and requires that all goods by water between U.S. ports be carried in U.S.-flag ships, constructed in the United States, owned by U.S. citizens, and crewed by U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents. The act also allowed conscription to be extended to the island, and over 20,000 Puerto Rican soldiers were sent to the United States Army during the First World War.
Isabel González
Isabel González had five children. She married Juan Francisco Torres on November 17, 1915, and stayed in New York until the 1930s when they moved to New Jersey (1930 Cranford Township NJ Census). She actively pursued the cause of U.S. citizenship for all Puerto Ricans because she believed that if the people of Puerto Rico were deceived out of one honorable status—Spanish citizenship—the United States was obliged to extend Puerto Ricans a new honorable status—U.S. citizenship. She wrote published letters in "The New York Times" that the decision and surrounding events of her case revealed that the United States failed to treat Puerto Ricans honorably, breaking promises to them and marking them as inferior to "full-fledged American citizens". González wrote the following:
Puerto Ricans in the United States
According to the Pew Hispanic Center, while in Puerto Rico more than 20% of Hispanics have a bachelor's degree, only 16% of stateside Puerto Ricans did as of March 2012.
2012 Puerto Rican status referendum
Puerto Rico has been an unincorporated territory of the United States since the end of the Spanish–American War in 1898. Although Puerto Ricans were granted United States citizenship with the 1917 Jones–Shafroth Act, they cannot vote for the President of the United States unless registered to vote in one of the United States. In addition, the US retains the exclusive right to create and manage foreign policy, including any that affects the island.
List of U.S. states and territories by income
The District of Columbia and the inhabited U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa) are not formally US states, but their residents are American citizens (except for American Samoa — people born in American Samoa are non-citizen U.S. nationals). Puerto Rico has a higher population than 21 US states, while D.C. has a higher population than 2 states.
New York City ethnic enclaves
Puerto Ricans have been immigrating to New York since 1838, though they did not arrive in large numbers until the 20th century. In 1910 only 500 Puerto Ricans lived in New York, but by 1970 that number had skyrocketed to over 800,000, and 40% of those lived in the Bronx. Unlike the other four boroughs, Puerto Rican populations are significant throughout the Bronx, though there is slightly higher concentrations in the South Bronx. The first group of Puerto Ricans immigrated to New York City in the mid-19th century when Puerto Rico was a Spanish colony and its people Spanish subjects and as such they were immigrants. The following wave of Puerto Ricans to move to New York City did so after the Spanish–American War in 1898. Puerto Ricans were no longer Spanish subjects and citizens of Spain, they were now Puerto Rican citizens of an American possession and needed passports to travel to the mainland of the United States. That was until 1917, when the United States Congress approved Jones-Shafroth Act which gave Puerto Ricans in the island a U.S. citizenship with certain limitations. Puerto Ricans living in the mainland U.S. however, were given full American citizenship and were allowed to seek political office in the states which they resided. Two months later, when Congress passed the Selective Service Act, conscription was extended to the Puerto Ricans both in the island and in the U.S. It was expected that Puerto Rican men 18 years and older serve in the military during World War I. The Jones-Shafroth Act also allowed Puerto Ricans to travel between Puerto Rico and the United States mainland without the need of a passport, thereby becoming migrants. The advent of air travel was one of the principal factors that led to the largest wave of migration of Puerto Ricans to New York City in the 1950s, known as "The Great Migration". Although Florida has received some dispersal of the population, there has been a resurgence in Puerto Rican migration to New York and New Jersey - consequently, the New York City Metropolitan Area has witnessed an increase in its Puerto Rican population from 1,177,430 in 2010 to a Census-estimated 1,201,850 in 2012, maintaining its status by a significant margin as the most important cultural and demographic center for Puerto Rican Americans outside San Juan.
Puerto Ricans
The population of Puerto Ricans and descendants is estimated to be between 8 and 10 million worldwide, with most living on the islands of Puerto Rico and in the United States mainland. Within the United States, Puerto Ricans are present in all states of the Union, and the states with the largest populations of Puerto Ricans relative to the national population of Puerto Ricans in the United States at large are the states of New York, Florida, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, with large populations also in Massachusetts, Connecticut, California, Illinois, and Texas.
Crime in Puerto Rico
The island possessed approximately one million residents at that time. The aftermath of the Puerto Rican campaign notably included a 1917 measure affirming Puerto Ricans as legal U.S. citizens. Resistance to such assimilation on the island failed to significantly slow down the process. As an unincorporated U.S. territory, the Constitution of the U.S. and edifice of federal law has applied to multiple aspects of life in Puerto Rico from participation in Social Security to use of the U.S. Postal Service.
Puerto Rican citizenship
Based on the federal court ruling on "Colon v. U.S. Department of State", on June 4, 1998—and several months after the U.S. Government had accepted his renunciation—the U.S. State Department notified the president of the Puerto Rico Socialist Party, Juan Mari Brás, that they were rescinding their acceptance, and refused to accept Juan Mari Brás' renunciation, determining that Mari Brás could not renounce his American citizenship because he lived in Puerto Rico and not in another country foreign to the United States. This, said the federal agency, made Mari Brás a U.S. citizen.
Statehood movement in Puerto Rico
In 1900, the US Congress enacted the Foraker Act, establishing a civil government in the territory and then in 1917, Puerto Ricans were granted US citizenship, by the enactment of the Jones-Shafroth Act. The Office of the President is responsible for policy relations between the United States and Puerto Rico, although according to the Territorial Clause of Constitution of the United States of America "The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States...".
Afro-Puerto Ricans
As of the 2010 Census, 75.8% of Puerto Ricans identify as white, 12.4% identify as black, 0.5% as Amerindian, 0.2% as Asian, and 11.1% as "mixed or other." Although estimates vary, most sources estimate that about 60% of Puerto Ricans have significant African ancestry. The vast majority of blacks in Puerto Rico are Afro-Puerto Rican, meaning they have been in Puerto Rico for generations, usually since the slave trade, forming an important part of Puerto Rican culture and society. Recent black immigrants have come to Puerto Rico, mainly from the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and other Latin American and Caribbean countries, and to a lesser extant directly from Africa as well. Many black migrants from the United States and the Virgin Islands have moved and settled in Puerto Rico. Also, many Afro-Puerto Ricans have migrated out of Puerto Rico, namely to the United States. There and in the US Virgin Islands, they make up the bulk of the U.S. Afro-Latino population.
Sports in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico participates in the Olympics as an independent nation even though it is a territory of the United States. Puerto Rico has participated as such since the 1948 Summer Olympics celebrated in London. On March 2, 1917, Puerto Ricans became citizens of the United States as a result of the enactment of the Jones–Shafroth Act (Pub.L. 64–368, 39 Stat. 951) and as such Puerto Ricans who resided in the United States mainland were and still are permitted to participate and represent that country in international sports events. However, their achievements representing the United States is part of the intertwined history of sports in the United States and Puerto Rico.
Presidential executive orders on the political status of Puerto Rico
On December 21, 2007, the President's Task Force on Puerto Rico's Political Status issued a second Report. This 2007 Report stated that the United States, in its written submission to the UN in 1953, never represented that the U.S. Congress could not change its relationship with Puerto Rico without the territory's consent. It stated that the U.S. Justice Department in 1959 reiterated that Congress held power over Puerto Rico pursuant to the Territorial Clause of the U.S. Constitution. In a 1996 report on a Puerto Rico status political bill, the "U.S. House Committee on Resources stated that Puerto Rico's current status does not meet the criteria for any of the options for full self-government". It concluded that Puerto Rico is still an unincorporated territory of the U.S. under the territorial clause, that the establishment of local self-government with the consent of the people can be unilaterally revoked by the U.S. Congress, and that U.S. Congress can also withdraw the U.S. citizenship of Puerto Rico residents of Puerto Rico at any time, for a legitimate Federal purpose. The application of the American Constitution to Puerto Rico is limited by the Insular Cases. In essence, the December 2007 report reiterated and confirmed the U.S. position that had been expressed in the report of 2005: that Puerto Rico continued to be a territory of the U.S. under the plenary powers of the U.S. Congress. This position continues to be shared by the other two major political parties in Puerto Rico: New Progressive Party and the Puerto Rican Independence Party.
Political status of Puerto Rico
People born in Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens by birth but that citizenship is protected by statutory law rather than by the U.S. Constitution.
Implications of Puerto Rico's current political status
Clarification of federal law codified on U.S. Code Title 8 as , approved by President Harry S. Truman on June 27, 1952, declared all persons born in Puerto Rico on or after 1941 to be U.S. citizens at birth and all persons born in Puerto Rico between 1899 and 1941, and meeting certain other technical requirements, and not citizens of the United States under any other Act, are declared to be citizens of the U.S. as of 1941.
Puerto Rican immigration to Hawaii
Manuel Olivieri Sanchez, a court interpreter at the time, became enraged in what he viewed as a violation of the civil rights of his fellow countrymen. He encouraged his fellow Puerto Ricans to protest by telling them that "If you are not allowed to vote, don't answer the draft call". Olivieri Sanchez led a legal battle for the recognition of the Hawaiian Puerto Ricans as citizens of the United States. In the first legal battle the lower court ruled in favor of the county clerk, however Olivieri Sanchez did not give up the fight and took the case before the Territorial Supreme Court, which reversed the decision of the lower court, granting the Puerto Ricans of Hawaii their United States citizenship.