Is Puerto Rico a colony of the United States?
Free state (government)
The official Spanish name of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is "Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico", literally, "Associated Free State of Puerto Rico", expressing a "politically organized community” or “State,” which is simultaneously connected by a compact to a larger political system and hence does not have an independent and separate status. However, according to the United States Supreme Court, Puerto Rico is not free or associated; it is only a state in the general sense, not as a state of the Union in the U.S. constitutional sense. According to consistent U.S. Supreme Court jurisprudence, Puerto Rico belongs to but is not an integral part (Organized incorporated territory) of the United States. Moreover, the said jurisprudence has determined that regardless of what nominal or cosmetic veneer has moted Puerto Rico's political status, it is essentially a U.S. colonial territory, since it is under the plenary powers of the U.S. Congress. At its most basic, this Supreme Court doctrine expresses that Puerto Rico is more like property, far from a free-governing community or nation, and thus "domestic in a foreign sense" (not for the taking or meddling by free foreign nations), but "foreign in a domestic sense" (not a partner or an equal). In the Insular Cases, the Court ruled that the United States Constitution does not automatically apply in Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico
During the late 16th and early 17th centuries, Spain concentrated its colonial efforts on the more prosperous mainland North, Central, and South American colonies. With the advent of the lively Bourbon Dynasty in Spain in the 1700s, the island of Puerto Rico began a gradual shift to more imperial attention. More roads began connecting previously isolated inland settlements to coastal cities, and coastal settlements like Arecibo, Mayaguez, and Ponce began acquiring importance of their own, separate from San Juan. By the end of the 18th century, merchant ships from an array of nationalities threatened the tight regulations of the Mercantilist system, which turned each colony solely toward the European metropole and limited contact with other nations. U.S. ships came to surpass Spanish trade and with this also came the exploitation of the island's natural resources. Slavers, which had made but few stops on the island before, began selling more enslaved Africans to growing sugar and coffee plantations. The increasing number of Atlantic wars in which the Caribbean islands played major roles, like the War of Jenkins' Ear, the Seven Years' War and the Atlantic Revolutions, ensured Puerto Rico's growing esteem in Madrid's eyes. On April 17, 1797, Sir Ralph Abercromby's fleet invaded the island with a force of 6,000–13,000 men, which included German soldiers and Royal Marines and 60 to 64 ships. Fierce fighting continued for the next days with Spanish troops. Both sides suffered heavy losses. On Sunday April 30 the British ceased their attack and began their retreat from San Juan. By the time independence movements in the larger Spanish colonies gained success, new waves of loyal creole immigrants began to arrive in Puerto Rico, helping to tilt the island's political balance toward the Crown.
In 1809, to secure its political bond with the island and in the midst of the European Peninsular War, the Supreme Central Junta based in Cádiz recognized Puerto Rico as an overseas province of Spain. This gave the island residents the right to elect representatives to the recently convened Spanish parliament (Cádiz Cortes), with equal representation to mainland Iberian, Mediterranean (Balearic Islands) and Atlantic maritime Spanish provinces (Canary Islands).
Puerto Rico
United States government
Puerto Rico
During the 19th century hundreds of families arrived in Puerto Rico, primarily from the Canary Islands and Andalusia, but also from other parts of Spain such as Catalonia, Asturias, Galicia and the Balearic Islands and numerous Spanish loyalists from Spain's former colonies in South America. Settlers from outside Spain also arrived in the islands, including from Corsica, France, Lebanon, China, Portugal, Ireland, Scotland, Germany and Italy. This immigration from non-Hispanic countries was the result of the "Real Cedula de Gracias de 1815" ("Royal Decree of Graces of 1815"), which allowed European Catholics to settle in the island with land allotments in the interior of the island, provided they paid taxes and continued to support the Catholic Church.
Between 1960 and 1990 the census questionnaire in Puerto Rico did not ask about race or ethnicity. The 2000 United States Census included a racial self-identification question in Puerto Rico. According to the census, most Puerto Ricans identified as White and Hispanic; few identified as Black or some other race.
Saint Croix
Although St. Croix is a U.S. territory, the U.S. Virgin Islands are maintained as a free port in a separate customs zone. Therefore, travelers to and from the contiguous United States and Puerto Rico must clear U.S. customs but do not need to present a passport, and only need proof of U.S. citizenship or nationality. The immigration status of non-U.S. citizens may be verified during this process.
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico hosts consulates from 41 countries, mainly from the Americas and Europe, with most located in San Juan. As an unincorporated territory of the United States, Puerto Rico does not have any first-order administrative divisions as defined by the U.S. government, but has 78 municipalities at the second level. Mona Island is not a municipality, but part of the municipality of Mayagüez.
Political status of Puerto Rico
Although Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States classified as a commonwealth, many Puerto Ricans consider it to be a country in and of itself. In their book on American expansionism titled "The Louisiana Purchase and American Expansion, 1803–1898", Sanford Levinson and Bartholomew H. Sparrow also determined that "Most Puerto Ricans consider themselves a distinct national group." They also observed that both Americans and Puerto Ricans see themselves as separate cultures—"even separate nationalities".
Puerto Rico
The population of Puerto Rico has been shaped by Amerindian settlement, European colonization, slavery, economic migration, and Puerto Rico's status as unincorporated territory of the United States.
Puerto Rican citizenship
In 1952, upon U.S. Congress approving the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, also reaffirmed that Puerto Rican citizenship continued in full force. This was further reaffirmed in 2006 while the U.S. Senate probed into the President's Task Force on Puerto Rico's status. In 1953, U.S Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., in a memorandum sent to the United Nations, recognized that "the people of Puerto Rico continue to be citizens of the United States as well as of Puerto Rico."
Puerto Rico
On June 9, 2016, in Commonwealth of Puerto Rico vs Sanchez Valle, a 6–2 majority of the Supreme Court of the United States determined that Puerto Rico is a territory and lacks Sovereignty.
Bills in U.S. Congress regarding the political status of Puerto Rico
On January 4, 2017 non-voting Resident Commissioner Jenniffer Aydin González Colón sponsored H.R. 260 "To enable the admission of the territory of Puerto Rico into the Union as a State, and for other purposes." The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
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.
Law of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico had about a million residents at the time it became part of the United States, who ferociously resisted conversion to English before the U.S. government finally gave up in the 1940s. By way of contrast, the Spanish-speaking settlers in the vast territories obtained from Mexico after the Mexican–American War were promptly swamped by English-speaking American settlers, which is why the state governments that emerged in those territories all primarily use English today.
Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico
After Puerto Rico was granted to the United States on July 25, 1898 as part of the Spanish–American War, a military government took over the island. This was until April 12, 1900 when the U.S. Congress approved the first civil government for Puerto Rico under the federal Foraker Act. The act granted the island with a civil governor (named by the U.S. President) and a House of Delegates composed of 35 members elected by the people of Puerto Rico, as well as an Executive Council of 11 members, designated all by the U.S. President, and six sitting members consisting of the governor's cabinet.
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.
Outline of Puerto Rico
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is a self-governing unincorporated territory of the United States of America located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands. The commonwealth comprises an archipelago that includes the main island of Puerto Rico and a number of smaller islands and keys, the largest of which are Vieques, Culebra, and Mona. The main island of Puerto Rico is the least extensive but the third most populous of the four Greater Antilles: Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico.
Political status of Puerto Rico
Those claiming it is still a colony point to Congress legislating for Puerto Rico, and to bills where text such as those authorizing plebiscites in Puerto Rico (example "to conduct a second plebiscite between the options of (1) independence, (2) national sovereignty in association with the United States, and (3) U.S. statehood. The three options in the plebiscite also correspond to the options that the United Nations has identified as the options for decolonizing a territory." (HR 2499, section 2(c) ) clearly include content to satisfy the United Nations demand for decolonizing a territory. In addition to judicial decisions like the 1993 U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit decision, which 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.
English language in Puerto Rico
English, along with Spanish, is an official language of the Government of Puerto Rico. Spanish has been an official language in Puerto Rico since it was colonized in the 15th century. English, on the other hand, was first introduced as an official language when the United States occupied the island during the Spanish–American War. Since then, the Puerto Rican government has declared English an official language on several occasions while removing it from that status on as many occasions.
Puerto Rican Campaign
The administration of Puerto Rico was the responsibility of the United States Department of War's Division of Insular Affairs which was molded after the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Almost immediately, the United States began the 'Americanization" process of Puerto Rico. The U.S. occupation brought about a total change in Puerto Rico's economy and polity and did not apply democratic principles to the colony. Puerto Rico was classified as an 'unincorporated territory" which meant that the protections of the United States Constitution did not automatically apply because the island belonged to the U.S., but was not part of the U.S.
History of Puerto Rico
The Jones Act was made to replace the Foraker Act, which allowed for the free entry of Puerto Rican goods into the U.S. market. 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. Although it extended citizenship to Puerto Ricans, it wasn't always welcomed. The Partido Union had opposed extension of U.S. citizenship in 1912 if it didn't make Puerto Rico a state. If they didn't become a state, U.S. citizenship would be interpreted as an attempt to block independence of the Puerto Ricans. For them, the promise of citizenship didn't affirm the promise of statehood, it excluded any considerations of independence.
History of Puerto Rico
In 1898, during the Spanish–American War, Puerto Rico was invaded and subsequently became a possession of the United States. The Foraker Act of 1900, which established a civil government, and the Jones Act of 1917, which made Puerto Ricans U.S. citizens, paved the way for the drafting of Puerto Rico's Constitution and its approval by Congress and Puerto Rican voters in 1952. However, the political status of Puerto Rico, a Commonwealth controlled by the United States remains
United States politics and the political status of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico has been under U.S. sovereignty for over a century and Puerto Ricans have been U.S. citizens since 1917, but the island's ultimate status still has not been determined and its 3.9 million residents still do not have voting representation in their national government. These disenfranchised citizens – who have contributed greatly to our country in war and peace – are entitled to the permanent and fully democratic status of their choice. Democrats will continue to work in the White House and Congress to clarify the options and enable them to choose and to obtain such a status from among all realistic options.
Statehood movement in Puerto Rico
Currently, residents of Puerto Rico only have to pay federal income taxes on work performed in the US states and District of Columbia, and not at home, unless working for the U.S. Government. This benefit could go away if Puerto Rico becomes a state. U.S. corporations that currently operate there as controlled foreign corporations may relocate if Puerto Rico became a state and federal corporate taxes apply.
Political status of Puerto Rico
During its 8th session, the United Nations General Assembly recognized Puerto Rico's self-government on November 27, 1953, with Resolution 748 (VIII). (UN Resolution "748 (VIII)", adopted on November 27, 1953, during its 459th Plenary Meeting.) This removed Puerto Rico's classification as a non-self-governing territory (under article 73(e) of the Charter of the United Nations). The resolution passed, garnering a favorable vote from some 40% of the General Assembly, with over 60% abstaining or voting against it (20 to 16, plus 18 abstentions). Today, however, the UN "still debates whether Puerto Rico is a colony" or not.
Puerto Rico
The UN's Special Committee on Decolonization has often referred to Puerto Rico as a "nation" in its reports, because, internationally, the people of Puerto Rico are often considered to be a Caribbean nation with their own national identity. Most recently, in a June 2016 report, the Special Committee called for the United States to expedite the process to allow self-determination in Puerto Rico. More specifically, the group called on the United States to expedite a process that would allow the people of Puerto Rico to exercise fully their right to self-determination and independence. ... allow the Puerto Rican people to take decisions in a sovereign manner, and to address their urgent economic and social needs, including unemployment, marginalization, insolvency and poverty".
List of companies of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeast Caribbean Sea. It is an archipelago that includes the main island of Puerto Rico and a number of smaller ones such as Mona, Culebra, and Vieques. The capital and most populous city is San Juan. Its official languages are Spanish and English, though Spanish predominates. The island's population is approximately 3.4 million.
Independence movement in Puerto Rico
Minority parties have expressed different positions: in 2005, Communist Party USA passed a resolution about Puerto Rico, condemning American imperialism, "colonialism," etc., while stating that "the Communist Party of the USA ... continues its support for independence of Puerto Rico and the transfer of all sovereign powers to Puerto Rico." Their platform supported the people's "acquisition of their internationally recognized right to independence and self-determination ..." In 2012, the Green Party of the United States had a platform supporting independence. Socialist Party USA does not support independence for Puerto Rico, but calls for "full representation for the U.S. territories of Guam and Puerto Rico, all Native American reservations, and the District of Columbia."
Bills in U.S. Congress regarding the political status of Puerto Rico
The proposal, however, was controversial in Puerto Rican politics for two reasons: 1) the legislation was encouraged by two avid statehood supporters, and seemed to favor unchangeable status choices over Commonwealth; and 2) the Commonwealth option in the bill defined Puerto Rico as a "territory subject to the supreme powers of the U.S Congress". The Popular Democratic Party (PPD) disagreed with this definition that appeared to emphasize the island was a colony of the United States, and not a true commonwealth. The PPD thus fiercely opposed the H. R. 856, because it diminished their sense of Commonwealth (Estado Libre Asociado) as agreement between two peoples.
Sovereigntism (Puerto Rico)
Due to Puerto Rico's historical status debate, proposals consistent with the modern free association movement can be traced to the times when Puerto Rico was a colony of the Spanish Empire. In March 1887, Román Baldorioty de Castro presented a proposal based on the British North America Act of 1867, the accord that ended the United Kingdom's colonial rule over Canada and allowed it to become a sovereign Dominion, during the inaugural convention of the Autonomist Party. However, there this effort was thwarted by the conservative members of the party, who supported a project that would turn the remaining Spanish colonies into autonomous provinces. Ever the diplomat, Baldorioty supported the posture of the mayority, ending the first attempt to create a form of sovereign association for Puerto Rico. This was followed by the Spanish–American War, which concluded with Spain surrendering the sovereignty of its colonies to the United States. The first proposal of an "Associated Free State of Porto Rico" under this regime emerged in 1922 from Union of Puerto Rico, then led by Antonio R. Barceló. Its creator was a lawyer named Miguel Guerra Mondragón, who based his proposal in the recognition of the sovereignty of separate constituent countries seen during the creation of the current model of the United Kingdom.
Puerto Rico (disambiguation)
Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States in the Caribbean Sea.
History of women in Puerto Rico
According to the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, women who are born to Puerto Rican parents in the United States or elsewhere, are considered to be Puerto Rican citizens. On November 18, 1997, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, through its ruling in "Miriam J. Ramirez de Ferrer v. Juan Mari Brás", reaffirmed the standing existence of the Puerto Rican citizenship. Since 2007, the Government of Puerto Rico has been issuing "Certificates of Puerto Rican Citizenship" to anyone born in Puerto Rico or to anyone born outside of Puerto Rico with at least one parent who was born in Puerto Rico.
Rafael Carrión Sr.
"Banco Popular de Puerto Rico" can trace its roots to 1893, when Puerto Rico was still a Spanish colony. That year, fifty-two stockholders provided the initial capital to establish the "Sociedad Anonima de Economias y Prestamos" ( The Anonymous Savings & Loan Society), a savings bank for the poor. However the United States invaded Puerto Rico during the Spanish–American War in 1898, and the island was annexed by the U.S. under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 which was ratified on December 10, 1898. Almost immediately, the United States began the "Americanization" process of Puerto Rico. The U.S. occupation brought about a total change in Puerto Rico's economic and political life. Amongst the many industries appropriated and controlled by the U.S. Government, were Puerto Rico's financial and banking institutions.
Commonwealth (U.S. insular area)
Despite the Spanish translation of the term "commonwealth", Puerto Rico's relationship with United States is not a Compact of Free Association (which is the case for the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, and the Marshall Islands). As sovereign states, these islands have full right to conduct their own foreign relations, while the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is part of the United States as a territory. The Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico says that in 1952 there was a pact between Puerto Rico and the United States that gave Puerto Rico an autonomous government and removed it from the list of colonies.
Puerto Rican migration to New York City
During the 19th century, commerce existed between the ports of the East Coast of the United States and the Spanish colony of Puerto Rico. Ship records show that many Puerto Ricans traveled on ships that sailed from and to the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Many of them settled in places such as New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Upon the outbreak of the American Civil War, many Puerto Ricans, such as Lieutenant Augusto Rodriguez, joined the ranks of the armed forces, however since Puerto Ricans were Spanish subjects they were inscribed as Spaniards. The earliest Puerto Rican enclave in New York City was in Manhattan. Most of the Puerto Ricans who moved there came from well-to-do families or were people whose economic situation could permit them the luxury of traveling from the island to New York City by way of steamship, an expensive and long trip. Amongst the first Puerto Ricans to immigrate to New York City were men and women who were exiled by the Spanish Crown for their political beliefs and struggles for the cause of Puerto Rican independence. By 1850, Puerto Rico and Cuba were the only two remaining Spanish colonies in the New World. The Spanish Crown would either imprison or banish any person who promoted the independence of these two nations. Two of these exiles were Ramón Emeterio Betances and Segundo Ruiz Belvis who together founded "The Revolutionary Committee of Puerto Rico" in New York. They were the planners of the short and failed 1868 revolt against Spain in Puerto Rico known as El Grito de Lares. Another prominent Puerto Rican who in 1871 immigrated to New York was Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, considered by many as the "Father of Black History". He too became a member of the "Revolutionary Committee of Puerto Rico" and was an outspoken promoter of not only the independence of Puerto Rico, but of Cuba also.
Politics of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico is an organized unincorporated U.S. territory which has been given internal self-governing powers which are referred to as "Commonwealth" status. (The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, located in the western Pacific Ocean, has a similar delegation of self-government powers by the United States.) Puerto Rico has more latitude over its internal affairs than the U.S. territories of Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or American Samoa.
Political status of Puerto Rico
Those who support the view that Puerto Rico is no longer a colony but has changed into a different status, the commonwealth, argue that since the 1952 Constitution Congress has indicated that they will respect the wishes of the people of Puerto Rico, indicating that this is evidence of the validity of the current status as a non-colony.
Political status of Puerto Rico
The status of the island is the result of various political activities within both the United States and Puerto Rican governments. The United Nations removed it from the list of non-self-governing territories in 1953. But it remains subject to the Territorial Clause of the U.S. Constitution. According to the Insular Cases, Puerto Rico is "a territory appurtenant and belonging to the United States, but not a part of the United States within the revenue clauses of the Constitution".
2017 Puerto Rican status referendum
Spain ceded Puerto Rico to the United States in 1898 as part of the Treaty of Paris after the end of the Spanish–American War. Since then, the island has been an unincorporated territory of the United States. Because of this territorial status, the island is neither a state of the United States nor a sovereign one. Although Puerto Ricans were granted United States citizenship with the 1917 Jones–Shafroth Act, the American citizens residing on the island cannot vote for the President of the United States (their head of government) nor for a legislator in Congress with voting powers even though the federal government of the United States has jurisdiction on the island. In addition, due to its political status, the United States has full authority over Puerto Rico's foreign policy.
Political status of Puerto Rico
Controversy exists surrounding the "real" political status of Puerto Rico, with some calling it a colony and others disagreeing. Some (especially independentistas and statehooders) claim Puerto Rico is still a colony despite the UN's removing Puerto Rico from its list of non self-governing countries in 1953. Others (notably those who vote for the current commonwealth status option) argue that Puerto Rico is not a colony because the UN has not revoked its resolution after 55 years.
Puerto Rico Republican Party
The Republican Party of Puerto Rico believes in equality and full citizenship rights for U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico, which can only be achieved through statehood for Puerto Rico. The Party supports the right of American citizens in Puerto Rico to solicit membership into the American Union as a fully sovereign state if they so elect. It recognizes that Congress has the final authority to define the constitutionally valid options for Puerto Rico to achieve a permanent non-territorial status with government consent and full enfranchisement. In November 2012 Puerto Ricans voted against the current territorial status and in favor of statehood in the plebiscite held on November 6, 2012. There was a voter turnout of 78.0%, and 61.1% of those voting expressed their desire that Puerto Rico become a State of the American Union.
History of the Caribbean
Cuba and Puerto Rico remained as Spanish colonies until the Spanish–American War in 1898, after which Cuba attained its independence in 1902, and Puerto Rico became an unincorporated territory of the United States, being the last of the Greater Antilles under colonial control.
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.
Federacy
The relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico is a federacy.
Leopoldo Figueroa
In 1898, when he was 11 years old, the United States invaded Puerto Rico. Some Puerto Rican leaders such as José de Diego and Eugenio María de Hostos expected the United States to grant the island its independence. However, this did not concur with the Monroe Doctrine, or the geopolitical interests of the United States. Under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 ratified on December 10, 1898, Puerto Rico was annexed by the United States. Spain had lost its last colony in the western hemisphere, and the United States gained imperial strength and global presence.
2012 Puerto Rican status referendum
In June 2011 the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization asked the United States to expedite the process for political status self-determination in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico, unlike several other U.S. territories such as Guam, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, is not on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. As it is not a state, its citizens do not have the right to full representation in the U.S. Congress nor can they vote in presidential elections. On December 28, 2011, Governor Luis Fortuño authorized the referendum for November 6, 2012.
Federal voting rights in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico is an insular area—a United States territory that is neither a part of one of the fifty states nor a part of the District of Columbia, the nation's federal district. Insular areas, including Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam, are not allowed to choose electors in U.S. presidential elections or elect voting members of the U.S. Congress. This grows out of Articles One and Two of the United States Constitution, which state that electors are to be chosen by "the People of the several States." In 1961, the 23rd amendment extended the right to choose electors to the District of Columbia; the insular areas, however, were not addressed in that Amendment.
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.
Puerto Rico Republican Party
The Republican Party of Puerto Rico () is the Puerto Rico affiliate of the national Republican Party of the United States. The party supports statehood for Puerto Rico. Congresswoman Jenniffer González-Colón, resident commissioner of Puerto Rico, is the local party chair. The party is based in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Implications of Puerto Rico's current political status
The current political status of Puerto Rico has ramifications into many spheres of Puerto Rican life, and there are limits to the level of autonomy the Puerto Rican government has. For example, the Island's government is not fully autonomous, and the level of federal presence in the Island is common place, including a branch of the United States Federal District Court. There are also implications relative to the American citizenship carried by people born in Puerto Rico. Specifically, although people born in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico are natural born US citizens, they are not Article 14 citizens. Puerto Ricans are also covered by a group of "fundamental civil rights" but, since Puerto Rico is not a state, Puerto Ricans are not covered by the full American Bill of Rights. As for taxation and representation, Puerto Ricans pay U.S. federal taxes, and most bona fide residents of the island are not required to file federal income tax returns. Representation-wise, Puerto Ricans have no voting representative in the U.S. Congress, but do have a Resident Commissioner who has a voice in Congress (but no vote except for committee-level voting). Puerto Ricans must also serve in the United States military with the same duties as a US citizen residing in the other 50 states.
Independence movement in Puerto Rico
American professor and activist Noam Chomsky argued in the late 20th century that, after 1898 "Puerto Rico was turned into a plantation for U.S. agribusiness, later an export platform for taxpayer-subsidized U.S. corporations, and the site of major U.S. military bases and petroleum refineries." By 1930, over 40 percent of all the arable land in Puerto Rico had been converted into sugar plantations owned by Domino Sugar and U.S. banking interests. These bank syndicates also owned the insular postal system, the coastal railroad, and the San Juan international seaport.
Politics of Puerto Rico
Since the 1898 invasion of Puerto Rico by the Americans during the Spanish–American War, politics in Puerto Rico have been significantly shaped by its status as territory of the United States. The nature of Puerto Rico's political relationship with the United States is the subject of ongoing debate in Puerto Rico, in the United States, the United Nations and the International Community.
Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt
Puerto Rico had been something of an afterthought during the Spanish–American War, but it assumed importance due to its strategic position in the Caribbean Sea. The island provided an ideal naval base for defense of the Panama Canal, and it also served as an economic and political link to the rest of Latin America. Prevailing racist attitudes made Puerto Rican statehood unlikely, so the U.S. carved out a new political status for the island. The Foraker Act and subsequent Supreme Court cases established Puerto Rico as the first unincorporated territory, meaning that the United States Constitution would not fully apply to Puerto Rico. Though the U.S. imposed tariffs on most Puerto Rican imports, it also invested in the island's infrastructure and education system. Nationalist sentiment remained strong on the island and Puerto Ricans continued to primarily speak Spanish rather than English.
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.
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.
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.
Statehood movement in Puerto Rico
Since the transfer of sovereignty of Puerto Rico from Spain to the United States, the relationship between Puerto Rico and the US has been evolving. On April 11, 1899, the peace treaty between Spain and the USA (Treaty of Paris) became effective, and established a military government in Puerto Rico. This was short lived, since the following year (April 2, 1900) Congress enacted the Foraker Act, which established a civil government and free trade between Puerto Rico and the USA. Puerto Ricans, although incapable of electing members of the territory's executive branch, but were now able to elect their local representatives and a resident commissioner to the US Congress, who had voice but no vote. In 1917, the enactment of the Jones-Shafroth Act the territory of Puerto Rico was organized and statutory US citizenship was granted to its residents.
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"".
Federal voting rights in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico is a territory under the sovereignty of the federal government, but is not part of any state nor is it a state itself. It has been organized (given a measure of self-rule by the Congress) subject to the Congress' plenary powers under the territorial clause of Article IV, sec. 3, of the U.S. Constitution. In the U.S. House of Representatives, Puerto Rico is entitled to a Resident Commissioner, a delegate who is not allowed to vote on the floor of the House, but can vote on procedural matters and in House committees. In most other U.S. overseas (and historically pre-state) territories, as well as the District of Columbia, a similar representative position is styled Delegate.
Nuyorican Movement
Puerto Rico’s history and culture in the Lower East Side, known to much of its Puerto Rican community as Loisaida, is long and extensive. From early 1400s to the end of the 1800s, Puerto Rico had slavery and was dutiful to the Spanish Crown. With granted autonomy from Spain in 1897, Puerto Rico was allowed to elect and print their own currency for a year as a territory. In 1898, The United States seized control over the territory. Being a sugar cane and coffee dependent nation allowed for the United States to intervene and rule Puerto Rico politically and economically, with no intention of giving Puerto Ricans citizenship. In 1910, the American government grew fearful of an uprising. In order to keep Puerto Rico under control from being independent, the United States imposed U.S. citizenship, never consulting the actual people who resided. Since the United States only allowed or the production of sugarcane the people started to go hungry, leaving them with no choice but to leave the island in search for a better life in the United States. Puerto Ricans began migrate to places like New York City, specifically to Puerto Rican enclaves, such as the Lower East Side, San Juan Hill, and Spanish Harlem, creating a new identity, culture, and way of life.
History of Puerto Rico
Located in the northeastern Caribbean, Puerto Rico formed a key part of the Spanish Empire from the early years of the exploration, conquest and colonization of the New World. The island was a major military post during many wars between Spain and other European powers for control of the region in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. The smallest of the Greater Antilles, Puerto Rico was a stepping-stone in the passage from Europe to Cuba, Mexico, Central America, and the northern territories of South America. Throughout most of the 19th century until the conclusion of the Spanish–American War, Puerto Rico and Cuba were the last two Spanish colonies in the New World; they served as Spain's final outposts in a strategy to regain control of the American continents. Realizing that it was in danger of losing its two remaining Caribbean territories, the Spanish Crown revived the Royal Decree of Graces of 1815. The decree was printed in Spanish, English and French in order to attract Europeans, with the hope that the independence movements would lose their popularity and strength with the arrival of new settlers. Free land was offered to those who wanted to populate the islands on the condition that they swear their loyalty to the Spanish Crown and allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church.
Eugenio María de Hostos
Hostos returned to the United States in 1899 and actively participated in the Puerto Rican and Cuban independence movements; his hopes for Puerto Rico's independence after the Spanish–American War turned into disappointment when the United States government rejected his proposals and instead converted the island into a United States colony.
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.
Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico was part of the Spanish Empire from the time of Christopher Columbus until the Spanish–American War. United States forces landed in Guánica on July 25, 1898. The last Spanish unit left the island the following October, and the Department of Puerto Rico was established. Upon the signing of the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898, Spain ceded Puerto Rico to the United States, and the island became an unincorporated United States territory.
Puerto Rico
According to the White House Task Force on Puerto Rico's Political Status in its December 21, 2007 report, the U.S., in its written submission to the UN in 1953, never represented that 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.
Culture of Puerto Rico
The relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico makes national identity complicated. Puerto Ricans maintain United States citizenship while aligning with a uniquely Puerto Rican heritage. Although the island's culture is not heterogeneous, Puerto Rico establishes several binary oppositions to the United States: American identity versus Puerto Rican identity, English language versus Spanish language, Protestant versus Catholic, and Anglo-Saxon heritage versus Hispanic heritage.
Voting rights in the United States
Puerto Rico is an insular area — a United States territory that is neither a part of one of the fifty states nor a part of the District of Columbia, the nation's federal district. Insular areas, such as Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam, are not allowed to choose electors in U.S. presidential elections or elect voting members to the U.S. Congress. This grows out of Article I and Article II of the United States Constitution, which specifically mandate that electors are to be chosen by "the People of the several States". In 1961, the 23rd amendment to the constitution extended the right to choose electors to the District of Columbia.
Vieques, Puerto Rico
Vieques (; ), in full Isla de Vieques, is an island–municipality of Puerto Rico, United States in the northeastern Caribbean, part of an island grouping sometimes known as the Spanish Virgin Islands. Vieques is part of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and retains strong influences from 400 years of Spanish presence in the island.
Culture of Puerto Rico
Before the United States captured Puerto Rico from Spain in 1898, the colony was agriculture based. Most worked on sugar cane, tobacco, or coffee plantations. Through the beginning of the 20th century, Puerto Ricans remained agricultural. Operation Bootstrap, an operation of the United States and the Puerto Rico Economic Development Administration, began in 1942 and was put in place to transform Puerto Rico into an industrial colony. Government owned factories were built to shift development to industrial factory work and, eventually, education of the factory work force. The growth of Puerto Rican industry changed the outlook on familial social structure.
Territories of the United States
In 2018, regarding a bill to make Puerto Rico the 51st state, representative Stephanie Murphy of Florida said the following: "The hard truth is that Puerto Rico’s lack of political power allows Washington to treat Puerto Rico like an afterthought, as the federal government’s inadequate preparation for and response to Hurricane Maria made crystal clear.” Similarly, the Governor of Puerto Rico (Ricardo Rosselló) said the following about Puerto Rico: "Because we don’t have political power, because we don’t have representatives, [no] senators, no vote for president, we are treated as an afterthought." Rosselló also said that Puerto Rico is the "oldest, most populous colony in the world".
Colonial history of the United States
In September 1493, Christopher Columbus set sail on his second voyage with 17 ships from Cádiz. On November 19, 1493 he landed on the island of Puerto Rico, naming it "San Juan Bautista" in honor of Saint John the Baptist. The first European colony, Caparra, was founded on August 8, 1508 by Juan Ponce de León, a lieutenant under Columbus, who was greeted by the Taíno Cacique Agüeybaná and who later became the first governor of the island. Ponce de Leon was actively involved in the Higuey massacre of 1503 in Puerto Rico. In 1508, Sir Ponce de Leon was chosen by the Spanish Crown to lead the conquest and slavery of the Taíno Indians for gold mining operations. The following year, the colony was abandoned in favor of a nearby islet on the coast, named Puerto Rico (Rich Port), which had a suitable harbor. In 1511, a second settlement, San Germán was established in the southwestern part of the island. During the 1520s, the island took the name of Puerto Rico while the port became San Juan.
Commonwealth (U.S. insular area)
Of the current U.S. insular areas, the term was first used by Puerto Rico in 1952 as its formal name in English ("Commonwealth of Puerto Rico"). The formal name in Spanish for Puerto Rico is "Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico," ("Free Associated State of Puerto Rico"). The United States acquired the islands of Puerto Rico in 1898 after the Spanish–American War. In 1950, Congress enacted legislation (P.L. 81-600) authorizing Puerto Rico to hold a constitutional convention and in 1952, the people of Puerto Rico ratified a constitution establishing a republican form of government for the island. Puerto Rico's political relationship with the U.S. has been a continuing source of debate in Puerto Rico, the United States Congress, and the United Nations. The issue revolves around whether Puerto Rico should remain a U.S. territory, become a U.S. state, or become an independent country. The debate has spawned several referenda, presidential executive orders and bills in the U.S. Congress. Ultimately the U.S. Congress is the only body empowered to decide the political status of Puerto Rico, as stated under the Territorial Clause.
Puerto Rican government-debt crisis
Beginning with Christopher Columbus's arrival on the island in 1493, Spain colonized Puerto Rico. In 1898, Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States, at the end of the Spanish–American War. The United States then refused to pay the colony's creditors, asserting they held odious debt.
Manuel Olivieri Sanchez
At the time both Puerto Rico and Hawaii were territories of the United States however, the passage of the Jones-Shafroth Act of 1917, same year that the U.S. entered World War I, granted U.S. citizenship to the Puerto Rican residents in Puerto Rico and excluded those who resided in Hawaii. Even though Puerto Ricans in Hawaii were excluded from U.S. citizenship, they were assigned draft numbers along with those who were citizens.
List of conflicts in North America
Puerto Rico is geographically located within the Caribbean; however, Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States and so the island's conflicts are listed here.This includes all known conflicts that occurred within the territory of the United States of America prior to European exploration.
Colonial history of the United States
As part of the colonization process, African slaves were brought to the island in 1513. Following the decline of the Taíno population, more slaves were brought to Puerto Rico; however, the number of slaves on the island paled in comparison to those in neighboring islands. Also, early in the colonization of Puerto Rico, attempts were made to wrest control of Puerto Rico from Spain. The Caribs, a raiding tribe of the Caribbean, attacked Spanish settlements along the banks of the Daguao and Macao rivers in 1514 and again in 1521 but each time they were easily repelled by the superior Spanish firepower. However, these would not be the last attempts at control of Puerto Rico. The European powers quickly realized the potential of the newly discovered lands and attempted to gain control of them. Nonetheless, Puerto Rico remained a Spanish possession until the 19th century.
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.
Isabel González
González was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico when the island was still a possession of the Spanish Crown. Therefore, she was a native inhabitant of Puerto Rico and a Spanish subject, though not of the Peninsula (Spain). Her parents were Severo González and Antonia Dávila. She was residing in the island on April 11, 1899, the date of the proclamation of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 which ceded the island to the United States. One of the conditions of the treaty was to transfer by cession the allegiance of the islanders to the United States. González was a citizen of Puerto Rico, but not of the United States even though the island was governed by that nation.
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.
Latin American and Caribbean Congress in Solidarity with Puerto Rico's Independence
In the words of President Torrijos, "Puerto Rico is to this day the only Latin American nation remaining under a colonial regime. From the perspective of Latin Americans, assisting in the effort to mend that anomaly is a matter of principles, a continental priority". Torrijos stated that Latin Americans cannot continue being indifferent to said reality. Moreover, the aforementioned dignitary claimed that it is the duty of all Latin Americans to take part actively in its adequate solution.
Puerto Rico
Originally populated by the indigenous Taíno people, Puerto Rico was colonized by Spain following the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1493. It was contested by French, Dutch, and British, but remained a Spanish possession for the next four centuries. The island's cultural and demographic landscapes were shaped by the displacement and assimilation of the native population, the forced migration of African slaves, and settlement from the Canary Islands and Andalusia. In the Spanish Empire, Puerto Rico played a secondary but strategic role compared to wealthier colonies like Peru and New Spain. Spain's distant administrative control continued up to the end of the 19th century, producing a distinctive creole Hispanic culture and language that combined indigenous, African, and European elements. In 1898, following the Spanish–American War, the United States acquired Puerto Rico under the terms of the Treaty of Paris.
Puerto Rican citizenship
On November 17, 1997, Governor Pedro Rosselló signed Law 132 amending Puerto Rico's Political Code. The law states ""Toda persona que posea la nacionalidad y sea ciudadano de los Estados Unidos y residente dentro de la jurisdicción del territorio de Puerto Rico será ciudadano de Puerto Rico"" ("Every person who possesses the nationality and is a citizen of the United States and resides within the jurisdiction of the territory of Puerto Rico shall be a citizen of Puerto Rico").
Irish immigration to Puerto Rico
After Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain to the United States at the end of the Spanish–American War in 1898, many Irish-American soldiers who were assigned to the military bases in the island chose to stay upon meeting other Irish-descended individuals in Puerto Rico. Unlike their counterparts who settled in the United States in close knit communities, the Irish immigrants on the island quickly became part of the community in Puerto Rico and adopted the language and customs of the island, thereby completely integrating themselves into the society of their new homeland. From the first wave of Irish immigration in the 16th century this had been the case. Irish immigrants to the island intermarried with Puerto Ricans, enriching the Puerto Rican gene pool in the process.
2017 Puerto Rican status referendum
Legislation approving the referendum was passed in the Senate of Puerto Rico on January 26, 2017, by a senate controlled by the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico (PNP In Spanish) which advocates for Puerto Rico to become a state of the United States. The measure was then passed with amendments by the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico on January 31 by a house which is also controlled by the PNP. The amendments then passed in the Senate and the bill was signed into law by Governor Ricardo Rosselló (PNP) on February 3, 2017.
Federacy
Puerto Rico residents are United States citizens and may freely travel between both the U.S. mainland and Puerto Rico. Residents of Puerto Rico are exempt from some federal taxes. Puerto Rico's autonomy is granted by Congress. Federal taxes do not automatically apply to Puerto Rico unless the Puerto Rican government wants them to. Although the U.S. government has full say over its foreign policy, Puerto Rico does maintain direct contacts with its Caribbean neighbors.
Ricardo Rosselló
Rosselló was strongly in favor of statehood for Puerto Rico to help develop the economy and to help Puerto Rico's 500-year old colonial dilemma. "Colonialism is not an option ... It's a civil rights issue ... The time will come in which the United States has to respond to the demands of 3.5 million citizens seeking an absolute democracy" he stated. In January 2017 he announced that Puerto Ricans will be given an opportunity to vote in the fifth plebiscite on June 11, 2017, with three options: "Statehood", "Current Territorial Status" and "Independence/Free Association". It initially did not offer the second option, which was added at the request of United States Department of Justice (US-DOJ). Around the same time, Puerto Rico's legislators are expected to vote on a bill that would allow the Governor to draft a state constitution and hold elections to choose senators and representatives to the U.S. Congress.
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.
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan (; ; "Saint John") is the capital and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it is the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of the United States, with a population of 395,326. San Juan was founded by Spanish colonists in 1521, who called it "Ciudad de Puerto Rico" ("Rich Port City"). Puerto Rico's capital is the third oldest European-established capital city in the Americas, after Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic, founded in 1496 and Panama City, in Panama, founded in 1519. Several historical buildings are located in San Juan; among the most notable are the city's former defensive forts, Fort San Felipe del Morro and Fort San Cristóbal, and La Fortaleza, the oldest executive mansion in continuous use in the Americas.
Puerto Rican citizenship
On April 12, 1900, the United States Congress enacted the Foraker Act of 1900, which replaced the governing military regime in Puerto Rico with a civil form of government. Section VII of this act created a Puerto Rican citizenship for the residents "born in Puerto Rico and, therefore, subject to its jurisdiction." The Puerto Rican citizenship replaced the Spanish citizenship that Puerto Ricans held at the time in 1898. Such Puerto Rican citizenship was granted by Spain in 1897. This citizenship was reaffirmed by the United States Supreme Court in 1904 by its ruling in which denied that Puerto Ricans were United States citizens and labeled them as noncitizen nationals. In a 1914 letter of refusal to the offer of U.S. citizenship and addressed to both the President of the United States and the U.S. Congress, the Puerto Rico House of Delegates stated ""We, Porto Ricans, Spanish-Americans, of Latin soul ... are satisfied with our own beloved Porto Rican citizenship, and proud to have been born and brethren in our own motherland."" The official 1916 Report by the American colonial governor of Puerto Rico to the U.S. Secretary of War (the former name for the Department of Defense), addresses both citizenships, the Puerto Rican citizenship and United States citizenship, in the context of the issuance of passports, further evidencing that the Puerto Rican citizenship did not disappear when the Americans took over the island in 1898.
Puerto Rico
Since 1894, the United States Naval War College had been developing contingency plans for a war with Spain. By 1896, the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence had prepared a plan that included military operations in Puerto Rican waters. Except for one 1895 plan, which recommended annexation of the island then named "Isle of Pines" (later renamed as Isla de la Juventud), a recommendation dropped in later planning, plans developed for attacks on Spanish territories were intended as support operations against Spain's forces in and around Cuba. Recent research suggests that the U.S. did consider Puerto Rico valuable as a naval station, and recognized that it and Cuba generated lucrative crops of sugar – a valuable commercial commodity which the United States lacked, before the development of the sugar beet industry in the United States.
On July 25, 1898, during the Spanish–American War, the U.S. invaded Puerto Rico with a landing at Guánica. As an outcome of the war, Spain ceded Puerto Rico, along with the Philippines and Guam, then under Spanish sovereignty, to the U.S. under the Treaty of Paris, which went into effect on April 11, 1899. Spain relinquished sovereignty over Cuba, but did not cede it to the U.S.
United States politics and the political status of Puerto Rico
Both major United States political parties, (the Democratic and the Republican parties), have expressed their support for the U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico to exercise their right to self-determination, with the Republican Party platform explicitly mentioning support for right to statehood and the Democratic Party platform expressing explicitly broader support for right to self-determination. Puerto Rico has been under U.S. sovereignty for over a century and Puerto Ricans have been U.S. citizens since 1917, but the island's ultimate status still has not been determined and its 3.9 million residents still do not have voting representation in their national government. The following are the appropriate section from the respective 2016, 2012, 2008, 2004, and 2000 party platforms:
Constitution of Puerto Rico
A continuing debate has dealt with the legal status of Puerto Rico under the Federal Government of the United States. Certain decisions by the Supreme Court of the United States appeared to have interpreted the Territorial Clause of the United States Constitution as still controlling over Puerto Rico. Under this clause, the United States Congress is the recognized sovereign of the island.
Puerto Rico v. Sanchez Valle
Puerto Rico v. Sanchez Valle, 579 U.S. ___ (2016), is a criminal case that came before the Supreme Court of the United States, which considered whether Puerto Rico and the federal government of the United States are separate sovereigns for purposes of the Double Jeopardy Clause of the US Constitution.
Spanish colonization of the Americas
In 1898, the United States achieved victory in the Spanish–American War with Spain, ending the Spanish colonial era. Spanish possession and rule of its remaining colonies in the Americas ended in that year with its sovereignty transferred to the United States. The United States took occupation of Cuba, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico continues to be a possession of the United States, now officially continues as a self-governing unincorporated territory.
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.
Cultural diversity in Puerto Rico
Puerto Ricans were Spanish citizens before Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898. After Puerto Rico was ceded, they became citizens of Puerto Rico. Before 1917, when the U.S. Congress passed the Jones-Shafroth Act, popularly called the Jones Act, which granted Puerto Ricans U.S. citizenship. Puerto Ricans who moved to New York were considered immigrants. Later several factors contributed and led to what came to be known as "The Great Migration" of Puerto Ricans to New York. These were the following: the Great Depression, World War II and the advent of air travel.
Politics of Puerto Rico
On December 21, 2007, the Bush Administration's Task Force on Puerto Rico's Status reiterated and confirmed that Puerto Rico continues to be a territory of the U.S. under the plenary powers of the U.S. Congress, a position shared by the remaining two-major parties: New Progressive Party and the Puerto Rican Independence Party.
Crime in Puerto Rico
The history of Puerto Rico as a colony under the Spanish Empire came to an end near the conclusion of the 19th century. As a part of the Spanish–American War, the U.S. invaded the island with a landing at Guánica on July 25, 1898. The Puerto Rican Campaign resulted in a total defeat for Spanish armed forces. U.S. troops led by Nelson A. Miles experienced only seven deaths, yet they took control over the entire island in a matter of weeks. As an outcome of the war and the comprehensive American victory, the nation of Spain ceded Puerto Rico as well as the territories of Guam and the Philippines held under Spanish sovereignty to the U.S., the 1898 Treaty of Paris establishing the peace. Spain gave up all rights to Cuba as well.
Colonial history of the United States
The last half of the 19th century was marked by the Puerto Rican struggle for sovereignty. A census conducted in 1860 revealed a population of 583,308. Of these, 300,406 (51.5%) were white and 282,775 (48.5%) were persons of color, the latter including people of primarily African heritage, mulattos and mestizos. The majority of the population in Puerto Rico was illiterate (83.7%) and lived in poverty, and the agricultural industry—at the time, the main source of income—was hampered by lack of road infrastructure, adequate tools and equipment, and natural disasters, including hurricanes and droughts. The economy also suffered from increasing tariffs and taxes imposed by the Spanish Crown. Furthermore, Spain had begun to exile or jail any person who called for liberal reforms. The Spanish–American War broke out in 1898, in the aftermath of the explosion of USS "Maine" in Havana harbor. The U.S. defeated Spain by the end of the year, and won control of Puerto Rico in the ensuing peace treaty. In the Foraker Act of 1900, the U.S. Congress established Puerto Rico's status as an unincorporated 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.
Gag Law (Puerto Rico)
After the United States invaded Puerto Rico in 1898 during the Spanish–American War, some leaders, such as José de Diego and Eugenio María de Hostos, expected the United States to grant the island its independence. 
The United States had other ideas. Under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 ratified on December 10, 1898, the U.S. annexed Puerto Rico. Spain had lost its last colony in the western hemisphere, and the United States gained imperial strength and global presence.
Puerto Rico
The nature of Puerto Rico's political relationship with the U.S. is the subject of ongoing debate in Puerto Rico, the United States Congress, and the United Nations. Specifically, the basic question is whether Puerto Rico should remain a U.S. territory, become a U.S. state, or become an independent country.