Should Puerto Rico Become a State?

November 22, 2021

Puerto Rico has been a U.S. territory since 1898, when the Caribbean island was acquired from Spain as part of the settlement of the Spanish-American War. The island’s 3.3 million people are American citizens and have their own governor and legislature. But they can’t vote in presidential elections, and they have no voting representation in Congress. There has long been a debate about whether Puerto Rico should become a U.S. state or keep its current status. A bill to grant Puerto Rico statehood is pending in Congress. A Latino leader in the U.S. and a former governor of Puerto Rico square off about whether it should become the nation’s 51st state.

In November 2020, the majority of Puerto Ricans (53 percent) voted in support of statehood for the island. Congress should pay attention to the aspirations of the people of Puerto Rico and immediately put the island on a path toward becoming a U.S. state.

The reality is that despite being U.S. citizens since 1917, the people of Puerto Rico don’t have the full rights that other citizens are guaranteed under the Constitution. The U.S. Congress governs the territory’s citizens in federal matters and, even on internal affairs, it can limit and overrule the local government and laws.

Furthermore, Puerto Ricans have no voting representation in a Congress that passes laws that apply to them. (They do have a nonvoting delegate in Congress.) They’re also denied the right to vote for the president, who has the authority to send their children to war. In fact, hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans have fought in the nation’s wars since World War I, defending freedoms that they can’t themselves fully enjoy because of where they live.

Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, but they don’t have the full rights of citizenship.

This undemocratic and un-American arrangement can only be corrected by granting statehood to the island. Only through statehood can the American citizens of Puerto Rico gain the full voting rights and representation in the federal government that they deserve.

According to a 2019 Gallup poll, 66 percent of Americans favor Puerto Rico becoming a U.S. state. The issue shouldn’t be perceived as a partisan one: Over the years, Republicans and Democrats alike have supported statehood for the island, including President Reagan (a Republican) and President Biden (a Democrat).

Congress should step up and move decisively to put an end to the disenfranchisement of the U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico from the political life of the nation and guarantee them equal rights once and for all.

—ALFONSO AGUILAR

President, Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles

In 2016, Monica Puig won a gold medal in women’s tennis at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. It was the first time Puerto Rico, which competes in the Olympics as its own country, won a gold medal. All Puerto Ricans remember where they were when Monica won. Why? Because her victory made us so proud, and it was a reaffirmation that Puerto Rico has its own identity, history, culture, flag, and national anthem.

That’s why Puerto Rico should not become a U.S. state—because ultimately we would lose that sense of having our own country.

Puerto Rico was conquered by the United States during the Spanish-American War of 1898. We became U.S. citizens in 1917. But after more than 120 years of a very close relationship, we don’t call or see ourselves as Americans. We are U.S. citizens and fulfill all the duties of citizenship, but culturally and emotionally, we have never relinquished our language, our culture, or our identity.

Becoming a U.S. state would destroy Puerto Rico’s sense of being its own country.

Spanish is the official language in the legislative and judicial branches of our government, not English. In other words, all legislative and judicial processes are conducted in Spanish. Although English is taught as a second language, Spanish is the official language in Puerto Rico’s public education system. All 20 of the top-rated TV shows in Puerto Rico are in Spanish. We have more than 130 radio stations, but none of them broadcast in English only.

Statehood for Puerto Rico would mean losing—or at least, risking—those signs of identity that are so dear to us. Certainly, we would lose our right to compete independently in the Olympics. Could we keep Spanish as the official language in the courts, the legislative assembly, and public schools if Puerto Rico became a state? Very unlikely.

At the end of the day, statehood would destroy that national identity we have as Puerto Ricans. We would lose the sense of being our own country. That’s the main reason why I strongly oppose statehood for Puerto Rico.

—ANÍBAL ACEVEDO VILÁ

Governor of Puerto Rico (2005-09)