Immigration Reform and Puerto Rico Self-Determination: What it Means to be a U.S. Citizen
As immigration reform moves forward, what will happen to the U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico?
By Howard L. Hills*
I. Redeeming the promise of equality in America
As our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico enter the twelfth decade of a quest for self-determination, a new potential setback has emerged, the irony of which would be almost as cruel as Puerto Rican soldiers fighting overseas for democratic rights that they are denied back home as residents of a U.S. possession.
It could be regarded as profoundly unfair and demoralizing if 11 million people who entered the U.S. unlawfully are given a path to full enfranchisement and equal citizenship rights, while the 4 million U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico remain disenfranchised in a less than equal citizenship status. How would Puerto Ricans explain that to their children? How would any other American do the same?Read More »Immigration Reform and Puerto Rico Self-Determination: What it Means to be a U.S. Citizen