Some 94,000 COFA citizens — that is, citizens of countries that have signed a Compact of Free Association (COFA) with the United States — live in the states. Roughly 5.8 million Puerto Ricans live in the states, as well as 58,240 people from Guam and 11,745 from the U.S. Virgin Islandsaccording to the 2020 Census. Smaller numbers of people from the remaining inhabited territories live on the mainland, but the total is between 5.8 and 5.9 million total territory citizens. That means that there are about 62 U.S. citizens from territories living in the states for every citizen of a COFA country. How is life in the U.S. for COFA citizens, compared with territory citizens?
COFA citizens are not U.S. citizens
The freely associated states are all independent nations, and none can offer U.S. citizenship to its citizens. The federal government has made it clear that Puerto Rico, were it to become an independent nation with a Compact of Free Association, would also not be granted full access to U.S. citizenship.
Since they are not U.S. citizens, citizens of the freely associated states must go through passport checks when they enter the U.S., and they can be refused entry. For example, people from a COFA nation must prove that they will be able to support themselves, and may also be denied entry for criminal convictions. As ICE puts it, they are allowed to “are entitled under the Compact to travel and apply for admission to the United States as nonimmigrants without visas.” They can be deported. These issues do not arise for a U.S. citizen, including U.S. citizens from Puerto Rico.
Unlike U.S. citizens, people from the freely associated states must carry their I-94 (proof of admission) documents and show them when asked.
Free access
Citizens of the freely associated states can work, live, study, and travel in the United States. They can serve in the U.S. military as they do not have their own militaries. They must provide documents showing their eligibility for this access. COFA citizens regularly face challenges because most Americans do not understand their status. These individuals regularly report being mistaken for undocumented immigrants.
In the past, many have had difficulty getting Real IDs, have had to apply for work authorization (not legally required) before employers would consider them, and have had to worry about deportation.
U.S. citizens and nationals from the territories can live, work, study and travel in the states just as people from the states do. There are no restrictions.
Federal benefits
All the free associated states receive some financial support from the United States, in exchange for delegating defense and security responsibilities to the federal government. When they live in the states, however, COFA citizens may or may not receive federal benefits.
For example, COFA citizens lost access to Medicaid and forms of income security assistance in 1996, benefits that were legally provided for under the COFA agreements and ultimately restored by Congress, but not until 202o (Medicaid) or 2024 (other benefits).
COFA citizens may apply for PELL grants but cannot receive federal student loans.
COFA citizens can apply for Social Security cards after they have been admitted to the United States, but cannot apply from their home countries. There is therefore a delay between arrival and the ability to work or to receive related benefits, delays that do not exist for Puerto Rican migrants.
Residents of the territories have varying access to federal benefits. For example, people living in Puerto Rico cannot receive SSI, though residents of the Northern Mariana Islands, another U.S. territory, are eligible. Congress is allowed to treat territories differently from states and one territory differently from another. They don’t really have to provide reasons for these decisions, since the U.S. Constitution doesn’t cover the territories.
However, when they live in a state, all U.S. citizens, including Puerto Ricans, are entitled to all the federal benefits available to any U.S. citizen eligible for those benefits.
Voting rights
COFA citizens are not U.S. citizens, so they cannot vote in U.S. elections.
Residents of territories cannot vote in presidential elections, and they cannot vote for senators or voting Members of the House of Representatives, because the territories do not have those representatives. However, any territory citizen can vote in all relevant elections if they move to a state. A citizen of Puerto Rico is also a citizen of the United States and has full voting rights when residing in a state.
Inequity and discrimination
COFA citizens in the United States are more likely to live in poverty, more likely to live with chronic diseases, and less likely to be able to communicate easily with community helpers such as medical professionals, school officials, and police officers. What’s more, states and territories (such as Guam) that have large numbers of COFA citizens, sometimes resent the extra costs of supporting these non-immigrants when they consider the costs the federal government’s responsibility. Surveys of some communities have shown that COFA citizens are perceived as a burden.
U.S. citizens from territories like Puerto Rico also face inequity and discrimination, but moving to a state gives these U.S. citizens the full protection of the Constitution. COFA citizens don’t have this protection, nor do they have an expedited path to U.S. citizenship when they move.
