In the late 1930s, the U.S. Navy began to acquire land on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques. They purchased sugar plantations, and in 1941, forcibly expropriated land from natives, and gave them 24 hours to evacuate their homes. A witness recalls:

I was given $30 for the house and there was nothing I could do about it except put everything we owned in the truck. I knew that those who protested were mistreated. When we arrived at Monte Santo, the relocation area, we found a sugar cane field. There were no houses or anything. Our first child was born the very next day—right there. (McAdoo, 1978)

Navy confiscation of land would create thousands of landless, homeless Puerto Ricans. In 1999, a bomb went off on the Navy Vieques testing range, killing a Puerto Rican security guard. This incident was the last straw for many Puerto Ricans, as it provoked protests and demands for the U.S. Navy to leave the island (Bria 17 4 C Puerto Rico, n.d.). The events that occurred on Vieques are just one example of the United States ignoring human rights and practicing imperialism upon the Puerto Rican people. Yet, the subject of Puerto Rican statehood has been discussed for decades. As we see Puerto Rico recovering from Hurricane Maria and the still-rampant COVID-19 pandemic, it could be asked: would the entrance of Puerto Rico into the Union serve as an ascension above its argued “second-class citizen” status? History shows that the United States has directly controlled Puerto Rico for most of its time as a territory, and modern times have shown that the U.S. government continues to neglect the needs of the Puerto Rican people. To preserve the future of Puerto Rico, they should remain a commonwealth in order to decide their own fate.

From the beginning of its history as a U.S. territory, Puerto Rico was acquired for the sake of imperialism. Its annexation in 1898 was a result of the Spanish-American War, in which the United States sought to expand its territory with its newfound industrial power. Law and policymakers would encourage this expansionist movement by creating the territorial status to control Puerto Rico and other territories, allowing the United States to selectively govern Puerto Rico (Venator-Santiago, 2018). This constitutional and legal ambiguity would allow for the Vieques incident and general Puerto Rican reliance on U.S. resources. However, the Jones Act of 1917 would grant citizenship to the inhabitants of the island without changing the island's territorial status or allowing presidential voting. It was only in 1948 that Franklin D. Roosevelt would influence Congress to allow Puerto Ricans the right to elect their first governor by allowing them to write their constitution. It also must be noted that Congress approved the constitution, but eliminated the bill of rights, which included the right to “an adequate standard of living” (Bria 17 4 C Puerto Rico, n.d.). Puerto Rico’s history as a territory has only shown the degree of neglect and inconsistency the U.S.government has had towards guaranteeing the rights of the territory’s citizens; military assets and imperialist control have always remained first and foremost in the minds of former leaders.

Modern developments in Puerto Rico continue to demonstrate this neglect. In 2017, Hurricane Maria destroyed millions of dollars in property and killed roughly 3,000 people. The shocking part is, even four years later, thousands of homes are still yet to be fixed. Slow reconstruction has been made slower by the COVID-19 pandemic as well. The hurricane left $90 billion in damages, yet Puerto Rico has only received $18 billion as fall of 2021 (Acevedo, 2021). The leadership of the Trump Administration continued to practice the trend of forsaking the island in a time of crisis, withholding $20 billion from Puerto Rico, concerned about corruption or the capacity of the island to manage the relief funds. Government auditors have mentioned that Puerto Rico needs better systems for requesting federal funds, but it has been shown that Texas and Florida have had similar issues. It is also imperative to note that their funds were never held up in the same way that the funds for Puerto Rico were (Acevedo, 2021).

If Puerto Rico were to become a state, it would enjoy a variety of benefits, perhaps even freeing itself from the terrible legal conditions that its people have been subjected to. However, it is the unfortunate truth that historical precedent—imperialism, military prioritization, and racism, have time and time again shown themselves in the U.S.’ decisions concerning the island territory. Statehood wouldn’t change these factors. Let Puerto Rico find its fate, but to blindly submit to further control under the U.S. government would be unfortunate to all of those who’ve suffered. The Union’s mistreatment has given Puerto Rico no reason to join.

The last state that was added to the United States was Hawaii in 1959. It had previously been a US territory for 60 years. This was the United States was living up to its name. The lack of interest that this country has shown when the debate about Puerto Rico’s statehood comes up is not very democratic nor resourceful.

Puerto Rico has been a US territory since 1917. It has also been considered a commonwealth which is defined as a “independent country or community, especially a democratic republic” (Northdrop, 1952).The idea of making Puerto Rico a state of the United States has been presented since the declaration in the 50s, but many things have prevented the US from moving forward. Puerto Rico should become a US state for many different reasons, but some outweigh others.

As a territory, Puerto Rico does not have to pay income taxes or contribute to the federal taxes of the US. According to HRblock (Stauffer-Rodriguez, 2019), not all Puerto Rico residents pay income taxes or are required to report their yearly income. This does not help either country economically. States in the United States require their citizens to report their annual income, allowing for accurate tax refunds and providing them assistance.

The citizens of Puerto Rico count for 1.78% of the US population according to the US census bureau (Census, 2021). Even though citizens are also considered citizens of the United States, there are rights that they are deprived of. They participate in the census but are not treated as members of the country. They do not get the funding they require to help their economy.

On the other hand, Puerto Rico is a place with a lot of culture and sense of independence that would be better culturally to remain independent, but their economy is not enough to keep it circulating. These people are victims of taxation without representation, which is ironic because that is exactly how the United States became its own independent country. The lack of representation and circulation of taxes in the country prevents funding to get to where it needs to go as well as stalls projects that need to be solved as soon as possible.

Also, citizens of Puerto Rico are in favor of statehood instead of gaining independence. According to CNN, a poll that occurred in Puerto Rico described that “61% of voters chose statehood as the alternative, compared with 33% for the semi-autonomous “sovereign free association” and 6% for outright independence.” (Castillo, 2012). The people of Puerto Rico are withdrawing their consent to be governed the way they are governed. Statehood would provide more benefits for their citizens compared to the disadvantages they face now.

Puerto Rico is a beautiful country that is full of life, color, and people. It would be an amazing addition to the US as a state. Write to your senators and state representatives about this issue. We must address this problem and find a solution.