Should Puerto Rico be granted statehood?

The sharpest opinions on the debate from around the web

Puerto Rico.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Getty Images)

The political status of Puerto Rico has been a contentious topic since the island became an unincorporated territory of the United States in 1901. Under its current status, Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory. While over 3 million Puerto Ricans are born U.S. citizens, those who reside on the island cannot vote in U.S. presidential elections. The island only has one representative in Congress, Republican Jenniffer González-Colón, a resident commissioner who can't vote. The debate about political status divides the island's residents and other diasporic Puerto Ricans. Their three-party government system is divided into supporters of total independence, advocates for statehood, and those who wish to remain a U.S. territory.

There have been 145 bills attempting to address the island's political status debated in the U.S. Congress, according to Charles Venator-Santiago, director of the University of Connecticut's Puerto Rican Studies Initiative. While several measures managed to pass the House, none have ever moved through the Senate and become law. Recently, the House advanced a bipartisan bill known as the Puerto Rico Status Act, under which island residents would decide whether Puerto Rico should become a U.S. state, an independent country, or an independent country aligned with the U.S. All but 16 GOP representatives voted against the bill. Next, it will move to the Senate, where it faces an uphill battle. Should Puerto Rico be granted the opportunity to become the nation's 51st state?

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Theara Coleman, The Week US

Theara Coleman has worked as a staff writer at The Week since September 2022. She frequently writes about technology, education, literature and general news. She was previously a contributing writer and assistant editor at Honeysuckle Magazine, where she covered racial politics and cannabis industry news.