A bipartisan group of representatives, although mostly Democrats, unveiled legislation on May 19 that would grant Puerto Rico a path to statehood.
The group, led by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-N.Y.) and joined by Reps. Darren Soto (D-Fla.), Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and Puerto Rico’s Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón, a Republican, hopes to end what they have described as Puerto Rico’s “colonial status.”
Specifically, the bill would allow for a plebiscite, a vote of all Puerto Ricans to decide their status relative to the United States. Voters could choose to become independent, petition to join the United States as the 51st state, or maintain some other tie to the Untied States.
“The Puerto Rican people do not want to be a colony, and the United States of America does not want to be a colonialist power,” Hoyer said at a May 19 press conference discussing the bill. “This legislation seeks to address that issue.”
“For decades solving the Puerto Rican colonial conundrum has been at a standstill,” Velazquez said. “However, we announced today that we have an agreement on a way forward to decolonize Puerto Rico. This proposal will give the people of Puerto Rico the ability to decide their political future.”
González-Colón, the only Republican and the only Puerto Rican resident in the coalition, also applauded the bill as being long overdue.
“After months, months of sincere discussions and negotiations, we can proudly announce that we have reached an agreement on a path forward to solve once and for all the island’s political status,” González-Colón said.
Under the terms of the bill, if Puerto Ricans choose to seek statehood in a plebiscite, they would remain citizens of the United States.
If voters opt for independence, Puerto Ricans who already have U.S. citizenship would retain it, but those born after the nation became independent would be subject to the same immigration restrictions and naturalization requirements as any other non-citizen of the United States.
Despite the option, independence is unlikely to be the route followed by Puerto Ricans.
Since 2012, the island has held several referendums on statehood, with voters showing a clear preference for admission to the United States. In a 2020 vote, about 53 percent of Puerto Ricans indicated they preferred to join the United States as the 51st state if the opportunity were made available.
“The people of Puerto Rico voted many times, more than three times, for statehood. This is a plebiscite after plebiscite after referendum. ... Congress has never itself resolved the main issue of status,” González-Colón said.
“For the first time ever, we will be advancing a self-executing vote for nonterritorial alternatives,” she said.
Still, the bill is unlikely to wind up on President Joe Biden’s desk.
It could easily pass through the House if all Democrats fall in line behind the measure, but in the Senate, it would need the support of at least 10 Republicans.
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