Posted on 10/28/2025 3:21:44 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
“Puerto Rico doesn’t have to be ‘American’ to be a friend of America. Let it be what it already is — a nation.”
So editorializes Javier A. Hernández, a Puerto Rican author, linguist, educator, and former federal official. And Hernández is one more thing, too: a pro-Puerto Rico sovereignty advocate. So his passions are clear. Yet so is his point:
Should Puerto Rico ever become a state, it would never, ever assimilate into the United States.
Nor would it be reasonable to expect it to.
Absorbing the island would be, in fact, a bit like accepting Spain as the 51st state and counting on assimilation. Far from this, however, the “Pearl of the Caribbean” would become what Quebec (French-speaking province) is to Canada — on steroids.
This is for good reason: Puerto Rico was a colony of Spain’s for more than 400 years. The island “is an older nation than the United States,” Hernández points out. It has “a history spanning over 500 years of Hispanic civilization.” Its character isn’t changing, either.
Neither Fish Nor Fowl
As many know, Puerto Rico has a status shared by only four other lands. It’s an unincorporated U.S. territory whose residents are nonetheless U.S. citizens. They can be drafted into the American military, but cannot vote in presidential elections. They also have no voting members in Congress.
This unusual situation arose because Puerto Rico was a spoil of war. It was ceded to the United States in 1898 after the Spanish-American War. Since then, it has been in limbo, neither a state nor its own country. The island isn’t in largess limbo, however. Why, its residents receive more than $8,500 in per capita U.S. handouts — more than the American average.
And what is this status’ point...
(Excerpt) Read more at thenewamerican.com ...
Keep them as a territory.
Read9
How about trading Puerto Rico to Denmark for Greenland?
I agree.
We need to let them go.
Trade to Canada and take my province.
Please.
I agree. Puerto Rico should become independent.
Well, bye!
They’ll still want all the welfare though
In some of the old movies I’ve seen, just about every Puerto Rican was either a juvenile delinquent or a former juvenile delinquent, especially when the main location was NYC.
In West Side Story they were The Sharks.
No statehood, ever.
“Pete Morales” in Blackboard Jungle- The noisiest student in class.
Bingo!
If we paid Spain a lump sum to take it back, we would make out in the end.
Let them go Independent. Trade with Canada for Alberta.
Whatever we do, Puerto Rico must never become a state.
Better us than bring occupied by China.
“Puerto Rico receives significant annual aid from the U.S. government, with federal funds totaling approximately $15.4 billion for fiscal year 2025, accounting for 46% of the territory’s government budget.
“This includes recurring allocations for services such as healthcare, education, and nutrition, as well as one-time grants for disaster relief and infrastructure recovery.”
AI
“Puerto Rico doesn’t have to be ‘American’ to be a friend of America. Let it be what it already is — a nation.”
___________
Friends of the USA don’t get to vote. Wake up.
Puerto Rico is a nice island. I love visiting. That said, it should stay a territory and commonwealth, it shouldn’t be a state as it truly has nothing in common with us as a nation.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.