Between 2010 and 2020, three states saw decreases in population: West Virginia, which lost 3.2% of its people; Mississippi, the population of which fell by .2%; and Illinois, which lost .1% of its residents. The remaining 47 states all grew. Not so the territories. The United States has five inhabited territories, and all of them… Read more »

Governor Pierluisi wrote to congressional leaders listing actions that “would enable Puerto Rico to pivot from response to recovery and rebuilding from Fiona, the hurricanes of 2017 and earthquakes of 2020.” The letter was addressed to Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Speaker of the House; Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), Senate Majority Leader; and to their respective Republican… Read more »

A new book, The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021, by Peter Baker and Susan Glasser, claims that President Trump had to be told by staff that Puerto Ricans were U.S. citizens and that the Island was a territory belonging to the United States. He asked whether the United States could “divest” itself of… Read more »

President Biden has authorized 100% cost-sharing for Puerto Rico’s disaster relief, making it retroactive to September 17th, the date of Hurricane Fiona’s landfall in Puerto Rico. The funding covers debris removal, emergency protective measures, direct federal assistance, temporary housing and home repairs, and low-interest loans for individuals and businesses. It will be in force for 30 days…. Read more »

Hurricane Fiona, a Category 1 hurricane with winds up to 90 miles per hour, made landfall in Puerto Rico on Sunday, September 18th, just days before the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Maria. Nearly 1.5 million people were left without power on Sunday. Some 100,000 customers had power restored Monday morning. Only 30% of residents have… Read more »

Last week, supporters of the Puerto Rico Status Act (HR 8393) assembled in Washing to advocate on behalf of the proposal.  Activities began with a march to the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.  which highlighted the role of Puerto Rican service to the U.S. military. Later in the day, Governor Pedro Pierluisi and… Read more »

Over the past three decades, child poverty in the United States has fallen by 59%, from 28% to 11% in 2019, and even further in the past two years, thanks to extra assistance during the pandemic. Child poverty is now at a record-breaking low of 5.2% in the United States as a whole. In Puerto… Read more »

Andrew Biggs, an American Enterprise Institute Board Member, claimed that Puerto Rico can be the Singapore of the Caribbean. John Paulson has also used the phrase, as has Forbes magazine. What would that mean? Singapore’s forced independence and economic growth Many nations, including the United States, have demanded and fought for independence from the countries… Read more »

Oklahoma faced some of the same arguments against statehood faced by the other 31 territories which have already become states. Some in Congress wanted to keep Oklahoma from becoming a state for fear of upsetting the balance in Congress. While this question included concerns about party balance, Oklahoma was also resisted by Eastern states’ representatives… Read more »

32 territories have already become states, and every one had anti-statehood factions, both in the territory and in the existing states. Sometimes the arguments against those territories sound very familiar to anyone who keeps track of arguments against statehood for Puerto Rico. Colorado was no exception. Population Puerto Rico has over 3,000,000 U.S. citizens as… Read more »