Poorer states like Alabama, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Arkansas often hear the tongue-in-cheek saying, “Thank God for Mississippi!” The poorest state in the nation… Read More »Puerto Rico and Federal Spending
Yesterday, 9/11, Americans remembered the attack on the World Trade Center in many different ways, commemorating the fallen, celebrating the public servants who stepped up to help the injured and rebuild the community, and giving or listening to speeches.Read More »100 Puerto Rican Troops Deployed on 9/11
A Puerto Rican veteran who fought in some of the bloodiest battles of the Korean War was awarded a Bronze Star on Friday in San Juan. Luis Ramos, who served with the Puerto Rico–based 65th Infantry Regiment, known as the Borinqueneers, received the medal at a ceremony held at a monument to the Borinqueneers.Read More »Luis Ramos Receives the Bronze Star
Puerto Rico has voted to become the 51st state of the Union. Congress, however, will have the final say on Puerto Rican statehood, giving residents of the… Read More »The U.S. Flag with 51 Stars
If Puerto Ricans choose statehood in their upcoming plebiscite, they could gain a Constitutional right they have never before experienced and one that has divided for decades U.S. citizens living in a state and those living in Puerto Rico: the right to vote.
Despite being U.S. citizens, Puerto Ricans have never had the right to vote because Article II of the United States Constitution grants the states, not the people, the ability to select the president. Citizens vote indirectly for the president by voting for state electors. Because Puerto Rico is a territory and not a state, Puerto Rico, and by extension its residents, cannot participate in the election of the president. Read More »When a U.S. Citizen Cannot Vote for President
A Black Hawk crash this weekend left 11 dead, including a serviceman from Puerto Rico, Sgt. Luis Galbreath of San Juan. Sgt. Galbreath was 41 and a member of 25th Infantry Division’s 2nd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade from Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Three of the eleven were U.S. soldiers.Read More »Puerto Rican Soldier Among Casualties of Black Hawk Crash
Following a wave of migration over the past decade, Puerto Ricans now have a notable presence in nearly every state throughout the country. Between 2000 and 2010, the Puerto Rican population in the fifty states grew by 300,000 people, and with that growth has come Puerto Rican representation in virtually every state, not just in areas traditionally known as Puerto Rican enclaves. Read More »Puerto Rican Influence Throughout the Fifty States
Today Hawaii is celebrating its 53rd anniversary of becoming a State, and there is much to celebrate.
Remembering Hawaii’s attainment of statehood on August 21, 1959, former Gov. Linda Lingle (R) recalls the celebration in the streets – civil defense horns wailing, church bells peeling, ship whistles blaring and motorists honking their horns. She has a distinct recollection of a headline proclaiming Hawaiians to be “First Class Citizens Now.” Lingle remembers the moment as “a day that marked new opportunities – socially, economically and politically.” Read More »Hawaii Celebrates Statehood
After several years of strong migration, more Puerto Ricans now live in the fifty states than in Puerto Rico. According to the 2010 Census, there are 4.7 million Puerto Ricans living in the non-territorial United States and 3.7 million living in Puerto Rico. All states but one experienced an increase in their Puerto Rican populations between 2000 and 2010, with 300,000 additional people moving from Puerto Rico to the states between 2005 and 2009 as the territory experienced a recession.Read More »The Puerto Rican “Brain Drain”
