The latest Supreme Court decision leaving open the chance that President Trump’s denial of birthright citizenship to people born on U.S. soil to undocumented dad and mom shall be upheld, is sending shockwaves by way of authorized, political, and immigrant communities.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissent captured the alarm: “No proper is protected.”
However past the continental United States, this choice reverberates in a novel and profound manner in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory caught in political limbo since 1898.
For greater than a century, Puerto Ricans have held U.S. citizenship by statute, not by constitutional assure. That statute — the Jones-Shafroth Act of 1917 — unilaterally imposed U.S. citizenship on Puerto Ricans (with out their consent) not as a recognition of full inclusion, however as a software of colonial management.
At present, that statutory citizenship is proving to be as susceptible as its colonial origins. The Supreme Court docket’s ruling now opens a wider dialog: If U.S. citizenship will be restricted or redefined by federal authorities, what future do Puerto Ricans actually have inside the U.S. system?
Not a lot.
The ruling has already been weaponized by the pro-statehood motion in Puerto Rico. Statehood advocates argue that solely by changing into a state can Puerto Ricans guarantee everlasting, constitutionally protected birthright citizenship for future generations. However this slim, fear-based response ignores each authorized precedent and geopolitical logic.
There’s a higher manner — one rooted in dignity, sovereignty and worldwide norms. Puerto Rico can and may turn out to be a sovereign nation, both underneath independence or a Compact of Free Affiliation. Actually, the ruling strengthens the case for independence as essentially the most simply and steady long-term resolution for Puerto Rico and the U.S. alike.
Below the draft executive order not too long ago proposed for Trump’s consideration, Puerto Rico would turn out to be a sovereign nation. Upon independence, the statutory U.S. citizenship conferred by the Jones Act would stop to use to new births in Puerto Rico.
All people born in Puerto Rico after independence would purchase Puerto Rican citizenship — a nationwide id of their very own, outlined by Puerto Rican regulation and values, not these of a distant overseas energy.
Nevertheless, this doesn’t imply the whole severing of U.S. ties for people. Kids born in Puerto Rico to U.S. citizen dad and mom (as outlined underneath the Immigration and Nationality Act) would stay eligible for U.S. citizenship by way of a Consular Report of Start Overseas — a system already in place for U.S. residents worldwide.
For instance, if a U.S. citizen has a child in Paris, that little one can acquire U.S. citizenship. This preserves continuity for households with U.S. roots, whereas respecting the sovereignty of Puerto Rico to find out its personal citizenship coverage transferring ahead.
Furthermore, Puerto Ricans who already possess U.S. citizenship in the mean time of independence would retain it, and robotically purchase Puerto Rican citizenship as effectively, changing into twin residents.
Those that not want to maintain U.S. citizenship would have the choice to resign it swiftly and with out penalty by way of the brand new U.S. Embassy in San Juan, underneath a fast-track renunciation course of that respects private id and freedom of alternative.
Puerto Rico’s pro-statehood motion seldom mentions the financial prices of statehood. Below present regulation, most Puerto Ricans don’t pay U.S. federal earnings tax on regionally sourced earnings. This tax exemption would finish underneath statehood, and the implications could be economically devastating.
The U.S. Authorities Accountability Workplace warned in a 2014 report that full software of federal tax legal guidelines may collapse Puerto Rico’s fragile financial system. Below independence, Puerto Rican residents would stay exempt from U.S. federal taxes except they reside within the U.S., as is commonplace for all overseas nationals.
In the meantime, the brand new Republic of Puerto Rico would design and implement its personal nationwide tax system based mostly on its distinctive financial wants and priorities.
A sovereign Puerto Rico ought to and would nonetheless stay interconnected with the U.S. A free-transit settlement — permitting visa-free journey between the 2 nations for each U.S. and Puerto Rican residents — would allow household unity, tourism, commerce and alternatives with out requiring assimilation or dependence.
Actually, this readability of standing would assist Puerto Ricans make knowledgeable choices about their id and future.
Those that really feel primarily American and want to keep birthright U.S. citizenship for his or her kids may relocate to any state within the U.S. Those that really feel primarily Puerto Rican and search to keep up their nationwide tradition, id, and Spanish language — would lastly stay in a nation the place their citizenship displays their tradition, language, and aspirations.
Importantly, independence would additionally halt the apply of foreigners giving delivery in Puerto Rico solely to accumulate U.S. citizenship for his or her kids — usually with no intention of integrating into Puerto Rican society.
Sovereignty would give Puerto Rico the authority to outline and defend its personal naturalization and immigration insurance policies, defending each its demographic and cultural integrity.
The U.S. Supreme Court docket has unwittingly accelerated a long-overdue reckoning.
If U.S. citizenship for Puerto Ricans is not safe, then neither is the colonial-style association that produced it. Reasonably than cling to an unsure future inside a union that has by no means really welcomed them, Puerto Ricans now face a historic alternative to outline themselves on their very own phrases.
Independence doesn’t imply isolation, however unity with the worldwide neighborhood of countries. It means liberty with dignity, citizenship with id and a relationship with the US based mostly on respect, not colonial subordination.
The top of birthright U.S. citizenship in Puerto Rico could possibly be, paradoxically, the start of Puerto Rican nationhood. The trail ahead is evident for individuals who imagine in justice, democracy and decolonization.
Puerto Rico should turn out to be a sovereign nation — not only for authorized causes, however for the dignity of its folks and the success of its historic future.
Javier A. Hernández is a former federal official and creator of “PREXIT: Forging Puerto Rico’s Path to Sovereignty,” and “Puerto Rico: The Economic Case for Sovereignty.”