A question popped up on Quora. “If my grandfather was born [in] Puerto Rico but my father was born in the US, if he gets his Puerto Rican Citizenship, can I then get mine after he has obtained his or will I still have to move for a year?”
As it happens, Puerto Rico’s House of Representatives approved House Joint Resolution 348, under which certificates of Puerto Rican citizenship would no longer be issued. Does that affect Puerto Rican citizenship?
What is Puerto Rican citizenship?
First, the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution says that “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” In the 50 states, all U.S. citizens are citizens of the states they live in. Thus, Puerto Ricans living in a state are citizens of that state: Florida, New York, or Texas, as the case may be. No state offers citizenship certificates, and people can’t remain citizens of states where they were born once they move to another state.
Since the 14th amendment doesn’t apply to people born in Puerto Rico, who get their birthright U.S. citizenship from laws passed by Congress, not from the Constitution, Puerto Rico can have other criteria for local citizenship. Puerto Rico offers a certificate of citizenship based on one of three criteria:
- You were born in Puerto Rico.
- You are a U.S. citizen not born in Puerto Rico and one of your parents was born in Puerto Rico.
- You are a U.S. citizen born in Puerto Rico and you have lived in Puerto Rico for one year immediately before applying for the certificate.
It is this certification of Puerto Rico citizenship that the Quora question is asking about, and which the new legislation would eliminate if it becomes law. It is important to note that the certificate of Puerto Rican citizenship doesn’t prove U.S. citizenship, serve as an alternative to a U.S. passport, or have any other legal force outside of Puerto Rico.
Can you be a citizen of Puerto Rico apart from the U.S.?
Legally, a person born in California but living in Pennsylvania is a citizen of Pennsylvania — but she is likely still to say she’s a Californian and to think of herself as a Californian as well as a Pennsylvanian. She is not a citizen of California under the law, but she can still consider herself a Californian. The situation is different for a person born in Puerto Rico and living in Pennsylvania. He is legally a citizen of Pennsylvania — but with the certificate of Puerto Rico citizenship, can still be a citizen of Puerto Rico.
The Juan Mari Brás Foundation objects to the end of certification of Puerto Rico citizenship on the basis of a Puerto Rico court case involving a man named Juan Mari Brás. He had applied for and received a certificate of Puerto Rican citizenship. he renounced his U.S. citizenship and attempted to vote as a Puerto Rican citizenship. The Puerto Rico court agreed that he could be a Puerto Rican citizen without being a U.S. citizen.
However, the U.S. State Department declared that Mari Bras’s choice to vote in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, as well as to live and work there, proved that he did not actually want to give up his U.S. citizenship. In order to do that, he would have had to leave the U.S. entirely.
“Similar to a State of the Union,” wrote former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh, “Puerto Rico has sufficient sovereignty over its internal affairs under the local constitution to prescribe the qualifications of voters. However, Puerto Rico’s local sovereignty is a statutory delegation of the authority of Congress to govern territories, and is not a vested, guaranteed or permanent form of sovereignty like the states have under the 10th Amendment. Even if it were, no State of the Union, much less an unincorporated commonwealth territory, has the power to declare that the citizenship of the state or territory survives legally effective renunciation of U.S. nationality and citizenship.”
In other words, Puerto Rico has no citizenship of its own apart from the United States — just as states have no citizenship of their own apart from the United States.
How would the end of the certificates affect Puerto Ricans?
The certificate can be used as part of an Act 60 applicant’s proof of a sincere connection with Puerto Rico. It also shows Puerto Rican citizenship for Puerto Rican citizens who live in a state. That is, while you cannot live in Pennsylvania and remain a citizen of California because you were born there, you can be a citizen of Puerto Rico while living in a state.
That doesn’t require a certificate. The U.S. Constitution gives automatic state citizenship based on where a U.S. citizen lives. It has nothing to say about citizens of an unincorporated territory, so it does not automatically erase citizenship in Puerto Rico as it erases citizenship in a state where a U.S. citizen used to live.
A Puerto Rican citizenship certificate can speed up the process of gaining Spanish citizenship. It has no practical advantages for people living in the United States, but it can have emotional significance. If you are eligible, you can apply now in case Resolution 348 passes and the opportunity disappears.
How does this connect with U.S. citizenship?
It doesn’t. People born in Puerto Rico have birthright citizenship under laws passed by Congress, not under the 14th amendment. Puerto Rico thus has its own laws about Puerto Rican citizenship. They do not affect U.S. citizenship at all. U.S. citizenship is guaranteed and secured only under statehood. If Congress were to rescind Puerto Rico’s U.S. citizenship, people born in Puerto Rico would no longer be U.S. citizens, but would still be citizens of Puerto Rico. If Puerto Rico became an independent nation, Puerto Ricans living in the states would probably have to choose between U.S. and Puerto Rico citizenship. Reach out to your representatives and let them know that you want statehood and the permanent U.S. citizenship that comes with it.
No responses yet