Could Puerto Rico Become a U.S. State?

Last week, the House of Representatives passed the Puerto Rico Status Act, which provisions for a referendum on the Caribbean Island in November 2023, with residents choosing between independence, statehood or free association with the United States.

Puerto Rico is currently an unincorporated territory of the U.S. and has been under American control since the 1898 Spanish-American War.

Since 1917, Puerto Ricans have had U.S. citizenship, but do not get to vote in presidential general elections or elect representatives to either chamber of Congress.

In November 2020, 53 percent of Puerto Ricans voted in favor of becoming a U.S. state in a non-binding referendum, with 47 percent against it. The vote, which was not approved by the Trump administration, had a turnout of only 55 percent.

The Puerto Rico Status Act is unlikely to pass into law, as many Republicans are opposed and the Democrats lack the two-thirds Senate majority needed to break past the filibuster.

However, the bill reflects a growing debate over Puerto Rico's status, with critics arguing the territory's current relationship with the U.S. is a relic of colonialism.

How could Puerto Rico become a U.S. State?

According to the U.S. Constitution, only Congress has the power to admit new states into the union. Thus, for Puerto Rico to become a state an enabling act to this effect would have to pass both the House and Senate before being signed into law by the president.

If the act faced sustained opposition within the Senate, a two-third majority would likely be needed to stop it being killed by the filibuster.

Article IV of the Constitution, which deals with the creation of new states, says: "New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress."

In June 2020, a viral tweet called for Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. to be admitted into the union in place of Texas, after some Texan Republicans pushed for a referendum on independence from the U.S.

Who supports Puerto Rico statehood?

Statehood for Puerto Rico is widely supported within the Democratic Party, with 216 House Democrats backing the Puerto Rico Status Act, which could lead to statehood, earlier this month.

Joe Biden endorsed statehood for Puerto Rico ahead of the 2020 presidential election, describing it as "the most effective means of ensuring that residents of Puerto Rico are treated equally."

In March, Biden visited Puerto Rico, where he said: "I was sort of raised in the Puerto Rican community at home politically."

The plan to turn Puerto Rico into a state has also been backed by some prominent Republicans, both past and present.

In 1989, then-President George H.W. Bush said he would "strongly support" statehood for Puerto Rico. That same year, former President Ronald Reagan said he believed statehood would benefit "both the people of Puerto Rico and their fellow American citizens in the 50 states."

Florida GOP Senator Marco Rubio is a longstanding supporter of Puerto Rican statehood. In a 2018 statement he commented: "I support the right of our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico to seek admission to the union as a state. I will continue working on our strategy of building support in the Senate and creating the conditions necessary to achieve the 60 votes needed for success."

Who is against Puerto Rico statehood?

Much of the Republican Party remains hostile to statehood for Puerto Rico, with many fearful it would likely hand the Democrats another two seats in the Senate.

Earlier this month, all but 16 House Republicans voted against the Puerto Rico Status Act, though it passed with overwhelming Democratic support.

Speaking to Insider, Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia said the bill was not "the right way to go about something like that," adding: "I'm just not interested in Puerto Rico being a state."

Some Democrats have also expressed skepticism, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer telling a New York audience he wasn't ready to support statehood for Puerto Rico in February.

Speaking to the Manhattan Community Board 11 about a proposed statehood bill Schumer said: "I don't agree with them. I am not going to support their statehood bill until we straighten Puerto Rico out."

When did Spanish control over Puerto Rico end?

Europeans first visited Puerto Rico in November 1493, when Christopher Columbus landed on the island as part of an expedition funded by the Kingdom of Spain.

The first Spanish settlement on the island, Caparra, was founded in August 1508 after which Spanish colonists spread out across the island, with European diseases devastating the indigenous Taíno population.

Puerto Rico remained under Spanish control, with the Grito de Lares rebellion of 1868 successfully suppressed, until it was captured by American forces in 1898 during the Spanish-American War.

Following their defeat, the Spanish ceded Puerto Rico, along with the Philippines and Guam, to the United States.