When Hurricane Fiona struck Puerto Rico in mid-September, the entire island faced a disaster that was dismally familiar for its residents. Roads and bridges were destroyed, houses were flooded, and hospitals struggled to keep patients alive whilst attempting to bring their power back on after an island-wide blackout caused by the storm. This all came nearly five years after another tropical storm, Hurricane Maria, devastated Puerto Rico, leading to many migrating to the US mainland while those that remained had to deal with the fallout. As the Puerto Rican and American governments go through the process of reconstruction, now would be a good time to raise the question of whether or not this current system is working. 

As an unincorporated territory, Puerto Rico doesn’t receive the benefits of statehood, such as stronger economic protections, increased medical care funding, better disaster relief, or even the right to vote in US elections. This status has resulted in lackluster reconstruction efforts and frustration by residents of the island. So, rather than allow this depressing system to perpetuate further, the US and Puerto Rican governments should formally organize an attempt at establishing Puerto Rico as the 51st state of the United States of America. 

Ever since the United States acquired Puerto Rico following the Spanish-American War, the island has been labeled as an “unincorporated territory” meaning that it is on no path towards statehood. This status was decided in a series of Supreme Court cases known as the Insular Cases, in which the island was described as being “inhabited by alien races” and was considered to be a place where “administration of government and justice, according to Anglo-Saxon principles, may for a time be impossible.” Despite the obvious prejudice in the Court’s reasoning, this status has remained over a century since its decision, and it has resulted in multiple troubles for the island. For example, up until just earlier this year, the Puerto Rican economy had been in absolute shambles. Following the Great Recession of 2008, Puerto Rico’s debt had skyrocketed, owing over $74 billion to various authorities. Due to a set of laws made in the mid-80s, the Puerto Rican government was barred from applying for bankruptcy, meaning they can only acquire more and more debt. Said debt caused many Puerto Ricans to leave for the mainland in search of better work opportunities, with the island experiencing a loss of over 400,000 residents in the years between 2010-2020. Those who remained, meanwhile, had to suffer the consequences of a disastrous economy, such as the shutdown of multiple schools and a poverty rate of over 43% of the population. 

Should the US admit Puerto Rico into the Union, the island would finally receive assistance for many of its issues, including its economy, medical system, disaster relief, and lack of voting rights or representation for its citizens. The Puerto Rican government would finally be able to register for Chapter 9 bankruptcy and start restructuring its economy, as the laws preventing it from doing so only applied to territories. It would also receive increased funding for programs such as medical care, as their current program for Medicaid has a fixed cap that’s much lower than that of states. 

Statehood could also be a benefit in terms of disaster relief for Puerto Rico. While the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) doesn’t necessarily have a set amount of funding for providing aid to each state or territory, statehood would provide stronger incentives for Congress to react whenever a disaster hits the island. When Hurricane Irma hit Florida in late 2017, much more funding and resources was spent relieving Floridians than was spent helping the Puerto Ricans when they were hit by Hurricane Maria just two weeks later, despite Maria causing much more damage overall. 

Congress would gain that perspective with statehood because the status change would also mean that Puerto Rico gets representation in the legislative branch. Despite it being part of our country for over a century, the island gets no voting representatives in Congress, and its residents aren’t allowed to vote in presidential elections despite being US citizens. By admitting Puerto Rico into the Union, however, not only would its residents finally receive a voice in our government but they’d finally be able to partake in voting rights that have been kept from them for too long. 

But with all of the benefits that statehood would provide, there is still some pushback to the idea. While some argue for a perpetuation of the current status of unincorporated territory, another alternative with strong support on the island is the call for complete independence from the United States. Citizens in Puerto Rico who support independence argue that the US government has already caused enough issues for Puerto Rico, and thus Puerto Ricans should be wary of any proposal of statehood, as it could cause more harm than good. They believe that the United States has been dismissive of the island’s issues as a territory in the past and that statehood wouldn’t change this, or could make it worse. Supporters of independence also argue that statehood could cause an erasure of Puerto Rico’s distinct culture and identity, as more Americans moving into the island could cause said identity to become lost and diluted in the American melting pot.

While there are definitive merits to the call for independence, statehood is the better alternative overall. It would result in a much more stable method of improving Puerto Rico’s economy than should it go on its own, and it would mean much more coverage from other issues as well, such as medical care or disaster relief. The island’s separation from the contiguous United States, along with its status as a territory, create both a physical and political disconnection between the Puerto Rican and US governments. This disconnection causes the US government to prioritize issues affecting the states rather than issues affecting the island, much to the detriment of its residents. Statehood could thus provide stronger reasoning for why Congress should help more when the island is hit by a natural disaster. As a state, it wouldn’t be seen as just some foreign land that was struck by a hurricane. It would have representatives and senators to speak out and help us see that it's a part of our Union that’s been severely hurt and needs our support. 

Whatever alternative you prefer, the fact of the matter is that the current system is not working, and the longer we ignore that fact, the worse it’s going to get for Puerto Rico when another hurricane comes through. One important first step to solving this issue is by passing H.R. 2070, or the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act. This bill, introduced in the House last year, would provide Puerto Rican citizens with the opportunity to vote on whether they’d like to keep their current system, become a state, or become fully independent from the United States. While this may not sound like much, it would go a long way to finally providing a solution that has gone ignored for decades, and it would give a voice to all sides of the issue. It is also binding to the United States, meaning Congress, regardless of the results, has to actually respond to and act on them. While the bill has not received much attention since its introduction in the House last year, with the recent destruction to the island caused by Hurricane Fiona, now would be an opportune time to raise awareness of it and pressure Congress to help provide a voice to millions of American citizens who have previously been left silenced. Puerto Rico, in more ways than one, has been trying not to sink for the past several years. Now is the time to finally throw them a lifeline.