Puerto Rico

Spain ceded Puerto Rico to the United States in the Treaty of Paris ending the Spanish-American War in 1898. The Foraker Act of 1900 set up a civil government with a governor appointed by the President, and the Jones-Shafroth Act of 1917 made Puerto Ricans U.S. citizens. Puerto Ricans began electing their governor in 1948, and in 1952 they adopted their own constitution, establishing the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or Estado Libre Asociado, with an elected legislature and courts.

Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory under the Insular Cases, so Congress governs it under the Territory Clause and only some constitutional provisions apply fully. Residents are citizens and can move freely to the states, but they elect only a nonvoting Resident Commissioner to the House and have no electoral votes. Most residents do not pay federal income tax on local income, but they pay other federal taxes, and federal programs such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income treat the island differently, an exclusion the Supreme Court upheld in United States v. Vaello Madero in 2022.

Puerto Rico's government defaulted on part of roughly $72 billion in debt in 2016, and Congress responded with the PROMESA law, creating a federal Financial Oversight and Management Board with power over the island's budgets and a court-supervised restructuring process. Hurricane Maria devastated the island in 2017. Puerto Ricans have voted on their political status several times, and statehood won majorities in nonbinding referendums in 2012, 2017, 2020, and 2024, though turnout and ballot wording were disputed. The House passed a status bill in 2022 that did not become law. Supporters of statehood, independence, and enhanced commonwealth continue to debate the island's future.