Statutory citizenship

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Statutory citizenship is a form of citizenship where the people or groups of people receiving citizenship are given access to citizenship by a legislative body of the nation. The use of restrictions and stipulations is a way of differentiating statutory citizenship from constitutional citizenship.

Contents

First-Use

This term was first used in 1917 under the Jones-Shafroth Act by members of the 64th United States Congress. This terminology was introduced to differentiate this from citizenship from fully constitutionally protected citizenship, thereby limiting the levels of protection offered by the United States government.

Major Features

One of the major features of statutory citizenship is its lack of protection under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America. This means that the U.S. Supreme Court has the discretionary power to decide the extent to which Puerto Ricans will have their fundamental personal rights protected and defined on a case-by-case basis. [1] Since the United States Constitution does not fully apply to Puerto Ricans and the territory retains its own constitution, it is unclear whether in what contexts the U.S. Supreme Court can offer any legal protections to those living on the island.

Effects on Puerto Rico

In the context of Puerto Rico, statutory citizenship allows many of the privileges afforded to American citizens with a few notable restrictions and stipulations. One of the most notable of the restrictions, relates to the manner through which citizenship can be legally revoked. Citizenship has been revoked pursuant to understandings of the Territory Clause of the United States Constitution which would place Puerto Rico as a place which is not within the physical bounds of the United States. [2] It is instead an unincorporated territory which lies outside of the boundaries created by the 50 states of America. [3] [4]

One heavily debated aspect of the Territory Clause relates to the process of incorporation into the United States. This process could allow naturalized citizens to move beyond the boundaries of statutory citizenship and have constitutional citizenship, which is protected from revocation through the 14th Amendment. More specifically, the Supreme Court ruled in 1922, in Balzac v. Porto Rico, that while the Jones Act may have extended American citizenship to Puerto Ricans, it did not establish a showing of incorporation of the island into the United States. [5] This will be brought up multiple times in Congressional debates and discussions on the citizenship status of Puerto Rico through to the present. This argument uses the lack of incorporation of Puerto Rico into the United States to ensure that Puerto Rico does not classify under the same legal status of the preexistent 50 states.

That said, some Puerto Ricans were and continue to be eligible for Fourteenth Amendment Citizenship. Those who were born in any of the 50 states would be granted constitutional citizenship—as opposed to those born on the island who were subsequently ineligible. [6] Here we see how the physical aspect of citizenship plays a large part in the legal understandings. The physical location of Puerto Rico, as determined by the Territory Clause, creates a space that is legally different from the 50 states. It is an unincorporated possession which is neither in the United States nor a foreign entity. [7] When legislators establish that Puerto Rico exists in this intermediary physical location, a new type of citizenship, in this case, statutory citizenship, arises to create the label for how people born in this intermediary physical location can access citizenship. [8]

Present Implications

Most recently, in 2011, the President's Task Force on Puerto Rico issued a report providing a list of viable options for either retaining or changing the current territorial status of Puerto Rico. [9] Any change in Puerto Rico's status would require action on behalf of the acting Congressional members, and as of the writing of their report, none has been taken.

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The proposed political status for Puerto Rico encompasses the different schools of thought on whether Puerto Rico, currently an unincorporated territory of the United States in the form of a commonwealth, should change its current political status. Although there are many differing points of view, there are four that emerge in principle: that Puerto Rico maintains its current status, becomes a state of the United States, becomes fully independent, or becomes a freely associated state.

Status quo movement in Puerto Rico Movement for Puerto Rico to remain a commonwealth of the U.S.

The status quo movement in Puerto Rico refers to initiatives throughout the history of Puerto Rico aimed at maintaining the current political status of Puerto Rico, that of a commonwealth of the United States.

Three main alternatives are generally presented to Puerto Rican voters during a Puerto Rico political status plebiscite: full independence, maintenance or enhancement of the current commonwealth status, and full statehood into the American Union. The exact expectations for each of these status formulas are a matter of debate by a given position's adherents and detractors. Puerto Ricans have proposed positions that modify the three alternatives above, such as (a) indemnified independence with phased-out US subsidy, (b) expanded political but not fiscal autonomy, and (c) statehood with a gradual phasing out of federal tax exemption.

The current political status of Puerto Rico has ramifications into many spheres of Puerto Rican life, and there are limits to the level of autonomy the Puerto Rican government has. For example, the Island's government is not fully autonomous, and the level of federal presence in the Island is common place, including a branch of the United States Federal District Court. There are also implications relative to the American citizenship carried by people born in Puerto Rico. Specifically, although people born in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico are natural born U.S. citizens, their citizenship is not protected by the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. As such, the American citizenship of Puerto Ricans can be taken away by the U.S. Congress unilaterally. Puerto Ricans are also covered by a group of "fundamental civil rights" but, since Puerto Rico is not a state, Puerto Ricans are not covered by the full American Bill of Rights. As for taxation, Puerto Ricans pay U.S. federal taxes, but most residents of the island are not required to file federal income tax returns. Representation-wise, Puerto Ricans have no voting representative in the U.S. Congress, but do have a Resident Commissioner who has a voice in Congress. Puerto Ricans must also serve in the United States military anytime conscription is ordered, with the same duties as a US citizen residing in the 50 states.

Various United States presidents have signed executive orders to help define, study, and generate activity regarding the political status of Puerto Rico. Three major orders were the 2005, 2007, and 2011 executive orders to establish the Presidential Task Force on the Status of Puerto Rico.

The Territories Clause of the United States Constitution allows for Congress to "dispose of" Puerto Rico and allow it to become independent of the U.S. or, under the authority of the Admissions Clause for it to be admitted as a state of the United States.

A referendum on the political status of Puerto Rico was held in Puerto Rico on June 11, 2017. The referendum had three options: becoming a state of the United States, independence/free association, or maintaining the current territorial status. Those who voted overwhelmingly chose statehood by 97%. This figure is attributed to a boycott led by the pro-status quo PPD party, which resulted in a 22.93% turnout.

References

  1. ↑ H.R. Rep No. 104-713, part 1 (1996)
  2. ↑ H.R. Rep No. 104-713, part 1 (1996)
  3. ↑ Killian, Johnny H. “Congressional Research Service Memorandum: Discretion of Congress Respecting Citizenship Status of Puerto Rico (March 9, 1989),” in Puerto Rico: Political Status Referendum, 1989-1991. 2 vols. Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration, 1992, 2: 81-85.
  4. ↑ Downes v. Bidwell, 182 U.S. 244 (1901)
  5. ↑ Killian, Johnny H. “Congressional Research Service Memorandum: Discretion of Congress Respecting Citizenship Status of Puerto Rico (March 9, 1989),” in Puerto Rico: Political Status Referendum, 1989-1991. 2 vols. Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration, 1992, 2: 81-85.
  6. ↑ Killian, Johnny H. “Congressional Research Service Memorandum: Discretion of Congress Respecting Citizenship Status of Puerto Rico (March 9, 1989),” in Puerto Rico: Political Status Referendum, 1989-1991. 2 vols. Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration, 1992, 2: 81-85.
  7. ↑ Killian, Johnny H. “Congressional Research Service Memorandum: Discretion of Congress Respecting Citizenship Status of Puerto Rico (March 9, 1989),” in Puerto Rico: Political Status Referendum, 1989-1991. 2 vols. Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration, 1992, 2: 81-85.
  8. ↑ To Provide That all Inhabitants of Porto Rico Shall Be Citizens of the United States, S. 2620, 59th Cong. (1906).
  9. ↑ Garret, Sam R., Congressional Research Service, Political Status of Puerto Rico: Options for Congress. CRS 7-5700/RL32933. CRS Report for Congress, June 1, 2011.
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