And they have been for sometime, because while many other immigrating Latinos must deal with the naturalization bureaucracy, everyone born in Puerto Rico has been a citizen of the United States since March 2nd, 1917 with the passage of the Jones-Shafroth Act. It seems strange because from what I can tell, citizenship was just tossed onto Puerto Rico. Could you imagine today the government just giving anyone something so coveted as American citizenship? (Oh wait, right, the DREAM Act, Obama's America!) Come to think of it, the States was very much fond of handing out citizenship to just anyone who got off a boat in New York back in the day. Oh well, so there you have it, Puerto Ricans are all American citizens for whatever reason (possibly because the US Army needed freshly drafted meat for World War I).
Here is a delightful video from the YouTubiverse. While its related to PR's political policy, I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with any of the issues I've brought up or will bring up (I think its just meant as a trivia question), but it's at the very least evidence of the average person's lack of familiarity with Puerto Rico's political status. Enjoy.
wow talk about a change of heart on their part
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