Spanish period (1508–1898) Puerto Rico was a
Spanish colony for four hundred years, after Spain first established a settlement on the island in 1508. In accordance with the
Laws of the Indies,
criollos, persons born in the colonies, had fewer rights than
peninsulares, those born in Spain. After a governmental reorganization and propagation of the first Spanish constitution, the
1812 Constitution of Cádiz, Puerto Ricans were defined as persons born on the island and their descendants. They were granted an equal status and representation in the
Spanish Parliament. Within two years, the constitution was suspended and absolute monarchy returned, along with the former unequal status based upon place of birth. A Royal Charter issued in 1816, invited foreigners to migrate to Puerto Rico to engage in professions and offered them an opportunity to become Spanish citizens, upon request after establishing residency for five years. Foreigners who established a permanent residence in Puerto Rico were considered subjects, neither Spanish-nationals nor native-born, unless they chose to
naturalize. The children born in Puerto Rico derived the status of their fathers. If the father naturalized as Spanish, the children were Spanish nationals and if the father retained his foreign nationality, the children were foreign nationals. Instability in the Spanish Empire resulted in a lengthy period where the Constitution of Cádiz was reinstated and revoked several times, leaving Puerto Rico without specific legal status for its inhabitants until 1873, when the
Spanish Constitution of 1869 was extended to the island. This constitution abolished slavery in Puerto Rico and established a bill of rights for inhabitants. It was short-lived and ceased to be effective in 1874, with the
restoration of the monarchy. The 1812 Constitution contained provisions for Spain to draft a
Civil Code. Numerous attempts were unsuccessful, until a code was finally adopted in 1889. By royal decree on July 31, the Spanish Civil Code was extended to Cuba, the Philippines and Puerto Rico, coming into effect on January 1, 1890. The provisions of the code, in Article 22, required a married woman to derive her nationality from her husband.
United States period (1898–present) Establishing nationality for Puerto Rico (1898–1952) At the conclusion of the
Spanish–American War, under terms of the
1898 Treaty of Paris, the United States acquired control over Cuba, Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico. Prior to signature of the treaty, all persons born in US possessions had been collectively naturalized by the United States. Under the terms of the 1898 Treaty, however, possessions were deemed to be foreign localities and because no collective naturalization was provided, persons living therein were not protected by the
Citizenship Clause of the
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The language created a new classification of non-citizen US nationals, which applied at the time to Cuba, Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico, and was later extended to include American Samoa, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. In essence, until Congress chose to convey rights of citizenship, inhabitants of possessions were not extended full constitutional rights, but belonged to the United States. The lack of a collective naturalization clause created a situation which treated inhabitants differently based upon their origin. Spanish nationals born in Spain could opt to remain Spanish, by making a formal declaration within one year of the treaty in a court that they wished to retain their original nationality. Failure to do so, severed the tie to Spain if the person remained in Puerto Rico. Foreigners remained foreign nationals. Persons born in Puerto Rico automatically became US nationals, but according to scholar John L. A. de Passalacqua, had no "citizenship whatsoever recognized under international law or even United States municipal law". In 1900, the US Congress passed the first
Organic Act, known as the
Foraker Act, to regulate the status of Puerto Rico and establish a civilian government. It created a legislature, over which the US Congress retained authority to annul laws and established that while Puerto Ricans were US nationals, they were territorial citizens. US nationality applied only to those who had renounced Spanish nationality or were already US nationals residing in Puerto Rico. It did not extend to foreigners or those born in Puerto Rico who were residing abroad. The
Puerto Rican Civil Code, as did other laws in force at the time, remained applicable in accordance with terms of the Foraker Act. It was replaced in 1902, incorporating portions of the Louisiana Code. The Civil Code was revised again in 1930, with only slight modifications from the former version and contained provisions for the
legal incapacitation of married women until revision in 1976. In 1934, amendments to the
Cable Act, which partially provided married women individual nationality, were incorporated into the
Equal Nationality Act. Women were allowed under the amendment for their children born abroad to derive their nationality. The 1934 Nationality Act also provided that Puerto Rican women who had been denationalized because of marriage prior to March 2, 1917, the date upon which Puerto Ricans were extended US
statutory citizenship, had the option to repatriate. Amendments to the Jones Act, that same year, established that US collective naturalization was extended to all Puerto Ricans born after April 11, 1899, and thereafter naturalization was acquired at birth. Minor changes were made to the Jones Act in 1940 extending US nationality to foreigners who had permanent residency in Puerto Rico. That year the
Nationality Act of 1940 codified into a single federal statute, various laws and decisions by the
Supreme Court of the United States on nationality, including the status of non-citizen national, clarifying that not all persons with allegiance to the United States were able to acquire the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. It also established the principle that after 1941, all Puerto Ricans acquired US nationality at birth, in a similar manner to other US nationals, no longer through naturalization. In 1942, a proposed amendment of 1940 Act passed the
US House to address the provision with regard to Puerto Ricans for loss of nationality of naturalized persons. Initially, US nationality had not been a birthright for islanders and under the Jones Act they were collectively naturalized. A provision of the 1940 Act denationalized naturalized persons after five years continuous residency abroad, but had no restriction on the length of foreign residence for birthright nationals. To address this discrepancy, the amendment proposed to exclude Puerto Ricans from loss of nationality because of residence abroad. It was referred to committee in the Senate and had no further action. The measure was reintroduced in 1943 and 1946, and was finally successful in exempting Puerto Ricans from denationalization in 1948. The US
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, codified under
Title 8 of the
United States Code, revised the wording concerning Puerto Ricans, granting nationality to persons born in Puerto Rico on or after April 11, 1899, and prior to January 13, 1941, who had not been covered in previous legislation, and thereafter to Puerto Ricans at birth. It did not address the status of persons born prior to April 11, 1899.
Establishing citizenship for Puerto Rico (1900–1952) In 1900, the territorial legislature passed the Political Code of Puerto Rico, which recognized as Puerto Rican citizens, US nationals permanently living on the island, and former Spanish nationals who had severed ties with Spain, in language identical to the Foraker Act. However, it also contained the primary provision in Title II, Section 10, that anyone born in Puerto Rico "and subject to the jurisdiction thereof" was a Puerto Rican citizen. The US Supreme Court ruled in the
Insular Cases (1901–1922), that for
unincorporated territories and
insular possessions of the United States, which were not on a path toward statehood, the US Constitution did not necessarily apply. Specifically, in
Downes v. Bidwell (182 U.S. 244, 1901) the Supreme Court found that though Puerto Rico belonged to the United States, it was not part of it constitutionally because it was "inhabited by alien races, differing from us in religion, customs, laws, methods of taxation and modes of thought and therefore the administration of government and justice, according to
Anglo-Saxon principles, may for a time be impossible". In
Gonzales v. Williams (192 U.S. 1, 1904) the Supreme Court affirmed that Puerto Ricans were not aliens, or immigrants, causing Congress to pass in 1906, special provisions for persons born in unincorporated territories to naturalize in the United States. In 1917, the
Jones–Shafroth Act established statutory, rather than constitutional, US citizenship, upon US nationals of Puerto Rico and those who might have been absent from the territory at the time of US acquisition, but who had now returned to the island. People who had renounced foreign nationality and were previously Puerto Rican under local law, became
stateless under the terms of the Jones Act. In 1922, the US Supreme Court clarified in the case of
Balzac v. Porto Rico (258 US 298, 1922) that the full protection and rights of the US Constitution are not applicable to residents of Puerto Rico until they come to reside in the United States proper. Amendments to the Jones Act in 1927 extended naturalization with statutory citizenship to those who had been absent when it was enacted and those whom it had rendered stateless because of residency under previous Spanish law. In 1950, the US Congress passed Public Law 600, authorizing Puerto Rico to draft its own constitution to regulate its internal affairs. A local referendum was held to determine whether the government should be organized with a commonwealth status. The
Constitutional Convention of Puerto Rico established a constitution which had few differences between the relationship of Puerto Rico and the United States. Parts of the Jones Act were repealed, but the remainder ensured that the permanent association with the United States remained. ==Current system==