Congress Must Act On Puerto Rico’s Political Representation

by Jailene Acevedo

Puerto Ricans have voted, but Congress has yet to act. Therein lies a contradiction: How can the U.S. promote democracy abroad when millions of Puerto Ricans lack full representation at home? 

In 2024, for the seventh time, Puerto Ricans voted on their preferred political status in a non-binding referendum. In 2022, the House of Representatives passed the Puerto Rico Status Act, landmark legislation that would have mandated a federally binding referendum for statehood, independence, or free association. 

But the bill was never scheduled for a Senate floor vote. By not voting, the Senate blocked the sole federal mechanism that would have turned Puerto Ricans’ democratic will into law. As one of democracy’s core tenets is representation, the Senate’s inaction reflects not only institutional failure, but betrayal. 

As U.S. citizens, Puerto Ricans pay taxes, serve in the military, and are subject to all federal laws. They have the same president as all 50 states, but they cannot vote in presidential elections, and their lone representative in Congress, the Resident Commissioner, is a non-voting member. Therefore, they lack full political representation. Congress functions as the sole governing body of Puerto Rico, determining its federal funding, tax codes, disaster relief, and broader socioeconomic policy. Yet it is impossible for Puerto Ricans to shape the very policies they are governed by. Instead, the island is subject to the ongoing uncertainty and unpredictability of any U.S. administration.

Puerto Rico has continued to hold non-binding status referenda like the one in 2024 to circumvent Washington's procrastination. However, nearly two years after statehood received a majority vote, Congress has yet to introduce legislation to change Puerto Rico’s status in any way. Rather, Puerto Rico remains classified as an “unincorporated territory”—a term originating from early 20th-century Supreme Court cases to designate jurisdictions that Congress is not required to govern as states. 

Since then, the U.S. has annexed new states, like Hawaii and Alaska, and granted independence to territories, like the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. The Puerto Rican people are asking Washington to do it again. By stonewalling these efforts, Congress is eroding America’s democratic credibility and denying 3 million people full political representation. Whether we call it “unincorporated territory” or “modern colonialism,” Puerto Ricans are voiceless in their fate. 

Congress is well aware that Puerto Ricans are unrepresented in the political system, yet preserves Puerto Rico’s territorial arrangement despite the structural inequalities. Why? One argument is geostrategic: as an island in the Caribbean archipelago, Puerto Rico has been an asset to the U.S. government for military and national security operations throughout history. Today, the government still uses the island’s resources while failing to grant it political representation. 

Other arguments cite a weakened U.S. economy, transition costs, and cultural division of a Spanish-speaking state. But these hurdles are about difficulty, not feasibility or precedent. The U.S. has admitted states during periods of turmoil, negotiated independence agreements, and dealt with transition costs in the past. Hawaii offers a direct precedent: Once a U.S. territory, it was admitted as a state in 1959 following a referendum. For Hawaii, political will superseded other constraints—when will Congress exercise the same will for Puerto Rico? 

The cultural division argument is similarly futile. Even without the incorporation of a Puerto Rican state, approximately 40 million people  in the mainland U.S. already speak Spanish. Moreover, Puerto Rico already represents the U.S. on a global stage, with Bad Bunny headlining Super Bowl LX. Puerto Ricans themselves remain excluded from full participation in the democracy they help define.

While changing Puerto Rico's status might reshape legislative power in Washington, this partisan calculation cannot justify ignoring political inequality. The U.S. calls for free elections and political representation abroad, sanctions regimes that suppress democracy, and commits billions in aid to Ukraine's defense on the grounds of sovereignty. Yet, Washington demands abroad what it refuses to its citizens at home.

The longer Puerto Ricans live with ambiguity, the longer democracy fails. Almost two years after the referendum, Congressional delays are deliberate choices that lawmakers must decisively resolve. Specifically, Congress must introduce binding legislation requiring both chambers are obligated to vote on and to implement the outcome.

Indefinite territorial governance is unacceptable. Puerto Ricans have voted repeatedly. Whether the choice is statehood, independence, or free association, it is time for Congress to act. The U.S. cannot claim to be democratic abroad while upholding a system that denies citizens fundamental rights.