Are Puertoricans Immigrants?

Thandarr

No. When you were born in Puerto Rico you were born a citizen of the U.S. You weren't an immigrant when you came to the US. Puerto Rico is a Commonwealth (Estado Libre Asociado) of the U.S. One of the terms of the relationship is that people born in Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens. This has been the law since 1917. There is no immigration, no passport requirement, indeed no more requirement to move from Puerto Rico to an American state than to move from one American state to another. Puerto Ricans were eligible, as U.S. citizens, for the draft when we had a draft. If you move to another state you can register to vote. By the way, if someone born in the 50 states moves to Puerto Rico, he or she has the same rights.

The unfortunate fact is that many U.S. born people do not know the law and the history. Sometimes Puerto Ricans have to educate them. It is not really their fault. U.S. history and civics courses seldom cover this part of U.S. history in sufficient detail. This is something that really should change, because it explains the status of almost four million of their fellow citizens, but as it stands right now people don't know it and have to be told.

Always be proud of your heritage. Puerto Rico has a fabulous culture and history and has made major contributions to the United States. If you don't know about the history, culture, and heritage of Puerto Rico, ask family members or do some research on the Internet.

mamour

as far as i know? you are an US citizen,
now? you are always going to run into people who will not understand this and not accept you.
so, to me? you are an US citizen.

russ_in_mo

No, Puerto Ricans are not immigrants in the US because they hold US passports.

I've dealt with this directly myself when assisting a PR family swap their driver's licenses over to a Midwest state license. The licenses office claimed they weren't American citizens and had to sit the tests, like non citizens!

NYC fan

If you were born in Puerto Rico, you are a full U.S. citizen, period. No if's, and's, or but's about it. i will assume that you have not lived anywhere else, outside the U.S. (if you have, then this could change things). As a U.S. citizen, you are entitled to the same rights as any other U.S. citizen. If it was illegal for any reason for you to work, it would have to be for some other reason, certainly NOT your immigration status. If that's exactly what was said, then this sounds like you were discriminated against. The only thing illegal here would be the manager's actions.

Other answerers here might be able to give you actual advice as far as what you can do about it. I am honestly not sure of what your options are, so I won't try to guess. Good luck.

Sidwell

dont you have a US birth certificate or a US passport - that will prove that you are NOT an immigrant?

and if they dont know that Puerto Rico is part of the USA then you do not want to work for such DUMB STUPID UNEDUCATED AMERICAN employers.

I know I would not.

NSA

No. Puerto Rico is part of America, hence, Puerto Ricans are Americans.

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