Editing Politics of Puerto Rico (section)

=== Political status within the United States ===
Under the [[Constitution of Puerto Rico]], Puerto Rico is described as a Commonwealth and Puerto Ricans have a degree of [[autonomous entity|administrative autonomy]] similar to that of a [[U.S. state]].
Puerto Ricans were collectively made [[American citizenship#Birth within the United States|U.S. citizens]] in 1917 as a result of the [[Jones–Shafroth Act]].<ref name="American Expansion 1898. Page 166, 178">[The Louisiana Purchase and American Expansion: 1803–1898. By Sanford Levinson and Bartholomew H. Sparrow. New York: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers. 2005. Page 166, 178.]"U.S. citizenship was extended to residents of Puerto Rico by virtue of the Jones Act, chap. 190, 39 Stat. 951 (1971) (codified at 48 U.S.C. §&nbsp;731 (1987)")</ref> The act was signed into law by President [[Woodrow Wilson]] on March 2, 1917. U.S. Federal law {{USC|8|1402}} approved by the President [[Harry S. Truman]] on June 27, 1952, declared all persons born in Puerto Rico on or after January 13, 1941, to be [[citizens of the U.S. at birth]] and all persons born in Puerto Rico between April 11, 1899, and January 12, 1941, and meeting certain other technical requirements, and not citizens of the United States under any other Act, were declared to be citizens of the U.S. as of January 13, 1941.<ref name="Constitutional Topic: Citizenship">{{Citation|url=http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_citi.html|title=Constitutional Topic: Citizenship|publisher=U.S. Constitution Online|access-date=2009-06-06}}</ref>

Only the "[[fundamental right]]s" under the federal constitution apply to Puerto Rico like the [[Privileges and Immunities Clause]] ([[United States Constitution|U.S. Constitution]], Article IV, Section 2, Clause 1, also known as the 'Comity Clause') that prevents a [[U.S. state|state]] from treating citizens of other states in a discriminatory manner, with regard to basic civil rights. The clause also embraces a right to travel, so that a citizen of one state can go and enjoy privileges and immunities in any other state; this constitutional clause was expressly extended to Puerto Rico by the [[U.S. Congress]] through the federal law {{USC|48|737}} and signed by the President [[Harry S. Truman]] in 1947.<ref name="U.S. Department of State">{{cite web|url=https://fam.state.gov/FAM/07FAM/07FAM1120.html|title=7 fam 1120 acquisition of u.s. nationality in u.s. territories and possessions|access-date=2015-12-13|date=June 1, 2005|work=U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual Volume 7– Consular Affairs|publisher=U.S. Department of State|format=PDF|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222081013/https://fam.state.gov/FAM/07FAM/07FAM1120.html|archive-date=December 22, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|url=http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=105_house_hearings&docid=f:40445.pdf|title=Puerto Rico Status Hearing before the Committee on Resources House of Representative One Hundred Fifth Congress|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|access-date=2009-06-07}}</ref><ref name="Torres v. Puerto Rico">[[Torres v. Puerto Rico]]</ref> Other fundamental rights like the [[Due Process Clause]] and the [[equal protection]] guarantee of the [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourteenth Amendment]] was expressly extended to Puerto Rico by the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]]. In a brief concurrence in the judgment of ''[[Torres v. Puerto Rico]]'', U.S. Supreme Court Justice [[William J. Brennan Jr.|Brennan]], argued that any implicit limits from the Insular Cases on the basic rights granted by the Constitution (including especially the [[United States Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]]) were anachronistic in the 1970s.<ref name="Torres v. Puerto Rico" /><ref>{{Citation|url=http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=442&invol=465|title=Torres v. Puerto Rico|publisher=FindLaw.com Supreme Court Case Law|access-date=2009-09-09}}</ref><ref name=salud>{{Citation|url=http://puertoricoadvancement.org/Documents/Consejo%20De%20Salud%20Playa%20De%20Ponce%20V.%20Johnny%20Rullan%20-%20Secretary%20of%20Health%20of%20the%20Commonwealth%20of%20Puerto%20Rico.pdf|title=Consejo de Salud Playa de Ponce v Johnny Rullan, Secretary of Health of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico|publisher=The United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico|access-date=2009-12-20|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510095936/http://puertoricoadvancement.org/Documents/Consejo%20De%20Salud%20Playa%20De%20Ponce%20V.%20Johnny%20Rullan%20-%20Secretary%20of%20Health%20of%20the%20Commonwealth%20of%20Puerto%20Rico.pdf|archive-date=2011-05-10}}</ref>

President [[George H. W. Bush]] issued a memorandum on November 30, 1992, to heads of executive departments and agencies establishing the current administrative relationship between the federal government and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. This memorandum directs all federal departments, agencies, and officials to treat Puerto Rico administratively as if it were a state, insofar as doing so would not disrupt federal programs or operations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wikileaks.org/wiki/CRS:_Political_Status_of_Puerto_Rico:_Options_for_Congress%2C_May_29%2C_2008 |title=Political Status of Puerto Rico: Options for Congress |access-date=2009-12-06 |date=2000-05-17 |work=Congressional Research Service CRS RL32933 |publisher=United States Congressional Research Service |format=PDF |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091104130123/https://wikileaks.org/wiki/CRS:_Political_Status_of_Puerto_Rico:_Options_for_Congress%2C_May_29%2C_2008 |archive-date=November 4, 2009 }}</ref>

Puerto Rico does participate in the internal political process of both the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] and [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] parties in the U.S., accorded equal-proportional representation in both parties, and delegates from the islands vote in each party's national presidential convention.

Puerto Ricans may enlist in the [[United States Armed Forces|U.S. military]]. Since 1917, Puerto Ricans have been included in the compulsory draft whenever it has been in effect and more than 400,000 Puerto Ricans have served in the United States Armed Forces. Puerto Ricans have participated in all U.S. wars since 1898, most notably [[Puerto Ricans in World War I|World War I]], [[Puerto Ricans in World War II|World War II]], the [[65th Infantry Regiment (United States)|Korean]] and [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]] wars, as well as the current [[Middle Eastern conflicts]]. Several Puerto Ricans became notable commanders, five have been awarded the [[Medal of Honor]], the highest military decoration in the United States, also several Puerto Ricans have attained the rank of [[General (United States)|General]] or [[Admiral (United States)|Admiral]], which requires a Presidential nomination and Senate confirmation.<ref name=salud/> In World War II,<ref name="PRS">[http://www.prsoldier.com/17-aug2005.pdf Who was Agustín Ramos Calero?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060825155803/http://www.prsoldier.com/17-aug2005.pdf |date=2006-08-25 }}, ''The Puerto Rican Soldier'', August 17, 2005. PDF format. Retrieved November 19, 2006.</ref> the Korean War<ref name="MC">{{cite web|author=Mr. Asencio |url=http://www.valerosos.com/CCFSpringOffensive.pdf |title=Mosdesto Cartagena |access-date=2011-06-13}}</ref> and the Vietnam War<ref Name="COL">{{cite web|url=http://www.cityoflorain.org/calendar/?e=36222 |title=City of Lorain |publisher=City of Lorain |access-date=2011-06-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520083746/http://www.cityoflorain.org/calendar/?e=36222 |archive-date=May 20, 2011 }}</ref> Puerto Ricans were the most decorated Hispanic soldiers and in some cases they were the first to die in combat.<ref>{{cite news |first=Nadine |last=Brozan |title=Chronicle |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE4D6103EF932A2575BC0A964958260 |work=The New York Times |date=1992-08-11 |access-date=2008-01-02}}</ref><ref name=Nieves>Nieves, ''New York Times'', 1993.</ref>

Puerto Rico has not yet become an independent nation or a state of the Union. It remains a territory of the United States of America. The action of Congress in authorizing and approving, The Commonwealth Constitution is adopted pursuant to the constitutional power of Congress to make necessary rules and regulations concerning the territory of the United States of America. The foreign relations of Puerto Rico, like those of other territories and states, continue to be conducted by the United States of America. Internal government and administration, Puerto Rico occupies a unique position among the territories and states of the United States of America. in requesting Congress to authorize the drafting and adoption of a constitution. Congress has agreed that Puerto Rico shall, under this constitution, be free from any control or interference by Congress in matters relating to internal government and administration, subject only to compliance with the applicable provisions of the federal constitution of the United States of America. Laws that directed or authorized direct interference by the United States federal government in local government affairs, prior to 1952, have been repealed.<ref>[https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1952-54v03/d902 "Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, United Nations Affairs, Volume III"].{{source-attribution}}</ref>