It takes more than a language to unify a nation

[Benjamin Barrett]

It appears that citizenship in Puerto Rico comes from the Jones-Shafroth
Act (http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/jonesact.html).

For other territories, here is what Wikipedia says
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_nationality_law):
According to 8 U.S.C. §1408 it is possible to be a U.S. national without
being a U.S. citizen. A person whose only connection to the U.S. is
through birth in an outlying possession, (which as of 2005 is limited to
American Samoa and Swains Island), or through descent from a person so
born acquires U.S. nationality but not U.S. citizenship. This was
formerly the case in only four other current or former U.S. overseas
possessions1:

    * Guam (1898 - 1950) (Citizenship granted by an Act of Congress)
    * the Philippines (1898 - 1946) (Independence in 1946; Citizenship
never accorded)
    * Puerto Rico (1898 - 1917) (Citizenship granted by an Act of Congress)
    * the U.S. Virgin Islands (1917 - 1927) (Citizenship granted by an
Act of Congress)

8 USC §1408 is at
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode08/usc_sec_08_00001401----000-.html

BB

Joel S. Berson wrote:
> Following up the entanglements of the law and the Constitution, was
> "United States" in "All persons born or naturalized in the United
> States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof" interpreted (in some
> Supreme Court case) to apply to Puerto Rico, which is not a
> state?  And these persons are "citizens ... of the State wherein they
> reside," which cannot apply to Puerto Rico.
>
> Note that this says "and", so it does not independently confer
> citizenship on those who are only "subject to the jurisdiction thereof".
>
> Joel
>
> At 2/27/2007 09:59 AM, Dave Wilton wrote:
>
>> Yes. The 14th Amendment reads, in part:
>>
>> "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the
>> jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State
>> wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall
>> abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor
>> shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without
>> due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal
>> protection of the laws."
>>
>>

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