Political and Migration Issues Affecting Puerto Ricans in the United St

Political and Migration Issues Affecting Puerto Ricans in the United States Puerto Ricans have a very distinct and complicated history. Their history is unlike any other immigrants who migrated at the United States at any time. Their island became a focus of the United States in 1898, when they won the island as booty in the Spanish-American war. Puerto Ricans residing in the United States have always had the dilemma of having to straddle both the American and Puerto Rican cultures and Spanish and English languages. In my opinion, Puerto Ricans have never had it easy living in the United States. So when I ask my grandparents, and other older generation Puerto Ricans why they decided to migrate from what I thought was "paradise" to the United States, they all give me the same answer. They wanted a better future for their families. They all felt that once they lived in the United States, opportunity would be knocking at the door. As exemplified in the novel, Memoirs of Bernando Vega: A Contribution to the History of the Puerto Rican Community in New York, Puerto Ricans struggled just as much in the mainland as they did on the island. Because of the relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico, one would think that Puerto Ricans would have had many advantages over other immigrants, especially after passing of the Jones Act of 1917, which granted Puerto Ricans a partial citizenship status. However, that was not the case either. Puerto Ricans still dealt with discrimination, a great deal of setbacks and downfalls, as well as issues of forced assimilation. Their high hopes of becoming successful in the United States usually came to an end after about a month or so of living in the United States when they realized it w... ...sly and were more involved politically. The difference is also due to the times in which these political groups were active, and the level of compliance Puerto Ricans had with the American political system, and improvements to individual organizations. Still there were many improvements made, and the same could not have been accomplished without Vega’s older generation of politicians. Still the efforts continue. It is now up the future generation of young Puerto Ricans to help unite their people, and their community advance. The politics of the Puerto Rican people has evolved from class politics, to ethnic politics, to what is now identity politics. In the beginning they struggled to be heard and represented in their small communities, and now we must continue to fight to have a voice and representation, not just in our community, but in the government as well.