President Trump鈥檚 Response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico Confirms Second-Class Citizenship
Over this weekend, President Trump confirmed that his administration鈥檚 to Hurricane Maria鈥檚 devastation of Puerto Rico is a symptom of these American citizens鈥� second-class status. Trump resorted to the racial stereotype that people of color 鈥渨ant everything to be done for them.鈥� But this statement couldn鈥檛 be further from the truth. Boricuas on the island and the mainland have each other in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.
My family and friends are giving back since they were one of the few lucky ones. They鈥檙e all safe. My parent鈥檚 house flooded, but there was no structural or heavy . They have enough food and power 鈥� for now 鈥� thanks to a generator (until the gas runs out).
I didn鈥檛 have to wait a week to hear their voice or get a message from them saying like so many of the more than 4 million Puerto Ricans living on the mainland. But this is for most of the 3.5 million American citizens living in Puerto Rico. Drinking water, , gasoline, and cash are in short supply. Hundreds of thousands . And now Congress is responsible for the lives of these American citizens.
From the moment they take their oath and put on that congressional lapel pin, every representative and senator becomes responsible for the people of Puerto Rico. That鈥檚 because the Supreme Court determined in the that Congress owns Puerto Rico 鈥� a spoil of the Spanish-American War. It鈥檚 a fact that is by some, but a fact nonetheless.
We鈥檙e talking about discrimination based solely on where some Americans choose to live.
The Supreme Court cases came to an unjust conclusion: that the U.S. could rule over certain people without granting them the full constitutional rights enjoyed by their brothers and sisters across the ocean. One example of this absurd ruling is the fact that even though Puerto Ricans are American citizens who can vote in presidential elections if they live in one of the 50 states, they do not have the right to vote on the island. We鈥檙e talking about discrimination based solely on where some Americans choose to live.
More like 鈥渓iberty and justice for some,鈥� right?
The Insular Cases essentially rendered the American citizens living in Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories second-class citizens. The Supreme Court鈥檚 decisions are now rightly seen as racist and archaic by many . Because, let鈥檚 face it, the Supreme Court wouldn鈥檛 have decided that only some fundamental rights apply to U.S. territories like Puerto Rico if it were an island populated by white people. One of the lead from Justice Henry Billings Brown detailed how it would be difficult to assimilate these 鈥渁lien races鈥� through 鈥淎nglo-Saxon principles.鈥�
However outdated and wrong, it is current constitutional law nonetheless. And until this changes, Congress needs to take care of its constituents in Puerto Rico and give them a shot at recovery with fair and equitable . The Trump administration and Congress鈥� lack of to provide aid to the island is a modern-day reflection of that second-class status.
Because, of course, second-class citizens get second-class aid.
