ancestry living in the United States mainland. (9) Puerto Rico has been under United States sovereignty and within the United States customs territory for close to 120 years, making Puerto Rico the oldest, largest, and most populous colony in the world, yet Congress has failed to respond to the people of Puerto Rico’s continued quest for equality and self-determination. (10) It has been the longstanding policy of the United States that the United States citizens of a territory can democratically determine whether it should eventually become a State or a sovereign nation. (11) On November 6, 2012, the Government of Puerto Rico held a locally sanctioned, two-part plebiscite. This plebiscite was consistent with the recommendations set forth by the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico’s Status Report to Congress of March 2011. The first question asked if Puerto Rico should continue to be a territory of the United States, and 54 percent of the voters rejected territory status. The second question asked the voters to express their preference among the three possible and internationally recognized permanent alternatives to territory status—statehood, independence, or nationhood in free association with the United States—and 61 percent of the voters who selected an option chose statehood. The number of votes cast for statehood on the second question exceeded the number of votes cast for continued territory status on the first question. (12) On June 11, 2017, the Government of Puerto Rico held yet another status plebiscite to ratify the results of the 2012 vote, on a ballot amended to specifically comply with the United States Department of Justice’s requirements pursuant to Public Law 113–76 . In this plebiscite, statehood received 97 percent, free association/independence received 1.5 percent, and current territorial status received 1.3 percent of the votes cast. (13) Puerto Ricans have contributed greatly to the Nation in all fields of endeavor, both in war and in peace. Over 250,000 have served in the United States