<P> Puerto Ricans are by law natural - born citizens of the United States and may move freely between the island and the mainland . As it is not a state , Puerto Rico does not have a vote in the United States Congress , which governs the territory with full jurisdiction under the Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1950 . As a U.S. territory , American citizens residing on the island are disenfranchised at the national level and do not vote for president and vice president of the United States , and do not pay federal income tax on Puerto Rican income . Congress approved a local constitution , allowing U.S. citizens on the territory to elect a governor . A 2012 referendum showed a majority ( 54 % of those who voted ) disagreed with `` the present form of territorial status '' . A second question asking about a new model , had full statehood the preferred option among those who voted for a change of status , although a significant number of people did not answer the second question of the referendum . Another fifth referendum was held on June 11 , 2017 , with `` Statehood '' and `` Independence / Free Association '' initially as the only available choices . At the recommendation of the Department of Justice , an option for the `` current territorial status '' was added . The referendum showed an overwhelming support for statehood , with 97.18 % voting for it , although the voter turnout had a historically low figure of only 22.99 % of the registered voters casting their ballots . </P>
<P> Puerto Ricans are by law natural - born citizens of the United States and may move freely between the island and the mainland . As it is not a state , Puerto Rico does not have a vote in the United States Congress , which governs the territory with full jurisdiction under the Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1950 . As a U.S. territory , American citizens residing on the island are disenfranchised at the national level and do not vote for president and vice president of the United States , and do not pay federal income tax on Puerto Rican income . Congress approved a local constitution , allowing U.S. citizens on the territory to elect a governor . A 2012 referendum showed a majority ( 54 % of those who voted ) disagreed with `` the present form of territorial status '' . A second question asking about a new model , had full statehood the preferred option among those who voted for a change of status , although a significant number of people did not answer the second question of the referendum . Another fifth referendum was held on June 11 , 2017 , with `` Statehood '' and `` Independence / Free Association '' initially as the only available choices . At the recommendation of the Department of Justice , an option for the `` current territorial status '' was added . The referendum showed an overwhelming support for statehood , with 97.18 % voting for it , although the voter turnout had a historically low figure of only 22.99 % of the registered voters casting their ballots . </P>
when was puerto rico added to the usa
when was puerto rico added to the usa
1950
1950