Puerto Rico governor formally requests US statehood
Jenniffer González signed a joint resolution asking President Trump and Congress to admit the island as the 51st state, drawing criticism from opposition leaders.
File photoThe short version
- Governor Jenniffer González signed House Joint Resolution 391 on Friday requesting formal admission as a state according to Primera Edición Col
- González said the measure fulfills a campaign promise and honors the will expressed in the 2024 status vote per Metro Puerto Rico
- PIP president Juan Dalmau called the move a desperate political act to divert attention from administration scandals Metro Puerto Rico reported
- PPD leader and Resident Commissioner Pablo José Hernández said the government should focus on fixing power and water services instead of status Metro Puerto Rico reported
Formal request signed
Puerto Rico Governor Jenniffer González signed a resolution on Friday formally asking President Donald Trump and the US Congress to admit the island as the 51st state with the same rights as the others. Primera Edición Col reported. The governor described the action as fulfilling a government program commitment and honoring the results of electoral consultations on the island's status.
The measure, known as House Joint Resolution 391, is intended to go beyond simply transmitting plebiscite results by constituting an official request from the Puerto Rico government. González stated that previous efforts had not followed this formal legislative path. She added that the time for decolonization has arrived and that it is now up to Congress to exercise its constitutional authority. Metro Puerto Rico reported.
Also on PuertoRico.com: Is Puerto Rico part of the US?
What the sources posted
Posts and statements below are the sources' own words, quoted as published. They are not independently verified.
No vamos a esperar al año electoral para hacer cumplir nuestros mandatos. Lo tenemos que hacer ahora
Our translation: We are not going to wait for the election year to fulfill our mandates. We have to do it now.
The source's own statement, as quoted by Metro Puerto Rico. Not verified by PuertoRico.com.
Governor defends timing and approach
González rejected the idea that the initiative restarts the fight for statehood, calling it instead a continuation of efforts by historical figures including José Celso Barbosa, Luis A. Ferré, Santiago Iglesias Pantín and Carlos Romero Barceló. She said the strategy followed public hearings with constitutional lawyers that examined how other US territories such as Alaska and Hawaii were admitted. Metro Puerto Rico reported.
The governor said she will not wait for an election year to fulfill mandates and will continue advocacy before Congress regardless of which party holds the majority. "I am not afraid of any national party," she stated. She noted that the 2024 status consultation produced an electoral mandate for statehood, although admission ultimately requires a decision by the US Congress. Metro Puerto Rico reported.
Opposition leaders criticize move
Resident Commissioner Pablo José Hernández, who leads the Popular Democratic Party, questioned the government's priorities. He said status will not change and that the administration should focus instead on resolving problems with electric power and potable water services. Metro Puerto Rico reported.
Puerto Rican Independence Party president Juan Dalmau said the initiative responds to political interests and is not a serious effort on status. He described it as a desperate act by the governor to use the statehood issue amid repudiation of her administration and to divert attention from surrounding scandals. Metro Puerto Rico reported.
Where the sources differ
All three sources agree that Governor Jenniffer González signed House Joint Resolution 391 on Friday requesting formal admission of Puerto Rico as a US state and that she described it as an official government request distinct from prior plebiscite transmissions. Primera Edición Col and Metro Puerto Rico's second article quote her statements about fulfilling campaign promises, historical continuity and the need for congressional action. Metro Puerto Rico's first article reports criticism from Pablo José Hernández of the Popular Democratic Party and Juan Dalmau of the Puerto Rican Independence Party, including Hernández's call to prioritize power and water services and Dalmau's characterization of the move as politically motivated to distract from scandals; these criticisms are not mentioned in the other two sources.
What the reports do not say
The reports do not state whether President Trump or any member of Congress has responded to the resolution. They contain no information on the likely timeline for congressional consideration, whether hearings will be scheduled, or what specific legislative steps would follow. The articles also do not detail the exact vote margins from the 2024 status consultation or provide any analysis of current levels of support for statehood, independence or enhanced commonwealth among the public.
Sources
Every link below was opened and checked when this story was published. Official means a government body, agency or the organization itself; Reporting means a news outlet.
- Official Gobernadora de Puerto Rico solicita a Trump y al Congreso la admisión de la isla como estado de EE. UU.
- Reporting Gobernadora de Puerto Rico solicita a Trump y al Congreso la admisión de la isla como estado de EE. UU.
- Reporting Gobernadora firma solicitud de admisión de Puerto Rico como estado
- Reporting Líderes políticos cuestionan solicitud de admisión de Puerto Rico como estado
How we checked this
Primera Edición Col and two Metro Puerto Rico articles supplied the facts used here. The governor's statements and description of the resolution rest on her own words as quoted in those outlets. Criticism from Hernández and Dalmau appears only in one Metro Puerto Rico report.
Compiled by the PuertoRico.com News Desk from the reports and statements listed above, and checked against them before publishing. It does not include original interviews. Spot an error? Email support@puertorico.com with a link to this story.