Present political status of Puerto Rico is only temporary

Present political status of Puerto Rico is only temporary: Under the territorial clause, Congress unilaterally could provide for the independence of Puerto Rico and, with same rigor, it could also provide for its statehood The decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court could be highly perplexing at times. However, there appears to be some clarity to the significant issue of correct status for the island of Puerto Rico. As a matter of fact, there should be no debate but to establish the legitimate procedures for providing the people of Puerto Rico (to include those born in the island but not residing therein) the opportunity to decide once and forever a choice between statehood and independence. It has to be recognized that the people of any Territory which wishes to remain within the U.S. sovereignty, achievement of the process of assimilation through statehood is the only path to full self-government. That means that the permanent institutionalization of the so-called Estado Libre Asociado (loosely translated as the Free Associated State or Commonwealth) on the island of Puerto Rico is a barbaric punishment, which only relegates the inhabitants to second class citizenship. And, it must be kept in mind, that this temporary arrangement as a Commonwealth or unincorporated territory is a status that offers less than fully self-governing position; and, quite important, such a status is only plausible only as long as Congress deems that to be consistent with the national interest. And, it is a given that the Congress is an ever-changing institution, and the caprices and moods of the men and women sitting in its chambers are a deciding factor in the fate of a particular Territory. That simply means that Congress may decide in a given day that people born in Puerto Rico after a given date would not be Americans any longer. Of course, such a decision, with extreme ramifications, might not pass muster with the Supreme Court; however, Congress does have unrestricted latitude in exerting its authority under the territorial clause of the Constitution. Thus, the implications for the people of Puerto Rico are simply that they do not control their political destinies as they do not have a nationhood or statehood status and, more important, the United States Congress can willy-nilly alter or abrogate any territorial (or Commonwealth) status or law in the books. For Puerto Ricans to be Puerto Ricans they have to choose to be fully independent as a nation or become a State and be recognized as Puerto Ricans (from the State of Puerto Rico) as Texans are recognized as Texans (that is, from the State of Texas). An aggregation of individuals without a solid banner or recognized political status does not constitute a body politic, which can withstand the assaults from the controlling institutions.