Puerto Ricans push back on statehood over economy and culture loss

Several Puerto Ricans interviewed by Fox News Digital in San Juan, Puerto Rico voiced opposition to becoming America’s 51st state, arguing that it would send the economy into turmoil and strip the island of its cultural identity.

“I don’t think it should be a state,” Carly, who grew up in Puerto Rico and now lives in Connecticut, told Fox News Digital. “I don’t want them to do PR how they did with Hawaii. I don’t want taxes to spike. People’s wages here are really low to maintain life here.”

Statehood for Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory since the United States acquired it from Spain in 1898, has long been debated among both the U.S. government and Puerto Rico’s local government.

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SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – JULY 01: The Puerto Rican flag flies near the Capitol building as the island’s residents deal with the government’s $72 billion debt on July 1, 2015 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Governor of Puerto Rico Alejandro García Padilla said in a speech recently that the people of Puerto Rico will have to make sacrifices and share the responsibilities to help pull the island out of debt. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The statehood debate carries significant economic implications for the island, including potential changes to how Puerto Rican residents and businesses are taxed. Puerto Rico operates under a different federal tax structure than the states — statehood would bring the island more fully into the federal tax system.

“Everything would become more expensive than it already is and locals [have] already been struggling for a while now,” Alejandra from San Juan, Puerto Rico, said. She continued, “It would make stuff even worse.”

Puerto Rican Gov. Jenniffer González Colón, a member of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party and ally of President Donald Trump, is an advocate of the push for Puerto Rico to become the 51st state. She argues that achieving statehood goes hand-in-hand with achieving equality, as her party has claimed unequal treatment in numerous federal programs.

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US President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up before boarding Air Force One en route back to Washington, DC, at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in Cleveland, Ohio on August 11, 2026. (Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images)

One Puerto Rican resident who spoke with Fox News Digital cited the public scrutiny of Trump as a reason for not wanting to gain statehood. Although Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, residents of the territory cannot vote in the general election for president.

“There’s a lot of controversy with the… especially the president right now,” a woman from Puerto Rico who referred to herself as “Boo” said. “We don’t want to be a part of that, for sure.”

A nonbinding referendum on the issue held in November 2024 asked Puerto Rican voters to choose between statehood, independence, or associated independence — which leaves certain issues to be negotiated individually. The vote found that 59% of those voting were in favor of statehood, with 29% favoring independence and 12% for associated independence.

“I believe that we can be our own independent country,” Angelie, another Puerto Rican resident, said. “I think that we have the full potential to become an independent country since we have been colonized for so, so many years.”

She continued, “We had the chance to be a country then the United States, no hate though, colonized us and promised us something and then it was another stuff.”

Another resident expressed his support for Puerto Rico gaining independence, but said it’s “not ready for that.”

“I truly believe that Puerto Rico should be part of the nations around the world as an independent nation like the U.S. is,” Luis from Puerto Rico said.

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Luis also cited Puerto Rico’s economic relationship with the federal government as one reason he questions whether the island is prepared for independence.

“The reality is that we have been… tailored to the U.S. — not citizens, the U.S. government, federal government — to their liking,” Luis said. “In other words, they have been feeding us with a lot of federal funding and people are used to that.”

He continued, “A lot of people do not work just because they are used to get the federal funds. So that’s a shame.”

In addition to the economic concerns presented, “Boo” pointed to her fear that Puerto Rico would lose its culture if it joined the U.S. as a state.

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“Puerto Rico is already being very Americanized,” she said. “I wouldn’t like that to keep going on if we become a state because it will lose the heart and soul.”