Puerto Rico, Puerto Ricans, and Latcrit Theory: Commonalities and Differences between Latina/O Experiences

Posted: 4 Nov 2001

See all articles by Kevin R. Johnson

Kevin R. Johnson

University of California, Davis - School of Law

Abstract

In recent years, critical Latina/o (LatCrit) theory has emerged in legal academia with the hope of shedding light on the racial subordination of Latina/os in the United States. Common Latina/o life experiences with the law unquestionably warrant close attention. A rich body of scholarship analyzes the status of Latina/os in the United States and how it fits into broader patterns of subordination.

The heterogeneity of the many Latina/o communities, however, militates in favor of great care in drawing generalizations and essentializing the Latina/o "experience." Particular analysis of specific histories of sub-groups of Latina/os is critical to a full appreciation of how the past has served as prelude to the present. Consequently, LatCrit scholars have begun the exploration of the diverse experiences of the various national origin groups comprising the greater Latina/o community. The Mexican-American experience has been analyzed in detail, particularly issues of Chicana/o identity, the legal legacies associated with the conquest of the Southwest, and the impact of the immigration laws on persons of Mexican ancestry in the United States, to name a few examples. Not as much attention, however, has been paid to the specific histories of the two next largest Latina/o national origin groups in the United States, persons of Cuban and Puerto Rican ancestry.

This essay situates Puerto Ricans in LatCrit theory. The diminished citizenship status of Puerto Ricans on the island shares important commonalities with and differences from the experiences of persons of Mexican ancestry in the United States. Both Mexican-Americans and Puerto Ricans enjoy citizenship and membership rights unequal to those accorded Anglos, although one group (Mexican-Americans) is composed of citizens by law with full legal rights while the other (Puerto Ricans) includes U.S. citizens with limited legal rights in Puerto Rico. The guarantees of the law historically have held limited meaning for Mexican-Americans; the limitation on the legal rights of U.S. citizens on Puerto Rico hold great significance. Law thus proves malleable depending on the social context and, not coincidentally, renders Latina/os with diminished membership rights.

There is a need for study of the status of the Puerto Rican people on the mainland, which to this point has gone largely unexplored in LatCrit analysis. Puerto Ricans on the island and those on the mainland by necessity have different rights, social statuses, and life experiences. For example, although voting in national elections is guaranteed citizens on the mainland and denied those on the island, Puerto Ricans in the continental United States long have been subordinated, particularly in the urban Northeast. Indeed, the status of Puerto Ricans on the mainland in many respects resembles that of Chicana/os in the Southwest. Important class and racial differences undoubtedly contribute to that diminished status. This, in turn, raises fundamental questions about aggregate class and racial variations among Latina/o national origin sub-groups.

Part I of this essay compares the status of Puerto Ricans on the island with that persons of Mexican ancestry in the continental United States. Part II articulates the need for LatCrit exploration of Puerto Rican subordination on the mainland and offers a brief comparison of the treatment under U.S. law of various Latin American migrants. Future comparisons of this type will reveal similarities and differences between Latina/os of different national origin groups and help us better understand the roles of race and class in their subordination.

Suggested Citation

Johnson, Kevin R., Puerto Rico, Puerto Ricans, and Latcrit Theory: Commonalities and Differences between Latina/O Experiences. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=286466

Kevin R. Johnson (Contact Author)

University of California, Davis - School of Law ( email )

Martin Luther King, Jr. Hall
400 Mrak Hall Drive
Davis, CA 95616-5201
United States
530 752 0243 (Phone)
530 752 7279 (Fax)

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