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Can Puerto Ricans run for president?

A

AreaCode7O7

Senior member
My roommates and I are trying to figure this out. Puerto Ricans are US citizens but apparently can have their citizenship revoked (according to Wiki, at least.) Can somebody born in Puerto Rico run for president, under current laws?

In a 1996 report on a Puerto Rico status political bill, the "U.S. House Committee on Resources stated that PR's current status does not meet the criteria for any of the options for full self-government". It concluded that PR is still an unincorporated territory of the U.S. under the territorial clause, that the establishment of local self-government with the consent of the people can be unilaterally revoked by the U.S. Congress, and that U.S. Congress can also withdraw the U.S. citizenship of PR residents of PR at any time, for a legitimate Federal purpose.[34] The application of the Constitution to Puerto Rico is limited by the Insular Cases.
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If McCain (who was born in the Panama Canal Zone) can run, then so can a Puerto Rican, en mi opinion.

The US Constitution, Article II, says
"No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty five years, and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States."

 
Puerto Ricans have been considered natural born US citizens since the 1940s. They can run for president if they want to so long as they live in the US long enough. Also, the US cannot revoke the citizenship of Puerto Ricans. They can change the fact that newly born Puerto Ricans would not be considered citizens as it is a US territory and not a state, but they can't strip the citizenship from people that already have it.
 
McCain's birth in the Canal Zone is no different than if he were born on Osan Air Force Base in South Korea. It's US property.

and yeah eskimo answered it already...they can if they want.
 
Originally posted by: eskimospy
Puerto Ricans have been considered natural born US citizens since the 1940s. They can run for president if they want to so long as they live in the US long enough. Also, the US cannot revoke the citizenship of Puerto Ricans. They can change the fact that newly born Puerto Ricans would not be considered citizens as it is a US territory and not a state, but they can't strip the citizenship from people that already have it.
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Ok, thanks for clarifying the point on citizenship. That's why Wiki's only a good place to start asking questions.

Thanks for the answers!
 
Originally posted by: blackangst1
McCain's birth in the Canal Zone is no different than if he were born on Osan Air Force Base in South Korea. It's US property.

and yeah eskimo answered it already...they can if they want.
Click to expand...

And if he is born to American citizens, it doesn't matter where he is born.
 
McCains parents were US Citizens you cant really use that as a good example. I was born in Marocco and I am considered a Natural Born Citizen, of parents abroad.

Puerto Rico is a Territory but it is not a State.

I am guessing a person from PR could run for President, but I am no expert. Use to see a lot of PR's in the US Army.
 
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