<P> Since 2007, the Government of Puerto Rico has been issuing "Certificates of Puerto Rican Citizenship" to anyone born in Puerto Rico or to anyone born outside of Puerto Rico with at least one parent who was born in Puerto Rico . The Spanish Government recognizes Puerto Ricans as a people with Puerto Rican, "and not American," citizenship . It also provides Puerto Rican citizens privileges not provided to citizens of several other nations . </P> <P> On March 2, 1917, the Jones--Shafroth Act was signed, collectively making Puerto Ricans United States citizens without rescinding their Puerto Rican citizenship . In 1922, the U.S. Supreme court in the case of Balzac v. Porto Rico ruled that the full protection and rights of the U.S constitution do not apply to residents of Puerto Rico until they come to reside in the United States proper . Luis Muñoz Rivera, who participated in the creation of the Jones - Shafroth Act, gave a speech in the U.S. House floor that argued in favor of Puerto Rican citizenship . He declared that "if the earth were to swallow the island, Puerto Ricans would prefer American citizenship to any citizenship in the world . But as long as the island existed, the residents preferred Puerto Rican citizenship ." The Jones Act allowed locals to renounce the United States citizenship and remain exclusively Puerto Rican citizens, at the cost of being stripped of the right to vote . Despite these arbitrary limitations, 287 residents completed the process to forfeit the statutory recognition . </P> <P> In 1952, upon U.S. Congress approving the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, also reaffirmed that Puerto Rican citizenship continued in full force . This was further reaffirmed in 2006 while the U.S. Senate probed into the President's Task Force on Puerto Rico's status . In 1953, U.S Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., in a memorandum sent to the United Nations, recognized that "the people of Puerto Rico continue to be citizens of the United States as well as of Puerto Rico ." </P> <P> In 1994, Puerto Rican activist Juan Mari Brás flew to Venezuela and renounced his US citizenship before a consular agent in the US Embassy in Caracas . Mari Brás, through his renunciation of U.S. citizenship, sought to redefine Section VII as a source of law that recognized a Puerto Rican nationality separate from that of the United States . In December 1995, his denaturalization was confirmed by the US State Department . Among the arguments that ensued over his action was whether he would now be able to vote in elections in Puerto Rico . On November 18, 1997, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico through its ruling in Miriam J. Ramirez de Ferrer v. Juan Mari Brás reaffirmed the Puerto Rican citizenship by ruling that U.S. citizenship was not a requirement to vote in Puerto Rico . According to the court's majority opinion, the Puerto Rican citizenship is recognized several times in the Puerto Rican constitution including section 5 of article III, section 3 of article IV, and section 9 of article V. In a 2006 memorandum, the Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico concluded, based on the Mari Brás case, that the Puerto Rican citizenship is "separate and different" from the United States citizenship . </P>

If you are born in puerto rico are you an american citizen