Florida Senate - 2017                            (NP)    SR 1642
       
       
        
       By Senator Torres
       
       
       
       
       
       15-01999-17                                           20171642__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution recognizing March 2, 2017, as “Puerto
    3         Ricans’ U.S. Citizenship Day” in Florida.
    4  
    5         WHEREAS, on March 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson signed
    6  the Jones-Shafroth Act, more commonly known as the Jones Act,
    7  granting United States citizenship to the citizens of Puerto
    8  Rico, and
    9         WHEREAS, United States policymakers favored granting
   10  citizenship to Puerto Ricans in order to support United States
   11  permanence in Puerto Rico, to strengthen the governance of the
   12  territory, and to forge a stronger bond with Puerto Rico, and
   13         WHEREAS, the Jones Act of 1917, which conferred naturalized
   14  citizenship, was replaced by the Nationality Act of 1940, which
   15  extended the rule of jus soli, or birthright citizenship, to
   16  Puerto Rico, thereby cementing United States citizenship as
   17  permanent and irreversible for island-born Puerto Ricans and
   18  their children for generations to come, and
   19         WHEREAS, after a century of United States citizenship, the
   20  main goal of the Jones Act to augment the bond with the people
   21  of Puerto Rico has clearly been achieved, as over 5 million
   22  Puerto Ricans now reside stateside, and of those, 1 million
   23  reside in this state, and
   24         WHEREAS, as residents of Florida, Puerto Ricans actively
   25  participate in public affairs, make significant cultural,
   26  political, and social contributions, and enhance the well-being
   27  of the state and all its residents, and
   28         WHEREAS, March 2, 2017, marks the 100th anniversary of the
   29  Jones-Shafroth Act and the granting of United States citizenship
   30  to the people of Puerto Rico, NOW, THEREFORE,
   31  
   32  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   33  
   34         That March 2, 2017, is recognized as “Puerto Ricans’ U.S.
   35  Citizenship Day” in Florida.