Juan Mari Brás Foundation condemns resolution to repeal Puerto Rican citizenship
- The San Juan Daily Star
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
By THE STAR STAFF
The Juan Mari Brás Foundation has condemned the Puerto Rico House of Representatives after lawmakers approved House Joint Resolution 348, a measure directing the Department of State to stop issuing Certificates of Puerto Rican Citizenship and to repeal Regulation 7347.
The foundation called the move a politically driven attempt to erase a legally recognized national status that predates U.S. citizenship on the island.
The organization emphasized late last week that the certificate is not a symbolic gesture but rather the expression of a juridical category rooted in Puerto Rico’s own history, international law, and U.S. statutes. Citing Juan Mari Brás’ writings, the foundation noted that Puerto Rican citizenship was acknowledged in the Foraker Act of 1900 and is reinforced by international instruments including the Treaty of Paris, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and inter‑American conventions.
Mari Mari Narváez, the foundation’s executive director, said the House’s action reflects “the insecurities of local politicians” who fear the instability of U.S. citizenship in the territories. She argued that Puerto Rican citizenship is the only status “rooted in our natural and historical rights” and cannot be erased by legislative fiat.
“Today, Puerto Rican citizenship possesses a legal basis and pragmatic international implications that cannot be wiped away with the stroke of a pen,” she said on Friday.
Wilma Reverón Collazo, president of the foundation’s board, said the resolution is an attempt to suppress a national identity that is widely celebrated on the island and recognized abroad. She pointed to repeated statements by the U.N. Special Committee on Decolonization acknowledging Puerto Rico’s Latin American and Caribbean identity.
“They may approve resolutions against the certificate, but they cannot erase the content of that citizenship,” she said.
The foundation noted that Puerto Rican citizenship has been recognized by the island’s highest court. In Ramírez de Ferrer v. Juan Mari Brás (1997), the Puerto Rico Supreme Court held that Puerto Rican citizenship is a distinct constitutional category that coexists with U.S. citizenship. The court ruled that the extension of U.S. citizenship under the Jones Act of 1917 did not extinguish Puerto Rico’s original national citizenship.
That ruling stemmed from a years‑long legal battle triggered by Mari Brás’ own renunciation of U.S. citizenship.
On July 11, 1994, Mari Brás formally renounced his U.S. citizenship at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela. He did so to test what he believed was a gap in U.S. nationality law: that a person who renounces U.S. citizenship must be deported to their country of origin. Because Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, he argued that the U.S. State Department would have to deport any Puerto Rican who renounced U.S. citizenship back to Puerto Rico. The State Department approved his renunciation on Nov. 22, 1995.
The following year, pro‑statehood attorney Miriam J. Ramírez de Ferrer filed a complaint before the Mayagüez Electoral Board seeking to bar Mari Brás from voting on the grounds that he was no longer a U.S. citizen. The board rejected the complaint, and the Puerto Rico Electoral Board upheld that decision. Ramírez then took the matter to the Puerto Rico Superior Court, which struck down provisions of the island’s electoral law requiring U.S. citizenship to vote.
On Nov. 18, 1997, ruling on Ramírez’s appeal that Mari Brás had forfeited his right to vote, the high court disagreed, ruling that “as a citizen of Puerto Rico,” he remained eligible to vote in local elections — a landmark affirmation of Puerto Rican citizenship as a constitutional status independent of U.S. nationality.
The foundation also warned that U.S. citizenship in Puerto Rico remains vulnerable because it is statutory, not constitutional. As an example, it cited a bill introduced by Rep. Morgan Griffith (R‑Va.) that would restrict birthright citizenship in U.S. territories beginning in 2027. Narváez said the proposal highlights the “colonial fragility” of U.S. citizenship for Puerto Ricans and argued that only a formal process of decolonization can resolve that uncertainty.
Reverón Collazo said the House’s resolution will face broad public backlash.
“Any attempt to undermine Puerto Rican identity and nationality will be met with repudiation from our community and our culture,” she said.
The foundation reiterated that its mission is to preserve the thought and legacy of Juan Mari Brás and to educate future generations about his work and lifelong advocacy for Puerto Rico’s independence.
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