New petition seeks Puerto Rico’s territorial incorporation.

Pro-statehood lawyer Gregorio Igartúa (Instagram via julioroldanpr)

By THE STAR STAFF

A new pro‑statehood group spearheaded by lawyer Gregorio Igartúa has issued a new petition urging Congress to formally certify Puerto Rico as an incorporated territory.

The organization, American Union, is asserting that incorporation reflects Puerto Rico’s existing reality and should be explicitly recognized as the next step in the island’s political evolution. It is not the first time Igartúa has asked for Puerto Rico’s territorial incorporation.

“Our request is in harmony with the special interests of Gov. Jenniffer González,” the petition notes. 

The appeal comes after the island’s governor held a summit promoting statehood earlier this month in Washington.

Igartúa used the moment to call for an end to plebiscites as a tool for resolving the island’s political status. He argues that continuing to rely on local or federally sanctioned votes risks undermining long‑standing rights of U.S. citizenship and distracts from what he views as the island’s long-established trajectory toward statehood. He compared the idea of repeatedly voting on status to asking African Americans during the civil‑rights era to vote on whether they deserved federal voting rights.

Igartúa pointed to key historical milestones — Puerto Rico’s cession to the United States in 1898, the granting of U.S. citizenship in 1917, the establishment of birthright citizenship in 1950, and Congress’ approval of Puerto Rico’s Constitution in 1952 — as evidence that the island has followed the same pattern of political integration as territories that eventually became states.

He also emphasized that the island’s two major political parties — the pro‑statehood NPP and the autonomist PDP — are composed largely of voters who support maintaining U.S. citizenship.