Widow of former Gov. Ferré backs push for Congress to declare PR an incorporated territory.
- The San Juan Daily Star
- 49 minutes ago
- 2 min read
By THE STAR STAFF
Dr. Tiody de Jesús, the widow of former Puerto Rico Gov. Luis A. Ferré and a longtime figure in the island’s Republican circles, has formally endorsed a petition urging Congress to declare Puerto Rico an incorporated U.S. territory -- a designation supporters say is long overdue after more than a century under American sovereignty.
In a typed letter addressed to President Donald Trump, de Jesús aligned herself with a pro‑statehood initiative led by attorney Gregorio Igartúa and other advocates who argue that Puerto Rico already functions as an incorporated territory “de facto,” and that Congress should explicitly recognize it as such. The petition, she noted, is also supported by former San Juan mayor Hernán Padilla.
The information was provided to the STAR by Igartúa, who said he spoke with de Jesús last week about joining the petition.
“I explained to her that it was the best process to achieve statehood, and she agreed,” he said, adding that she was slated to sign the typed letter this week.
De Jesús wrote in a typed letter that the island’s political evolution mirrors that of territories that eventually became states, and she criticized the continued use of plebiscites to resolve Puerto Rico’s status. According to her letter, asking Puerto Ricans to repeatedly vote on their political rights is akin to asking African Americans during the civil‑rights era to vote on whether they should receive federal voting protections.
The widow of Ferré -- who founded the pro‑statehood New Progressive Party (NPP) and served as governor from 1969 to 1973 -- framed the issue as one of civil equality. She argued that it is discriminatory for 3.3 million U.S. citizens on the island to remain under a territorial system that allows “government without the consent of the governed,” a condition she said has persisted for 128 years under an “arbitrary” classification that treats Puerto Rico as unincorporated for some purposes and incorporated for others.
De Jesús urged the president to take “affirmative action” with Congress to end that ambiguity and formally certify Puerto Rico’s incorporation into the United States, calling it a necessary step toward equal rights for island residents.
Her endorsement adds symbolic weight to the petition: Ferré remains one of the most influential figures in Puerto Rico’s statehood movement, and De Jesús herself previously served as president of the Puerto Rico Republican Party.
The letter was also copied to members of Congress, signaling the group’s intention to elevate the issue in Washington during a year of heightened debate over the island’s political future.
In U.S. constitutional law, an “incorporated” territory is considered fully part of the United States for constitutional purposes, meaning the Constitution is understood to apply there in full and the territory is presumed to be on a path toward eventual statehood. A “nonincorporated” (more commonly, “unincorporated”) territory is under U.S. sovereignty but is not treated as an integral part of the United States; under Supreme Court doctrine, only “fundamental” constitutional rights apply automatically, while Congress decides which other constitutional provisions and federal laws extend to the territory.