Former San Juan Mayor Hernán Padilla has asked President Donald Trump to work with Congress to formally certify Puerto Rico as an incorporated territory of the United States, saying the island’s political status has gone unresolved for more than 128 years since it became a U.S. possession. In a recent letter, Padilla wrote that Puerto Rico already functions as an incorporated U.S. territory and that formal incorporation should be the next step toward statehood.
His appeal aligns with a petition promoted by a pro-statehood group coordinated by attorney Gregorio Igartúa, which argues Congress should certify Puerto Rico’s incorporation to clarify the island’s constitutional status. Padilla noted the effort is consistent with the priorities of Gov. Jenniffer González Colón, who recently signed a petition seeking statehood. Padilla, San Juan’s mayor from 1977 to 1985, criticized continued reliance on plebiscites, saying repeated referendums leave U.S. citizens’ rights in limbo, and compared the issue to the civil rights movement.
He called the current status discriminatory, citing the unequal treatment of Puerto Rico’s 3.2 million residents, who have been U.S. citizens since 1917, served in every major American conflict, yet cannot vote in presidential elections. Padilla, the first Hispanic president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and a Puerto Rico Republican Party affiliate, urged certification without further delay.