Mass Exodus From Puerto Rico Feared

[Castaway]

Since Puerto Rico has been mentioned recently in a different topic, this latest development illustrates just how desperate things have become in this island territory of the US.

Mass Exodus From Puerto Rico Feared After Hurricane and Debt Crisis

CAROLINA, Puerto Rico — Inside the steamy San Juan airport, mothers sleep on the floor with their children. Travelers, many of whom have been there for days, fan themselves as they wait for a flight out.

The lines are long and there is no air conditioning, but after Hurricane Maria, Puerto Ricans are eager to just get out — and the island's governor fears many will not return.

"My expectation is to rebuild stronger than ever," Gov. Ricardo Rossello told NBC News. "But clearly if this is not taken seriously ... Puerto Rico is going to collapse into a humanitarian crisis."

Saddled with a ballooning debt crisis, Puerto Rico has already seen a historic migration of about half a million people from the island in the past 10 years. Now, following the mot powerful hurricane to hit the U.S. territory in decades, the outflow is sure to hasten.

Puerto Rico Residents Desperately Trying to Leave the Island

"People were leaving in search of better economic opportunities. Now people are leaving because of a humanitarian crisis," said Teresita Levy, a professor of Latin American and Latino studies at Lehman College in the Bronx. "They’re trying to get out because they are worried about not having enough food and supplies, services not being restored. What happens if you have a medical emergency and the hospital doesn’t have a generator?"

“If anybody was thinking of coming [to the mainland], they are probably now coming anyway.”

For many Puerto Ricans, there is no alternative but to leave for the mainland: Gas is scarce, there's no running water, and only about 5 percent of the island has had power restored.

"If anybody was thinking of coming [to the mainland United States], they are probably now coming anyway," Levy said.

.

 

[Dave Hounddriver]

Let me be sure my understanding is correct:

Texas has a hurricane and people stay to rebuild

Florida has a hurricane and people stay to rebuild

Puerto Rico has a hurricane and its:  Run Away!  Run Away!

Hmm.  Now I think I understand why they are not the 52nd state.

[Castaway]

Part of the problem is logistics.

Since Texas and Florida can rely on support from adjacent/neighboring States, they are getting the necessary help to rebuild.

Unlike Texas and Florida, Puerto Rico has no adjacent/neighboring States. This issue of getting Statehood would never resolve this problem.

[Queenie O.]

It could happen Castaway. Seems like not a lot is being done by the US government so far to help the many people in dire need.

Travel anywhere right now from PR is impossible I'd think, given the present situation.

[OnMyWay]

15 minutes ago, Queenie O. said:

Seems like not a lot is being done by the US government so far

Did you watch the video?  There is a massive airlift underway.  It takes time to put this together especially when needed resources have just been helping after two other huge hurricanes.

[Castaway]

1 hour ago, Queenie O. said:

It could happen Castaway. Seems like not a lot is being done by the US government so far to help the many people in dire need.

 

One of the other problems right now is the Jones Act, since it is a US Law that is limiting the amount of supplies that can be shipped to Puerto Rico.

Requiring goods shipped between American ports to be carried out exclusively by ships built primarily in the United States and to have U.S. citizens as its owners and crews is the cause of unintended shortages of food, medicine and other supplies that could be going to Puerto Rico.

"The Jones Act, otherwise known as the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, requires goods shipped between American ports to be carried out exclusively by ships built primarily in the United States, and to have U.S. citizens as its owners and crews.

Signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson two years after World War I ended, the Jones Act was passed as a protective measure against foreign competition, particularly Germany. By restricting domestic trade to U.S.-flagged vessels with U.S. crews, America would always have a robust fleet of boats and sailors on hand in the event German submarines attacked the U.S.

The law has since found backers in the American maritime industry, which says it supports American jobs. Recent presidents from both parties, including George W. Bush and Barack Obama, have touted it as crucial to national security because it reduces America's dependency on foreign-owned vessels."

https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/puerto-rico-crisis/what-jones-act-opponents-1920-law-argue-it-s-worsening-n805101

[Queenie O.]

1 hour ago, OnMyWay said:

Did you watch the video?  There is a massive airlift underway.  It takes time to put this together especially when needed resources have just been helping after two other huge hurricanes.

Getting up to speed I hope. Water and the lack of is huge. At the port many containers full of relief goods, but no fuel to get them.distributed.

[Castaway]

Trump authorizes waiver to loosen shipping regulations for Puerto Rico

WH to suspend Jones Act

Washington (CNN)The White House has authorized a waiver to loosen shipping rules regarding Puerto Rico that island officials say would be a significant help for.

The waiver will guarantee the needed equipment to repair infrastructure damaged by the storm and restore emergency services, Duke said in a news release.

http://us.cnn.com/2017/09/28/politics/puerto-rico-governor-white-house-jones-act-waiver/index.html

[JJReyes]

If the Puerto Ricans move to Florida, It can shift the state demographics from Republican to Democrat. News reporters keep claiming the residents of Puerto Rico are US Citizens.  I always thought they were US Nationals with all rights except the right to vote.

 

[marine6357]

They are US citizens with no rights to vote in Presidential elections but if they are living in a state as residents then they enjoy all rights.

 

A new poll of 2,200 adults by Morning Consult found that only 54 percent of Americans know that people born in Puerto Rico, a commonwealth of the United States, are U.S. citizens. (Because Puerto Rico is not a state, they do not vote in presidential elections, but they send one nonvoting representative to Congress.)