English only
by digby
You would certainly assume that Puerto Rico is a foreign country if you watch the TV coverage of the hurrican which has devastated the island. Normally all it takes is handful of Americans to be affected by a disaster for there to be wall to wall footage and the anchors would all be reporting from the rubble. This one, however, features millions of Americans and it’s an afterthought. Perhaps this is why:
If a poll from early 2017 is to be believed, there are millions of Americans who don’t realize that when Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, it directly impacted American citizens.
As of March 2017, only 47 percent of Americans believed that a person born to Puerto Rican parents was an American citizen, according to a Suffolk poll. By contrast, a whopping 30 percent believed that they would be a citizen of Puerto Rico, with the rest of the people surveyed either not knowing or claiming to be unsure.
The same findings were apparent in an Economic/YouGov poll taken less than one year earlier. As of May 2016, 43 percent of respondents believed that children of Puerto Rican parents in Puerto Rico would be American citizens, while 41 percent said they would be Puerto Rican citizens.
I would bet money that if you asked the president if Puerto Ricans should be given a amnesty and a path to citizenship he would say no.