Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Highlights Conflict Between Statehood and Executive Order Declaring English as the Only Official Language of the United States
Hernández Rivera: "There will be no statehood without assimilation, and Puerto Ricans will never surrender our identity."
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Pablo José Hernández Rivera, Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, issued the following statement in response to media reports announcing a presidential executive order declaring English as the official language of the United States.
“The president’s order declaring English as the only official language of the United States reflects a vision of American identity that conflicts with our Puerto Rican identity. There will be no statehood without assimilation, and Puerto Ricans will never surrender our identity. For those of us who seek a union with the U.S. without assimilation, and U.S. citizenship with more autonomy, there is only one alternative: maintaining and strengthening the current Commonwealth relationship. In the meantime, we must focus on Puerto Rico's economic development, as I am doing in Washington.”
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