Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, but the rights Puerto Rican citizens don’t have while living on the island are substantial: no vote for president, no voting member of Congress, no Supplemental Security Income, capped Medicaid funding, a smaller food assistance program, and no federal Earned Income Tax Credit. These gaps exist because Puerto Rico is an unincorporated U.S. territory, which means Congress decides program by program what applies to the island, and the Constitution reserves certain political rights to states.
No Vote for President
The Constitution grants presidential electors only to states. Article II, Section 1 says “each State shall appoint” its electors, and the 23rd Amendment extended that right to the District of Columbia but to no territory.1Library of Congress. Article II Section 1, Constitution Annotated Puerto Rico residents cannot cast a ballot for president or vice president in the general election. The same citizens can be drafted into the armed forces and carry the same passport as anyone born in Ohio, but they have no voice in choosing the commander in chief.
Participation in presidential primaries is a separate matter. The Democratic and Republican parties let Puerto Rico send delegates to their nominating conventions under their own internal rules, so island residents can vote in primaries and caucuses. That access ends when the general election begins.
No Voting Member of Congress
Puerto Rico sends one person to the U.S. House of Representatives: a Resident Commissioner, elected to a four-year term rather than the two-year term served by House members from states.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 48 USC 891 – Resident Commissioner Election The Resident Commissioner can introduce bills, speak on the floor, and vote inside committees.3GovInfo. House Practice – Delegates and Resident Commissioner, Rule III When a bill reaches a final vote before the full House, the Resident Commissioner cannot participate. Puerto Rico has no representation at all in the Senate.
So laws that shape the island’s healthcare, infrastructure, and economy pass without any binding vote from Puerto Rico at any stage. Over three million U.S. citizens have less legislative power than the smallest state.
Reduced Federal Benefits
Where the gap is widest is federal spending. Congress has repeatedly set Puerto Rico apart from states in benefit programs, and the Supreme Court has upheld that choice.
Medicaid Cap and Lower Match
States receive open-ended Medicaid funding: the federal government matches a percentage of state spending with no ceiling. Puerto Rico faces two restrictions states do not. The island’s Medicaid program operates under an annual cap on total federal payments.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1308 – Additional Grants to Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa And the base federal matching rate for Puerto Rico is set by statute at 55%, while state rates run from 50% to roughly 77% depending on per capita income.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1396d – Definitions
Congress has temporarily raised the Puerto Rico rate to 76% through September 30, 2027.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1396d – Definitions – Section: Increase in FMAP for Territories If Congress does not act again before that date, the rate drops back to 55%. The spending cap stays in place either way.
No Supplemental Security Income
SSI pays monthly cash benefits to elderly, blind, and disabled people with very low income and few assets. Puerto Rico residents are excluded entirely. Federal law defines “United States” for SSI purposes as the 50 states and the District of Columbia, and Congress specifically exempted Puerto Rico when SSI was created in 1972.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1382c – Definitions Island residents receive benefits through an older program, Aid to the Aged, Blind, and Disabled, which pays substantially less.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1382 – Eligibility for Benefits
In 2022, the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in United States v. Vaello Madero that Congress has no constitutional obligation to extend SSI to Puerto Rico. The Court held that because Puerto Rico residents are exempt from most federal income taxes, Congress had a rational basis for providing a different level of benefits.9Supreme Court of the United States. United States v. Vaello Madero, No. 20-303 That ruling effectively closed the door on legal challenges. The exclusion stays unless Congress changes the law.
Nutrition Assistance Instead of SNAP
In the 50 states, eligible residents receive food assistance through SNAP, which adjusts funding to actual need. Puerto Rico does not participate in SNAP. The island receives a fixed block grant called the Nutrition Assistance Program, capped at a set dollar amount each year regardless of how many people qualify.10USDA Food and Nutrition Service. Nutrition Assistance Program Block Grants When demand rises after a hurricane, a recession, or other shock, the block grant does not automatically expand the way SNAP would in a state.
No Federal Earned Income Tax Credit
The Earned Income Tax Credit is one of the largest anti-poverty programs in the country, giving refundable credits to low- and moderate-income workers. Puerto Rico residents generally cannot claim it on a federal return.11Internal Revenue Service. Bona Fide Residents of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico – Tax Credits The IRS points residents toward any local credit Puerto Rico’s own tax agency may offer, but a local version runs on the island’s own revenue, not federal money.
One exception runs the other way. Starting with tax year 2021, Puerto Rico residents with qualifying children became eligible for the federal Child Tax Credit, worth up to $2,200 per child for the 2025 tax year.12Internal Revenue Service. Child Tax Credit Families can claim it by filing a federal return even if they have little or no income subject to federal tax.13Internal Revenue Service. Resources and Guidance for Puerto Rico Families That May Qualify for the Child Tax Credit
The Tax Trade-Off
The reduced benefits sit alongside a reduced federal tax burden. If you are a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico for the entire tax year, income earned from sources within Puerto Rico is excluded from federal income tax.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 933 – Income From Sources Within Puerto Rico You pay Puerto Rico’s own income tax on that money, which funds the island’s government. Income you earn from sources outside Puerto Rico is still subject to federal income tax, and you file a federal return for it.
The income tax exclusion stops there. Puerto Rico workers and employers pay Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes at the same rates as everyone on the mainland, and Puerto Rico residents collect Social Security retirement and disability benefits on the same terms as any other citizen. Federal excise taxes on certain goods also apply.
Federal Jury Service in English Only
Puerto Rico has a U.S. District Court, and residents can be summoned for federal jury duty. Federal law requires every juror to read, write, speak, and understand English well enough to complete the qualification form and follow proceedings.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1865 – Qualifications for Jury Service On an island where most people speak Spanish as their first language, that requirement disqualifies a large share of otherwise eligible residents. Puerto Rico’s own local courts operate in Spanish, so the barrier exists only in the federal system.
Limited Self-Government Under the Oversight Board
Puerto Rico’s elected government operates under a constraint no state faces. In 2016, Congress passed the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) and created a Financial Oversight and Management Board with broad authority over the island’s finances. The Board can approve or reject Puerto Rico’s budget and can prevent laws passed by the island’s legislature from taking effect.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 48 USC 2121 – Financial Oversight and Management Board It also reviews certain government contracts before they can be executed.
Congress created the Board in response to more than $70 billion in public debt and over $55 billion in unfunded pension liabilities that Puerto Rico had no legal mechanism to restructure.17Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico. Home It continues operating until Puerto Rico shows sustained access to credit markets and balanced budgets. For island officials, fiscal decisions effectively require federal approval.
Moving to a State Restores Full Rights
Every gap above attaches to residence, not citizenship. A Puerto Rico resident who moves to any of the 50 states or the District of Columbia immediately gains the right to vote for president, elect voting members of Congress, and register for the full range of federal benefit programs. The reverse applies to a mainland resident who relocates to Puerto Rico: those same rights fall away for as long as they live on the island.
SSI illustrates the pattern. Eligibility requires residency in one of the 50 states, D.C., or the Northern Mariana Islands.18Social Security Administration. Understanding Supplemental Security Income SSI Eligibility Requirements A disabled Puerto Rico resident who moves to a state and meets the income and resource rules can start receiving SSI. Voting rights activate on registration in the new state. No waiting period, no extra requirement beyond what any citizen moving between states would face. The same person, the same citizenship, fundamentally different rights depending on which side of a territorial boundary they sleep on.