Self-Determination for Puerto Rico: The Demand for Statehood Through the Right of Accession

Alexander Halpern Rowe*

Building on a recent innovation in the literature made by scholars Joseph Blocher and Mitu Gulati, this Note argues for a demand for Puerto Rican statehood as an expression of its right to self-determination.  The Note draws heavily from history to demonstrate that the doctrine created by the Supreme Court in the Insular Cases, particularly in Downes v. Bidwell, was intended to allow for the colonial administration of the newly acquired territories including Puerto Rico.  The Note also emphasizes the intersection of international and domestic constitutional law in the issue of Puerto Rico’s legal status.  Finally, the Note explores contemporary issues in the relation between Puerto Rico and the mainland United States, including the federal imposition of austerity policies in response to the island’s debt crisis.  In adopting the framework based in international law proposed by Blocher and Gulati, this Note attempts to show the strength of a demand for statehood as a means of allowing Puerto Rico to free itself from its colonial status within the United States.

*Managing Editor, Columbia Journal of Transnational Law; J.D., Columbia Law School 2026; B.A., Tufts University 2022.