While it’s easy to understand how migration is shaped by border policies and citizenship definitions, Robert C. McGreevey joins a chorus of scholars who recognize that the reverse is also true—that immigrants shape the politics of entry and the content of citizenship. Borderline Citizens traces shifts in Puerto Ricans’ US citizenship status from the final years of Spanish colonial rule in Puerto Rico until the 1930s. He demonstrates the role that migrants played in spurring shifts in US policy toward the entire island. Throughout the period, Puerto Ricans entering the United States mainland accentuated the contradictions and tensions in Puerto Rico’s political status that employers, labor organizers, and politicians debated and the US judiciary was forced to resolve. Resulting judicial transformations in Puerto Rican citizenship were not always as favorable and far-reaching as they appeared on paper. Even after the Jones Act promised full citizenship in 1917, Puerto Ricans’ rights...

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