Repeal the Jones Act, It's a Moral Obligation

We urge you to dismantle one of the most unjust laws that perpetuate the inequality of Puerto Ricans as American citizens and continue to dehumanize them as colonized people.

As people of faith, our sacred texts morally bind us to fight against unjust laws that oppress our fellow human being. As an elected official, you are morally bound to end the Jones Act, the unjust law strangling the economic autonomy of the People of Puerto Rico.

Please take note of Isaiah 10:1, which states: “Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights, and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people…”

Though Puerto Rico has a per capita income of $18,000--half that of Mississippi, the poorest state in our union--its cost of living is 13% higher than that of 325 urban areas across the U.S. This is a direct result of the Jones Act’s protectionist stranglehold on the Puerto Rican economy.

The number of Puerto Ricans leaving Puerto Rico to the U.S. since Hurricane Maria is at 150,000, and that number is expected to rise to 500,000 by the end of 2018. This mass exodus of Puerto Ricans are arriving at our houses of worship. They are a people of deep faith, but are also attuned to the economic injustice our government is inflicting on their families members back on the island. The same resilience that drives them to our pews will drive them to the polls in your district in the next coming election.

We ask you do justice for our fellow Puerto Ricans by taking the following three actions:

i. Rescind the Jones Act
ii. Cancel Puerto Rico’s immoral debt
iii. Commit to approving federal resources to rebuild Puerto Rico.

Thousands will be marching on Sunday, November 19 in Washington D.C. in the Unity March for Puerto Rico to remind congress that Puerto Rico is America too.

Signed,
The Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis
Senior Minister, Middle Collegiate Church
The Rev. Dr. Damaris Whittaker
Senior Minister, Fort Washington Collegiate Church