Latino VoicesLatino VoicesLatino Voices

Puerto Ricans Are Leaving The Island And Moving To The Mainland

Puerto Ricans Head To Florida
By 

Editor, Latino Voices

In this Oct. 2, 2012 photo, U.S. And Puerto Rico's flags fly as tourists walk along the dock where a cruise ship anchors in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. Trade groups say the flourishing cruise ship industry injects about $2 billion a year into the economies of the Caribbean, the worlds No. 1 cruise destination, but critics complain that it produces relatively little local revenue because so many passengers dine, shop and purchase heavily marked-up shore excursions on the boats or splurge at international chain shops on the piers. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo)
In this Oct. 2, 2012 photo, U.S. And Puerto Rico's flags fly as tourists walk along the dock where a cruise ship anchors in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. Trade groups say the flourishing cruise ship industry injects about $2 billion a year into the economies of the Caribbean, the worlds No. 1 cruise destination, but critics complain that it produces relatively little local revenue because so many passengers dine, shop and purchase heavily marked-up shore excursions on the boats or splurge at international chain shops on the piers. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo)

Puerto Rico's population is dropping. Faced with a deteriorating economy, increased poverty and a swelling crime rate, many citizens are fleeing the island for the U.S. mainland. In a four-part series, Morning Edition explores this phenomenon, and how Puerto Rico's troubles are affecting its people and other Americans in unexpected ways.

According to the most recent census, the 4.6 million Puerto Ricans living on the U.S. mainland now surpass those on the island of Puerto Rico. For years, they've been migrating out of the U.S. Caribbean territory — many to escape the escalating crime rate and economic crisis.

Today, Florida replaces New York as the primary destination for Puerto Ricans coming to the U.S. In Osceola County, Fla., the population has tripled over the past two decades largely because of the migration. It's one of the nation's fastest growing areas, and about half of the population is Hispanic — most of them Puerto Rican.

Read more on NPR

|
Submit a tip

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot