Talk:Ari Meyers

Puerto Rican
It is wrong to assume that the term "Puerto Rican" is an "ethnicity". Puerto Rican is a nationality. On October 25, 2006, the Puerto Rican State Department declared the exsistence of the Puerto Rican nationality (see: Juan Mari Bras). What is true is that Ari is Puerto Rican, but not Hispanic. People should start worrying less about "race" and "ethnicity" and just concentrate on "facts".

The article clearly states " Meyers was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico to American parents " It doesn't get anymore clearer than that. It is made clear throughout the article that he is not "Hispanic" for crying out loud. Tony the Marine 16:56, 24 June 2007 (UTC)

It is also wrong to assume that just because you are labeled "Puerto Rican" that you should have an ethnicity attached. It is a misconception to assume that all Puerto Ricans are of Spanish background. The United States is not the only "melting pot" in the world. Puerto Rico is also a melting pot and not all Puerto Ricans are of "Hispanic" descent. There are many Puerto Ricans of African, Corsican, French, Irish, German, Chinese, Dutch and Lebanonse descent among others. Tony the Marine (talk) 20:09, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

Ari Meyers' Puerto Rican Nationality
People born in Puerto Rico automatically have dual nationality: Puerto Rican and American. Puerto Rico follows the Jus soli law (the right of the soil or the land) meaning that one’s nationality is determined by the place of one's birth.

Therefore, Ari is Puerto Rican and American due to the fact that she was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

History of Puerto Rican Nationality

On October 25, 2006, the Puerto Rican State Department declared the existence of the Puerto Rican nationality (see: Juan Mari Bras). Puerto Rican nationality was recognized in 1898 after Spain ceded the island to the United States as a result of the Spanish-American War. On April 12, 1900, the Congress of the United States enacted the Foraker Act of 1900. Section VII of this act created a Puerto Rican citizenship for the residents "born in Puerto Rico and, therefore, subject to its jurisdiction". In 1917, the United States granted Puerto Ricans U.S. citizenship without the requirement that the islanders renounce their PR citizenship. Since then, everyone born in Puerto Rico are both Puerto Ricans and U.S. citizens. However, in Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican do not enjoy full U.S. citizenship rights because their rights as such are limited (For example: they can not vote in the Presidential elections). Puerto Ricans do not need to renounce either of the citizenships and do not need a passport to go to the continental United States and once there can participate in every activity as every other U.S. citizen.

There is a common misconception that all Puerto Ricans are of Hispanic background. The confusion stems from people automatically associating the term 'Puerto Rican' (nationality) with the term 'Hispanic' (ethnicity). Even though the primary ethnicity in Puerto Rico is Hispanic, there are numerous other ethnic groups which make up the Puerto Rican nationality. There are many Puerto Ricans of African, Corsican, French, Irish, German, Chinese, Dutch, Lebanese and of Jewish descent, among others.

Laws Concerning Citizenship/Nationality

The modern world is divided up into nations with each nation, at least nominally, exercising control over its own territory and the people who reside within that territory. Among modern nations, citizenship at birth is conveyed in one of two ways; either though Jus soli (the right of the soil or the land) meaning that one’s nationality is determined by the place of one's birth; or through jus sanguinis (the right of blood) where nationality is determined by the nationality of one's descent (parents). Birthright citizenship is the term used for Jus soli as it is applied under US law.

Given the information above, it isn't incomplete and misleading to say that she is "a Puerto Rican film actoress". She is at least someone of dual citizenship, assuming that she has not renounced her Puerto Rican citizenship.


 * "she is "a Puerto Rican film actor"? - Reality would be Puerto Rican/American.
 * "isn't she an American who happened to be born in Puerto Rico?" - Everybody born in Puerto Rico is an American as is. Tony the Marine (talk) 18:09, 14 February 2009 (UTC)

One thing that I want to point out is since we want to make this project as close as we can into a reliable encyclopedia, we must make peolpe understand that the term Puerto Rican should not be understood only on the terms of a people with a common ethnicity/ancestry/culture, that there is a Puerto Rican nationality that has embraced people from non-Hispanic origins as proved by my Puerto Rico immigration series.

Several observations about this interesting subject. I don't think that Ferrer vs Mari Bras is the definitive last word on this subject. Days before that opinion was published, then Gov. Pedro Rosselló signed into law a bill introduced by then Sen. Kenneth McClintock that reaffirmed the domiciliary nature, under the U.S. Constitution, of the Puerto Rican citizenship. Although lack of knowledge of a law does not excuse one from complying with it, the truth is that the justices did not really have any knowledge of that new law as their opinions were being released. Thus, there is no reference to a law, that may very well dispose of the issue, in the Court's opinions in Ferrer vs Mari Bras. Now, the bill's author is the new Secretary of State and, within a few weeks, the Court's 3-1 PDP majority will, for the first time in history, become a 3-out-of-7 minority! McClintock has continued issuing PR citizenship certificates, but has delegated signing them to his Deputy Secretary (very much in keeping with MacClintock's diplomatic way of dealing with issues---fulfilling his legal obligations without violating his personal convictions!).

Tony the Marine (talk) 05:45, 9 July 2011 (UTC)

Not sure why she is listed as “former actress”. People who have acted continue to be actors, and I never see any actors listed as “former”, even when they haven’t acted for along time. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:645:4301:ADC0:2848:E68F:E379:CEF3 (talk) 16:32, 9 June 2022 (UTC)