Free Republic

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. JOSE LUIS VAELLO-MADERO, Defendant. CASE NO. 17-2133 (GAG) OPINION AND ORDER The United States moves for voluntary dismissal of its claims against José Luis Vaello- Madero arising from erroneous and in excess payments under the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. (Docket No. 23). For the reasons discussed below, the United States’ motion is DENIED. I. Relevant Factual Background The following facts are taken from the record and parties’ submissions, and are only considered as true for purposes of this motion: Vaello-Madero lived...

Where America’s Day BeginsTumon–While the rest of the country debates President Trump’s Twitter use, health care reform, tax reform, border security, the war on terrorism, and the 2018 midterms, it’s easy for some stories to fall by the wayside.The 2016 election was dominated by many issues, but trade was a key factor that helped push Donald Trump over the top. The main villain was China. Yet, trade isn’t the only arena where we’re going to do battle with this Asian economic powerhouse.In the Pacific, China is spreading dollars, subsidizing building projects across Tonga and the Federated States of Micronesia. The...

Although Puerto Rico is on its way to holding a status plebiscite over the summer and the governing New Progressive Party has petitioned Congress for Puerto Rico’s admission as a state, some argue the island will have a higher chance of becoming a state if U.S. lawmakers were to declare Puerto Rico an incorporated territory en route to statehood. Right now, the dominant argument among all sectors is that Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory, but pro-statehood lawyer Gregorio Igartúa, who has taken several cases to the courts that seek to grant more rights to Puerto Ricans living in Puerto...

Though most Hispanic Americans are unaware of it, let alone the population at large, we still have on the books our own Dred Scott, Plessy and Korematsu. I am referring to the Insular Cases, a series of cases decided by the Supreme Court between 1901 and 1922. Collectively they held that the inhabitants of the then newly unincorporated territories acquired after the 1898 Spanish-American War - the last remaining and most populous of which is Puerto Rico - do not enjoy all the rights otherwise afforded to people in the states under our Constitution. Dred Scott, holding African-Americans were not...