According to census research from Lehman College (1), between 1945 and the 1950s more than half a million native Puerto Ricans emigrated to different parts of the United States, originating from their homeland, Puerto Rico. Many of the locations where Puerto Ricans have migrated include Chicago, New Jersey, Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City. One of the cities that experienced a large boom in the Puerto Rican population was New York. This period was known as the “Great Migration” and had several factors that led to mass migration. Some of these notable events include Woodrow Wilson's signing of the Jones-Shafroth Act of 1917 and the Great Depression. Subsequently, Puerto Ricans became permanent citizens of the United States from these events. This still raises questions about why a large portion of Puerto Ricans decided to immigrate to the United States, how Puerto Ricans developed their identity in New York after migration, and what effect it had on New York. As we currently know, Puerto Ricans are currently permanent citizens of the United States, but a few years before, Puerto Ricans did not even have citizenship in the United States. It all began at the end of the Spanish-American War in 1898, when Spain and the United States met to sign the Treaty of Paris, which would officially end the war that the United States and Spain were fighting. This also led to the acquisition of Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines. Later, Woodrow Wilson signed the Jones-Shafroth Act, which gave Puerto Ricans citizenship in the United States. This is one of the first major steps taken by the United States to welcome Puerto Ricans out of their homeland. Now they had another place to call home instead of Puerto Rico. Later, the Great Depression hit the United States. it had to be changed from the point of view of language and culture. Everything was basically the same, which made the transition from Puerto Rico to the New York lifestyle easier for them. This also had a downside. Puerto Ricans had to live in worn, worn-out buildings with racist landlords who denied some Puerto Ricans from living in their buildings, so some Puerto Ricans had to keep their identities private or risk being evicted. During this period, many Puerto Ricans decided to emigrate also because the United States began to emerge from the great depression it was in, with the help of the New Deal. Jobs started to appear again and this gave migrants the chance to find work and the possibility of changing their social status.