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ABSTRACT
Puerto Rican migration caught nationwide attention after Hurricane Maria impacted the island. It was a culmination of more than a decade of economic stagnation that led to Puerto Rico's declining population while stateside Puerto Ricans experienced a population growth. This study examines the impact of post-Hurricane Maria on the Puerto Rican exodus and Puerto Rican diaspora in the U.S. mainland. The purpose of this paper is to measure post-Hurricane Maria exodus and how settlement patterns have reinforced dispersion in the diaspora. The findings from this study shed light on the migration estimations using the School Enrollment Migration Index (SEMI) relative to other migration data sources and dispersed settlement patterns of Puerto Rican migrants data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Department of Education(s). More importantly, I argue that existing data sources on Puerto Rican migration are not sufficient to estimate Puerto Rican migration, especially during a time when migration estimates were immediately needed to determine where the migrants relocated to within the U.S. mainland post-Hurricane Maria and the dispersion of Puerto Rican settlement has been magnified as a result of post-Hurricane Maria migrants. [Keywords: Puerto Rico, Migration, Puerto Rican Diaspora, Hurricane Maria, Settlement Patterns, Student Enrollment Migration Index (SEMI)]
INTRODUCTION
In the last decade, we have witnessed the resurgence of the Puerto Rican population in the United States through the lens of scholarship, politics, and within U.S. local communities. Recent Puerto Rican migration, driven by two major historical events in Puerto Rico-the 2006 onset of the economic crisis and Hurricane Maria in 2017-give a contemporary view of the fast-paced socioeconomic and demographic effects it has had on both Puerto Rico and receiving states in the U.S. mainland. The increasing geographic dispersion among stateside Puerto Ricans has intensified by the incoming Puerto Rican newcomers during both migration waves, especially after Hurricane Maria in September 2017. Puerto Rican migration today continues to be driven by Puerto Rico's lack of employment opportunities; however, as shown in recent events like Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017, migration has been driven by environmental forces as well.
In this article, I introduce an alternative indicator to measure migration known as "Student Enrollment Migration Index" or SEMI. SEMI is a migration index that can be used in...