Where Puerto Ricans Will Move After This Crisis

The news coming out of Puerto Rico -- limited as it is with power and cell service out on most of the island -- is terrible and demands far more of a media and government response than we've seen so far. Every effort should be made to get the people of Puerto Rico the resources they need to cope with this disaster.

"Cope" will be Step One. The island faced large-scale challenges even before Hurricane Maria hit, with a shrinking population, crumbling infrastructure and a financial mess. We need to be realistic about what the future for Puerto Rico and its people looks like. We're probably looking at hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans leaving the island for the mainland U.S. over the next several years, a scenario with significant implications for the island and the rest of the nation.