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As Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in September, it thrust the island into the consciousness of the United States.

Now, most Americans aren’t thinking about Puerto Rico anymore. We should be.

Much of the devastation remains. As of last week, 35 percent of Puerto Ricans still were without power. And FEMA seemed outmatched and overwhelmed there.

Usually, if Americans envision Puerto Rico, it’s as an inexpensive vacation destination where they can go without a passport and spend American dollars. But Puerto Ricans are Americans, too.

It’s not known how many Puerto Ricans have headed to the mainland since Maria, but the population in 2016 was 3.4 million, more than that of 21 states — including Alaska and Hawaii, two former territories that similarly are separate from the mainland, but gained statehood in 1959. Puerto Ricans, as U.S. citizens, can travel freely to the rest of the U.S. If they travel abroad, it’s on a U.S. passport. If they move to a state, they have full voting privileges, but if they stay in Puerto Rico, they can’t vote for members of Congress or for U.S. president.