The meaning of the Puerto Rican migration can be initially understood only by perceiving it as a continuation of the experience New York City has always had with newcomers. The focus of the present study is the quest of the Puerto Ricans for identity. This is the feature of their migration which they share most intimately with all other immigrant groups, and yet it is the aspect in which their experience both on the Island before they come, and in New York, is unique. From many points of view, Puerto Ricans on the Island have already been uprooted even before they come to the mainland. After they arrive, they face a set of circumstances which make the quest for identity much more difficult for them than it was for earlier groups. Initial dispersal over wide areas, continued relocation, and the policy of integration in public housing make it more difficult for Puerto Ricans to establish or retain stable and strong Puerto Rican neighborhoods. The need of the great majority who are Catholics to adjust to integrated parishes, rather than having Puerto Rican parishes, largely eliminates the parish as a focus of identity. The facility of low cost travel back to Puerto Rico may make it easier to retain identity with the Island. Finally, the variety of color among Puerto Ricans also complicates the problem of identity in the presence of mainland discrimination. (Author/JM)