Following World War II, a massive migration of Puerto Ricans to the continental United States took place, becoming known as the 'Great Migration'. Economic hardship and political tensions on the island, coupled with a demand for labor in post-war America, drove this exodus. Puerto Ricans, who were U.S. citizens, primarily settled in New York City, but also established communities in other major cities and mid-Atlantic farm villages. This migration transformed the cultural and social landscape of the American Northeast.

The Puerto Rican Great Migration is a central theme in Nuyorican literature, a movement that gave voice to the Puerto Rican community in New York. Poets like Pedro Pietri and Miguel Algarín are key figures in this tradition, exploring themes of identity, displacement, and the struggles of urban life in their works. The migration has inspired a rich body of poetry and fiction that chronicles the experience of building a new life in the mainland U.S.