ACLU of Puerto Rico files its sixth urgent petition to stop the transfer of a Dominican immigrant

San Juan, P.R. – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Puerto Rico filed a new urgent Habeas Corpus petition this Monday before the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, on behalf of Perfecto Paula, a Dominican citizen detained by federal agencies since February 14, 2026, in Puerto Rico, despite having an advanced and approved immigration process and strong family ties in the archipelago.

In its filing before the U.S. District Court, the organization asks the Court to assume jurisdiction over the case, issue a temporary restraining order prohibiting Paula’s transfer outside the District of Puerto Rico while the petition is being considered, and grant the writ of habeas corpus to order his immediate release, or alternatively, his release on bond. In the same vein, the ACLU asks that all immigrants under these same conditions be protected.

“We will continue demanding that the State not use deprivation of liberty as punishment or as a pressure tactic against immigrants who pose no risk to anyone and who are simply seeking safety and a better future for themselves and their families. In this case, Paula’s detention does not serve a legitimate government purpose, and his possible transfer outside Puerto Rico would further aggravate the rights violations,” said attorney Fermín Arraiza Navas, legal director of the ACLU of Puerto Rico.

According to the court filing, the immigrant was detained on February 14 in Puerto Nuevo, San Juan, while parked in his vehicle, and was later transferred to the facility known as GSA in Guaynabo, where he remains in federal custody.

The petition argues that his detention lacks a valid legal basis, violates constitutional due process guarantees, and occurs in a context where there is an imminent threat of transfer to the mainland United States, which would limit his effective access to legal representation and his family.

The organization explained that the man is married to a U.S. citizen and is the father of a minor U.S. citizen. The filing further states that he has lived continuously in the United States since 2000 and that his immigration case includes an approved Petition for Alien Relative (I-130) and an approved provisional unlawful presence waiver (I-601A), steps that reflect compliance with mechanisms established by law and that require payment of fees to the federal government itself.

Likewise, the organization warned that the transfer of detained persons from Puerto Rico to detention centers in the United States where inhumane confinement conditions have been documented can result in irreparable harm. The petition filed before the court also describes concerns about barriers to accessing legal representation and the lack of sufficient procedural safeguards to challenge deprivation of liberty.

Joining the ACLU in this filing are the Legal Assistance Clinic of the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico School of Law and the Immigration Clinic of the University of Puerto Rico School of Law. The entities reiterated that they will continue using all available legal tools to stop illegal detentions, demand transparency, and ensure that constitutional guarantees fully apply to every person in government custody, regardless of immigration status.

In addition to Paula’s case, since late December 2025 the ACLU of Puerto Rico has filed five other urgent Habeas Corpus petitions. In three of those cases, immigrants Martín Medina de la Cruz, Diógenes Fermín Fernández, and Teófilo Ávila are already free on bond and reunited with their respective families. Meanwhile, Joan Alberto Zorrilla Lora remains detained.

In two of these cases, immigration judges have imposed excessive bonds, a pattern that also seeks to violate immigrants’ rights by circumventing the court orders that have been issued in these cases. On the other hand, the ACLU of Puerto Rico described as erroneous and contrary to law the determination of a Florida immigration judge, who last Thursday denied release on bond for Haitian immigrant Albeto Pierre, after a federal judge in the Middle District of Florida issued a habeas corpus order and judgment in favor of the petitioner.

These arrests occurred under circumstances that raise serious concerns of racial profiling and reflect grave due process violations, in addition to other possible violations of law that cannot be normalized, the ACLU of Puerto Rico underscored.