Immigration Judge Grants Bond to Immigrant Joan Alberto After Weeks in Detention in Puerto Rico

San Juan, P.R. — An immigration judge granted bond this Thursday to Dominican immigrant Joan Alberto Zorrilla Lora, a decision that represents an important step forward in the face of a detention that should never have happened. The ruling comes after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Puerto Rico filed an urgent habeas corpus petition to stop Zorrilla Lora’s transfer خارج the local jurisdiction and to demand that a bond hearing be held, a process to which he was entitled.

“The bond granted today is an important step, but it does not undo the injustice of having separated Joan Alberto from his family for weeks, in the midst of an active immigration process and while his wife is about to give birth. What happened in this case cannot be allowed to happen again in Puerto Rico,” said attorney Fermín Arraiza Navas, legal director of the ACLU of Puerto Rico.

This case also exposes the voluntary collaboration of municipal authorities with the federal immigration detention machinery. There is evidence showing that the Carolina Municipal Police played a direct role in the events that led to Zorrilla Lora’s detention by federal authorities. That intervention reflects the Municipality’s voluntary collaboration in immigration enforcement functions, even though no 287(g) agreement exists delegating that kind of authority.

“No municipality should voluntarily collaborate in immigration enforcement functions that divert public resources, erode community trust, and ultimately facilitate the separation of families. This case is not only about Joan Alberto. It should also force us to reflect on the kind of country and institutions we want and are willing to tolerate,” emphasized attorney Charito García Miranda, Zorrilla Lora’s counsel and director of the Immigration Clinic at the University of Puerto Rico School of Law. “This type of action breaks trust in our public servants and undermines the structures of the state that are meant to protect us; it is a dangerous situation,” she added.

Joan Alberto’s detention stemmed from a traffic stop that took place on January 8, 2026, over alleged violations of a municipal ordinance, during which an officer of the Carolina Municipal Police gained access to his Puerto Rico driver’s license and called Border Patrol officers, placing him on the radar of immigration authorities. Later, that same officer changed the time of the municipal appointment originally scheduled for January 15. When Joan Alberto arrived at the Carolina Municipal Police station, he was arrested there by Border Patrol agents and later transferred to the CBP station at Ramey Base in Aguadilla, where he remained in immigration custody.

“The participation of the Carolina Municipal Police in this process is unacceptable. Municipal police forces are not supposed to serve as an operational arm of ICE or any other federal immigration agency. Diverting municipal resources, time, and personnel toward that kind of collaboration distorts the legitimate functions of local police and represents a questionable use of public funds,” Arraiza Navas said.

The bond imposed on Zorrilla Lora was set at $5,000, even though there is no risk of flight and he poses no danger to the community. Joan Alberto is married to a U.S. citizen, has an approved I-130 petition (a petition filed by a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident family member so that the U.S. government may officially recognize the family relationship with an immigrant and begin a process toward regularizing that person’s status), and has a pending I-601A waiver application. He is also the father of a U.S. citizen child, and his wife is in the final stage of her pregnancy. Release on bond will allow Zorrilla Lora to be present for his wife’s delivery, which is expected to take place at any time in the coming days. Far from posing a danger or flight risk, his case reflects deep family ties, strong roots in Puerto Rico, and a clear interest in continuing his immigration process through the appropriate legal channels.

Zorrilla Lora’s detention must also be understood within the broader legal context that has increasingly reaffirmed that people in his situation cannot be arbitrarily jailed without access to an individualized determination of their liberty. Joan Alberto is part of the protected class in the Maldonado Bautista case, a recent decision that is critical to understanding why his detention should not have been treated as mandatory and why he was entitled to a bond determination before an immigration judge.

In Maldonado Bautista v. DHS, the federal court for the Central District of California entered final judgment on December 18, 2025, declaring that protected class members are detained under non-mandatory detention and are entitled to be considered for release on bond and, if necessary, to a bond hearing before an immigration judge. More recently, on February 18, 2026, that same court granted a motion to enforce its judgment, which nullified the administrative decision in Matter of Yajure Hurtado, a decision that had been used to deny bond hearings to many detained individuals.