Court Cases

This petition deals with the long term health and environmental consequences on the victims, as a result of military practices (involving toxic chemicals and warfare) of the United States Navy conducted on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. In 1941, the Navy set up military operations in the municipal islands of Culebra and Vieques, Puerto Rico; and that in 1942-1943 and 1947, the Navy expropriated of 75% of the land on Vieques for the use of military practices, totaling approximately 23,000 acres. The expropriation of 75% of the island involved the forced evacuation and displacement of hundreds of Viequense families who were forced to relocate to the middle of the island and leave the land they either owned or worked on. Using the island as a practice ground for military warfare, the Navy routinely bombed the island including dropping 500-pound bombs from aircraft—and used known deadly chemicals and toxins such as napalm, Agent Orange, depleted uranium (DU), white phosphorous, arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium, copper, magnesium, lithium, cobalt, nickel, perchlorate, TNT (Trinitrotoluene), PCBs (Polychlorinated Biphenyls), solvents, pesticides, and high explosives. For decades, Viequenses have been exposed to lethal contaminants exuded from munitions that have contaminated their bodies, their land and the neighboring sea, and continue to live with the long lasting effects to their health and environment. As a result of these harmful practices, generations of Viequenses suffer inflated rates of cancer, hypertension, asthma, birth defects, higher infant mortality rates and low birth weights, respiratory illnesses, kidney failure and skin rashes. Despite the high incidence of illness on Vieques, the island currently has no adequate health services, including general and specialized physicians, equipment, laboratories and diagnostic and treatment facilities on Vieques to adequately diagnose and treat various serious conditions, including cancer. The overwhelming majority of Viequenses must travel to mainland Puerto Rico whenever they need medical attention, whether it consists of generalized care, follow-up care or treatment for their health conditions. On the other hand, the fishing industry in Vieques comprises approximately 40% of the local economy. Fishermen have often complained about the great number of unexploded bombs in the coastal waters of Vieques and the destruction caused to coral reefs and other elements of the marine environment harmed by stray bombs from jets and ships. The Navy’s activities interfered with the ability of local fishermen to practice their trade, both because the military practices leaked toxins and contaminants into the surrounding waters and because the Navy would routinely block water routes that the fisherman followed daily in order to carry out their warfare practices. The Navy officially closed the base for military practices in 2003, but the struggle continues.

This emergency habeas corpus petition seeks the immediate release of Jose Ignacio Cambero Maldonado, who was detained on June 25, 2026, during an aggressive multicar operation in Puerto Rico carried out by more than five masked individuals without a local traffic stop order. The petition argues that the intervention was racially motivated and part of a broader pattern of racial profiling, in violation of constitutional protections. Mr. Cambero Maldonado has lived continuously in the United States since September 30, 2021, with his U.S. citizen wife and their nearly two-year-old U.S. citizen daughter. He has taken steps to regularize his immigration status, including the filing and payment of required USCIS forms I-130 and I-601A. The petition argues that, because he complied with the legal process, is not a flight risk, and poses no danger to the community, his continued detention lacks a valid legal basis. The petition claims that his detention violates due process, serves no legitimate government purpose, wastes public resources, and causes severe emotional, psychological, and financial harm to his family. It asks the court to declare the detention unlawful and order his immediate release.

The ACLU of Puerto Rico went to court on behalf of journalist Carlos Berríos Polanco to demand that the Puerto Rico Police Bureau disclose public records about its participation in Operation Stonegarden, a federal grant program that funds coordination among agencies to address certain cross-border crimes. The organization argues that the Police failed to comply with their legal duty to respond to a request for documents related to public funds, operations, and civil rights safeguards.

This emergency habeas corpus petition seeks the immediate release of Leon Isauro Calderon Santana, a Dominican immigrant, who was detained by ICE on April 24, 2026, during an immigration enforcement operation in San Juan, Puerto Rico, while he was on his way to open his business, Chaito Mármol. The petition argues that his detention is unlawful and violates due process because he has lived continuously in the United States since 2004, has a pending I-130 Petition for Alien Relative filed by his U.S. citizen daughter, and may be eligible for cancellation of removal. It also states that he is not a flight risk or danger to the community, has paid taxes, supports several U.S. citizen children, and is the sole caregiver for his U.S. citizen wife, who has medical and mental health needs. The petition further alleges that the enforcement action was racially motivated and asks the federal court to declare his continued detention unlawful and order his immediate release.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Puerto Rico filed an emergency habeas corpus petition in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico on behalf of Albeto Pierre, a Haitian immigrant detained by federal agents on Christmas Eve in Barrio Obrero, Santurce, while accompanying his partner to a prenatal appointment. The legal action challenged his arbitrary detention as lacking a lawful basis and asks the court to order his immediate release, as well as to prevent his imminent transfer outside the jurisdiction of Puerto Rico.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Puerto Rico filed an emergency habeas corpus petition and an urgent motion to stay the transfer of Martín Medina de la Cruz, a Dominican immigrant who was detained by federal agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on January 18, 2026, in Puerto Nuevo, San Juan. The organization argued that Medina de la Cruz’s detention is unlawful, arbitrary, and lacks a valid legal basis, and that the federal government intends to imminently transfer him outside the jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court in Puerto Rico, which would further harm his due process rights and his access to legal representation.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico granted a habeas corpus petition filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Puerto Rico and ordered the federal government not to transfer Diogene Fermin Fernández, a Dominican immigrant detained by federal agents, outside Puerto Rico. In its order, Judge Pedro A. Delgado Hernández also set a deadline for the government to provide a bond hearing, warning that “if respondents do not provide such a hearing within that time, they must immediately release petitioner.” Diogene Fermín Fernández has lived in Puerto Rico since 2007 and was stopped by federal agents on January 20, 2026, while on his way to work in Villa Palmeras, an area in San Juan with a large Dominican community. According to the petition filed in court, the arrest took place under circumstances raising serious concerns of racial profiling and ended with his transfer to western Puerto Rico, where he remained in federal custody while facing the threat of being removed from the jurisdiction within hours or days.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico ordered the federal government to bring Teófilo Ávila, a detained immigrant, back to Puerto Rico after he was transferred outside the jurisdiction even though the ACLU of Puerto Rico had timely filed a habeas corpus petition to prevent his transfer. Judge Silvia Carreño Coll ordered that Ávila be returned to Puerto Rico no later than February 2 and warned that failure to comply would result in contempt sanctions against Rebecca González Ramos, the Special Agent in Charge of HSI in Puerto Rico, whom the court identified as the detainee’s designated custodian. According to the order, on January 29, 2026, the court had granted a temporary emergency restraining order (TRO) and an urgent motion prohibiting Ávila’s transfer outside Puerto Rico and requiring that he be given a bond hearing before an immigration judge no later than February 12, 2026. Ávila, who is represented by immigration attorney Rosaura González Rucci, was detained in Puerto Rico on January 19, 2026, and was later held in local custody facilities before being transferred out of the jurisdiction. The court underscored that there is no dispute that he was in Puerto Rico when the habeas corpus petition was properly filed.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Puerto Rico filed an urgent habeas corpus petition in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico on behalf of Perfecto Paula, a Dominican national who has been detained by federal agencies in Puerto Rico since February 14, 2026, despite having an advanced and approved immigration process and strong family ties in the archipelago. In its filing before the federal court, the organization asked 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 habeas corpus petition to order his immediate release, or alternatively, his release on bond. Along the same lines, the ACLU also asked that protection be extended to all immigrants who are being held under these same conditions.