Immigrant Rights

The Dominican immigrant was detained by federal authorities in January, with the collaboration of the Carolina Municipal Police.

Authorized statement regarding ICE/HSI agents’ operation in the Capetillo community in Río Piedras

The Haitian immigrant was detained on Christmas Eve while accompanying his pregnant partner to a prenatal care appointment at a clinic in Barrio Obrero

ACLU of Puerto Rico warned of the risk of deportation to Haiti and denounced the transfer to Alligator Alcatraz, an improvised facility with inhumane and unconstitutional conditions

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Puerto Rico filed a petition for mandamus in the Court of First Instance in San Juan against the Secretary of the Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTOP), Edwin González Montalvo, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, seeking the immediate release of all documents related to the transfer of confidential information concerning nearly 6,000 migrants who obtained driver’s licenses under Act No. 97 of 2013, including a subpoena allegedly issued by a federal agency. The ACLU-PR’s action comes after DTOP refused to provide copies of information requests issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and agencies such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as well as the legal assessments and the information that was turned over in response to those requests. The agency’s response relied on generalities, without legally substantiating its claim of confidentiality, which constitutes a failure to perform a ministerial duty and a flagrant violation of the right of access to public information, a constitutional right in Puerto Rico. The lawsuit is based on the public disclosure that, between February and March 2025, DTOP turned over personal data on nearly 6,000 drivers with unregularized immigration status to federal immigration agencies. The federal government later confirmed that these data are being actively used to identify immigrants, locate them, arrest them without a warrant, and deport them. The ACLU-PR underscored that this action by the government of Puerto Rico was carried out in direct contravention of Act 97-2013 itself, which requires the Secretary of DTOP to establish the necessary mechanisms to ensure that this registry cannot be used to discriminate and that the information is not disclosed.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Puerto Rico filed a habeas corpus petition arguing that Ernesto José Cruz Tejada’s detention is unlawful because he was processed for expedited removal even though he had lived continuously in Puerto Rico and the United States for more than two decades, had an approved I-130 family petition filed by his mother, a lawful permanent resident, and, according to the petition, does not fall within the categories of mandatory detention. The filing argues that his imprisonment violates due process, that he was denied a bond hearing to which he was entitled, and that there is an imminent risk he will be transferred outside Puerto Rico, which would impair his access to counsel and worsen the impact on his 68-year-old mother, whose health is fragile and for whom he is the primary caregiver. The complaint states that the arrest took place on March 7, 2026, in Barrio Obrero, San Juan, as Cruz Tejada was on his way to the market to buy breakfast for his sick mother. The petition further alleges that the stop was racially motivated, that authorities failed to verify how long he had continuously lived in Puerto Rico before placing him in expedited removal proceedings, and that his arrest and detention occurred without a valid legal basis or adequate consideration of less restrictive alternatives.

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.

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.