ACLU of Puerto Rico files emergency habeas corpus petition to demand the release of Martín Medina de la Cruz and halt his transfer out of the archipelago

San Juan, P.R. – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Puerto Rico filed an emergency habeas corpus petition and an urgent motion to halt 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 illegal, 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 aggravate the harm to his due process rights and his access to legal representation.

The court filing, submitted on the night of Tuesday, January 20, states that Medina de la Cruz is neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community. Medina de la Cruz had voluntarily presented himself to immigration authorities, had requested humanitarian protections available under immigration law, and had a pending immigration matter. In addition, Medina de la Cruz—who has been present in U.S. territory for more than five years—has employment authorization.

“The detention is not only unjustified, but also contrary to due process and seeks to punish a person who appeared before immigration authorities in accordance with the law,” said Fermín L. Arraiza Navas, legal director of the ACLU of Puerto Rico and one of the attorneys in the case.

The ACLU of Puerto Rico stated that detaining him does not serve a legitimate government interest and constitutes an abusive use of civil detention authority. The petition states that the stop occurred when federal agents selected Medina de la Cruz and two other people of Dominican nationality at the Placita Caribe supermarket, in an area with a high concentration of Dominican residents. The ACLU of Puerto Rico argued that the stop was motivated by racial profiling, conduct prohibited by the U.S. Constitution.

“We are alarmed that the government insists on locking up people who qualify for humanitarian protection processes, instead of guaranteeing them a fair evaluation and real access to their rights,” said immigration attorney Julie Cruz Santana, who is a petitioner in the case on behalf of Medina de la Cruz.

After being detained, Medina de la Cruz was transferred to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) station at Ramey Base in Aguadilla, and then to federal facilities in Puerto Rico, where he remains detained in federal custody.

Through this legal action, the ACLU of Puerto Rico, together with Cruz Santana, asks the court to immediately assume jurisdiction; issue an order preventing the petitioner’s transfer outside the District of Puerto Rico while the case is pending; and determine that the detention is unlawful, ordering his immediate release or, alternatively, reasonable conditions of release, including a bond determination consistent with due process.

The organization emphasized that this is not a mandatory detention case under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). It also argued that the government has less restrictive alternatives to detention available, including supervision mechanisms used by ICE.

The ACLU of Puerto Rico warned that a transfer to the mainland United States would drastically increase the barriers preventing Medina de la Cruz from exercising basic rights, including difficulties in maintaining regular communication with legal counsel and in gathering evidence and presenting witnesses. The petition also describes additional institutional obstacles that prevent adequate and confidential legal consultations for detained persons, directly affecting their constitutional right to legal counsel and to prepare a defense.

This practice of arbitrarily detaining immigrants who are not subject to “mandatory detention” under federal immigration law—and denying them the opportunity to seek bond—contravenes the class-action mandate in the Maldonado Bautista case. In that ruling, the court established that this group is protected and must have access to a bond process while their immigration case is pending. The ACLU of Puerto Rico further warned that the government’s refusal to comply with that determination stems from direct instructions by the chair of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), Teresa L. Riley, a matter the U.S. District Court is already addressing and for which it has scheduled an urgent hearing.

“Puerto Rico cannot become a point of intervention and accelerated transfer used to dismantle legal defenses and separate people from their community,” said Annette Martínez Orabona, executive director of the ACLU of Puerto Rico.

The petition also states that the immigration detention system in the United States faces serious documented allegations regarding dangerous and inhumane conditions in multiple detention centers and jurisdictions, including overcrowding, hygiene restrictions, deficiencies in health care and food, and other unjustifiable conditions.