Anti-Immigration Sentiment Blows Back on Puerto Ricans on the Mainland

Author: Gabrielle Meyers

December 24, 2025

In what Human Rights Watch characterizes as “misaligned with international human rights law,” the 2025 US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids have targeted both citizens and immigrants in a way that undermines their human rights, such as due process, equal protection, and freedom from arbitrary detention. 

[Image credit: Ricardo Arduengo / AFP via Getty Images]

Out of those with US citizenship, Puerto Ricans in particular have been targeted. Even though Puerto Ricans have been citizens of the US for over 100 years, they are often treated as though they are not. Since the beginning of the ICE raids, Puerto Ricans have been detained or harassed due to racial profiling. For example, in January, ICE detained a Puerto Rican veteran in Newark, even though they had no warrant. A business owner who was present at the raid said that they did not ask him for documentation for his “American workers, Portuguese workers, or white workers.” Even though the veteran had a valid identification that he showed to authorities, he was still detained. In another incident, ICE agents showed up at a Puerto Rican restaurant in Philadelphia, which is home to the second-largest Puerto Rican community on the mainland. In another incident in July, more than 15 unmarked vehicles with armed men in plain clothes came to the Chicago National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture. They stayed there for two hours, refusing to provide ID or a warrant and ignoring requests from museum staff to leave. Staff members reported that they overheard agents discussing plans related to the upcoming Barrio Arts Festival. 

In recent months, there has been an increase in passport requests from Puerto Ricans as they are concerned about ICE stopping them and asking for their documents, since driver’s licenses are not sufficient to prove their citizenship. Even more alarming, there has been a growing trend of Puerto Ricans subjected to discriminatory treatment at airports and other government checkpoints.

ICE in Puerto Rico

ICE raids have also perpetuated fear and uncertainty in Puerto Rico itself. In 2024, there were 95 administrative arrests of migrants in Puerto Rico. By June 5th, 2025, there were 468 administrative arrests. According to various articles on ICE activity in Puerto Rico throughout the year, fewer than one in five detainees in Puerto Rico even had a criminal record. They were far more likely to have committed an administrative offense, like reentry following deportation. 

In fact, the Puerto Rico Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) office has been targeting immigrants with reentry violations. According to the New York Times, they are planning to branch out to immigrants suspected of marriage, identity, or benefits fraud. Before these ICE raids, HSI was focused on cybercrime, human smuggling, and drug trafficking.

The primary targets for ICE in Puerto Rico are Dominican immigrants. On par with ICE’s penchant for racial profiling, agents have been seen questioning individuals in neighborhoods with a significant Dominican population to verify their immigration status. Dominican immigrants make up the largest share of Puerto Rico’s immigrant population, and about one-third of them are thought to be undocumented. In June 2025, 500 Dominican migrants had been arrested, and only 80 of them had a criminal record. According to The Latino Newsletter, ICE even detained Dominican migrants at the airport while they were trying to return to the Dominican Republic, although the Trump administration has been encouraging people to self-deport. 

Even more disturbing are the methods ICE uses against immigrants.

ICE’s Violations of Due Process

Before this year, ICE enforcement in Puerto Rico usually occurred in a labor context, investigating the exploitation of immigrants. They detained people they found in the country without a regular immigration status. These arrestees were then brought before an immigration judge and released with a citation to later appear in court. 

ICE has been using more aggressive strategies than they used in past administrations, such as surprise raids, questioning people on the street, and taking tips. Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) says that no one shall face arbitrary detention or exile;  however, many of ICE’s arrests this year have occurred without court warrants. 

Puerto Rico doesn’t have a lot of space for detainees; its only detention facility has a maximum capacity of  20 people. Therefore, arrestees are kept in temporary detention centers, using ICE or Customs and Border Protection (CBP) offices. Conditions at these centers vary; one migrant said he received appropriate food and water, while another barely got any water and had to share a cell with 15 people. 

Although detainees have the right to communicate with their legal representative, the centers do not have facilities where lawyers can meet with their clients. One lawyer said that she has never met with a client inside these detention centers, claiming that the agency “does not provide communication with the detained or with lawyers.” As a result, they can be pressured to sign self-deportation documents. 

Because Puerto Rico doesn’t have the infrastructure to harbor these detainees, migrants are typically moved to detention centers in the mainland US. According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), when detainees in Puerto Rico are given a list of attorneys and informed of their legal rights, said list only includes Florida-based attorneys, since hearings do not take place in Puerto Rico. Some detainees have even been flown out of Puerto Rico before they can secure a lawyer. Others have been moved out of Puerto Rico days before their court date, forcing the judge to dismiss their case. Though this is common, it separates them from their families and lawyers. It can even take days to find out where they were moved to, as the ICE detainee locator tool takes a long time to update.

Erosion in Institutional Trust

Before this year, Puerto Rico was perceived as a sort of sanctuary for immigrants. Puerto Rico does not have a formal agreement with ICE that allows local police departments to work directly with ICE. Undocumented immigrants can open bank accounts and get driver’s licenses, indicating their immigration status. 

Now, that perception is shattered. The governor of Puerto Rico has been aligning with Trump, worried that he would threaten Puerto Rico’s federal funding, and Puerto Rico’s Department of Transportation and Public Works has been cooperating with ICE. According to National Public Radio (NPR), ICE subpoenaed the names and addresses of 6,000 people, which has helped them detain undocumented immigrants in their homes. However, because five months passed between the subpoena itself and when it was made public, people have lost trust in the state government.

Fallout

Since Dominican immigrants make up the largest share of Puerto Rico’s immigrant population, they are a critical part of Puerto Rico’s economy, from construction to elder care to agriculture. They contribute through taxes, such as the Sales and Use Tax, and pay into Social Security. Though about 30 percent of them are estimated to be undocumented, nearly 72 percent of those detained are Dominican.

As a result of ICE intervention, Dominican neighborhoods in Puerto Rico, like Barrio Obrero, are dominated by fear. Restaurants close earlier, and fewer people attend church. In February 2025, Puerto Rico’s Education Department saw absentee rates from Dominican students climb to 70 percent as parents were afraid to send their children to school. Officials have since denied access to schools to federal agents without a warrant. As of June 2025, more students have returned to school, but their parents no longer accompany them. People are afraid to go to the supermarket, so volunteers have been delivering food bags. Sometimes, people refuse to open their doors to get the food bags. People are also afraid to visit clinics, but some doctors are willing to make home visits to accommodate them. The ACLU and the Puerto Rico College of Surgeons set up a phone line for telemedicine and medical guidance for all, regardless of immigration status.

Because Dominican migrants are  too scared to leave their homes, they often miss work, and many are unemployed because of the risks they face while looking for employment. Many sectors previously dominated by immigrants, such as construction and elder care, are suffering from labor shortages. As immigrants are such a vital part of the construction industry, Puerto Rico’s construction will be further delayed, leading to increased project costs. 

Rights-Based Reforms

The ongoing ICE raids are a human rights issue. More specifically, they violate Articles 7, 9, and 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Article 7 states that everyone is entitled to equal protection of the law, but ICE has blocked access to court and to legal representation, particularly in Puerto Rico. Article 9 states that no one shall face arbitrary detention or exile, but ICE arrests American citizens, people without criminal records, and they’ve even detained people who were trying to self-deport. Lastly, Article 2 states that “no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional, or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs.” However, ICE racially profiles Puerto Ricans on the mainland and Dominican immigrants in Puerto Rico, as well as many other people of color. 

Groups and individuals are already taking action to try to improve the rights of immigrants in Puerto Rico. Organizations like the Puerto Rican Bar Association (PRBA) and the ACLU are providing pro bono legal services. Ayuda Legal Puerto Rico set up a hotline to provide such support and has received 300 calls as of July 6, 2025. The mayor of Aguadilla declared the city a sanctuary for immigrants, which means that there will be limited coordination between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. People have been donating clothes and meals to undocumented immigrants who are too scared to leave the house. Meanwhile, the ACLU has been advocating for the Puerto Rican legislature to pass a bill that establishes “sensitive locations” at certain places where collecting information about a person’s immigration status would be prohibited unless “strictly required by law,” and that sets clear protocols for enforcement actions in these places. There used to be a similar mandate at the federal level, but the Trump administration ended it in January 2025.

On a broader level, there are many reforms that need to happen immediately. Oversight and transparency should be key. Therefore, no one should be arrested without a warrant. Migrants should only be removed from Puerto Rico if it’s absolutely necessary, and their families and lawyers should always be able to locate them and maintain communication. Lastly, there should be more oversight over conditions at detention centers. Perhaps then we would have an immigration policy that wasn’t considered “misaligned with human rights law.”

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Glossary

• Absentee Rates - the rate at which students are absent from school.

• ACLU - American Civil Liberties Union; a nationwide organization that advocates for people’s constitutional rights.

• Administrative Arrest - a person detained for a civil violation of immigration law.

• Arbitrary Detention - arresting someone without evidence of them committing a crime, and/or detaining them without proper legal justification

• CBP - Customs and Border Protection; a federal law enforcement organization in charge of border management and control.

• Cybercrime - criminal activity committed using a computer.

• Deportation - the removal from a country of a foreign-born noncitizen.

• Detained - held in custody.

• Detention Centers - a place where undocumented immigrants are kept for a period of time.

• Discriminatory Treatment - treating someone unfairly because they are a member of a protected class, such as race.

• Drug Trafficking - the illegal production and sale of drugs across borders.

• Due Process - established rules, principles, and proceedings that protect individuals from arbitrary, unfair, or unreasonable treatment by the justice system.

• Exile - a state of forced absence from one’s country or home.

• Exploitation - the act of taking advantage of someone.

• HSI - Homeland Security Investigations; a federal law enforcement agency housed by the Department of Homeland Security that investigates global threats.

• Human Smuggling - the illegal movement of a person across a border with their consent.

• ICE - Immigration and Customs Enforcement; a federal agency that enforces immigration laws.

• ICE Detainee Locator Tool - a search engine housed by ICE that is supposed to be able to locate someone who has been in ICE or CBP custody for more than 48 hours.

• ICE Raids - the appearance of ICE agents at worksites, residential buildings, or other places without warning.

• NPR - National Public Radio; a nonprofit media organization.

• Oversight - built-in accountability mechanism to ensure legal operation.

• PRBA - Puerto Rican Bar Association; a professional association made up of members of the Puerto Rican bar.

• Penchant - a strong and continued inclination.

• Pro Bono - legal services performed at no cost to the client.

• Racial Profiling - in this case, targeting people for suspicion of immigration violation based on their race or ethnicity.

• Reentry - the action of returning to a country illegally after being deported.

• Sanctuary - a place of refuge and protection.

• Self-Deport - when an undocumented immigrant leaves the country of their own accord without intervention from immigration enforcement.

• Subpoenaed - received an order to deliver information under threat of legal consequence.

• Telemedicine - medical care provided to a patient in a separate location via a two-way call on a phone or computer.

• Transparency - being open to public scrutiny, in that processes and outcomes are publicly available.

• UDHR - Universal Declaration of Human Rights; a milestone document proclaimed by the United Nations that lists fundamental rights to be universally protected.

• Undocumented - lacking documents required for legal residence.

• Warrant - writing issued by a judge or court that empowers an officer to make an arrest, a search, or a seizure in conjunction with the administration of justice.