Immigration Raids in Puerto Rico Highlight Complex Ties with Dominican Community

Immigration raids have been a rare occurrence in Puerto Rico, with the island’s sole detention center—a small office building adjacent to a shopping mall—able to house only about 20 detainees. Despite this, federal authorities have apprehended over 500 individuals since the beginning of the Trump administration in January.

This increase in detentions has caused discomfort among many Puerto Ricans, who hold U.S. citizenship, and has brought to light the uneasy relationship between the island and the federal government.

Nearly 75 percent of those detained are from one country: the Dominican Republic, located just 129 kilometers west of Puerto Rico by sea. Given the shared ethnic roots, language, and culture between Dominicans and Puerto Ricans, the arrests of Dominicans have been perceived by many on the island as a personal affront.

“It is a historic aberration,” said Néstor Duprey, an associate professor of social sciences at the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico.

For generations, Dominicans—and some Haitians—have migrated to Puerto Rico from the island of Hispaniola in rickety boats, establishing families and filling essential roles in domestic work, home healthcare, and construction. Aside from occasional interceptions at sea and sporadic raids in the capital, San Juan, federal immigration enforcement on the island has largely avoided large-scale crackdowns until now.