Puerto Rico’s Unique Experience with Immigration Raids

Immigration raids are an uncommon occurrence in Puerto Rico, where the only detention center is a small facility located next to a shopping mall with the capacity to hold about 20 individuals. Despite this, federal authorities in the U.S. territory have apprehended over 500 people since the beginning of the Trump administration.

This increase in enforcement has caused discontent among Puerto Ricans, who are U.S. citizens, and has brought to light their complex and often uneasy relationship with the federal government.

The majority of those detained—nearly 75%—are from the Dominican Republic, a nation located just 80 miles west of Puerto Rico. Many Dominicans share cultural, linguistic, and ethnic similarities with Puerto Ricans, making the detentions feel particularly personal and distressing to the local population.

“It’s a historical anomaly,” explained Néstor Duprey, an associate professor of social sciences at the Inter American University of Puerto Rico, highlighting the unusual nature of this enforcement pattern.

For generations, Dominicans and some Haitians have migrated to Puerto Rico by boat from Hispaniola, establishing families and filling essential roles in sectors such as housekeeping, home health care, and construction. Prior to recent events, federal authorities mostly confined immigration enforcement to maritime interdictions and occasional raids within San Juan, avoiding large-scale operations on the island.

“Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic share stronger cultural and linguistic bonds than most countries worldwide,” noted Jorge Duany, a specialist in Caribbean migration, citing common accents, Catholic traditions, and a mutual passion for baseball.