The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) chapter in Puerto Rico has launched a significant legal challenge against the island’s government, alleging that the personal information of nearly 6,000 immigrants lacking legal status was improperly shared with federal agencies. The lawsuit, filed on October 1, 2025, targets both Puerto Rico’s justice secretary and its Department of Transportation and Public Works, stirring debate over privacy, accountability, and the rights of immigrants residing in the U.S. territory.
According to both the Associated Press and Devdiscourse, the controversy centers on a law enacted in 2013 that allowed undocumented immigrants in Puerto Rico to obtain driver’s licenses. Since then, thousands have taken advantage of the opportunity, with the understanding—at least according to the ACLU and its executive director in Puerto Rico, Annette Martínez Orabona—that their personal data would be shielded from use in immigration enforcement. The ACLU asserts that the law’s intent was clear: protect the data for non-immigration purposes, ensuring that those living without permanent legal status could move about without fear of sudden detention or deportation.
But in early 2025, the ACLU alleges, that trust was broken. The organization claims that confidential information about these immigrants was shared with federal agents, specifically between February and March of this year. The lawsuit contends that this handover of data occurred without a court order signed by a judge, a move the ACLU calls both illegal and a violation of the spirit of the 2013 law. "The objective of the 2013 law was precisely to protect the data for non-immigration purposes, so the government acted illegally by providing said information to a federal entity without apparently a court order signed by a judge," Martínez Orabona told reporters, as cited by the Associated Press.
The ACLU’s complaint is not a mere shot across the bow. The organization is demanding that the transportation department and Puerto Rico’s government turn over all documents related to the sharing of immigrants’ personal information. This includes any information requests from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as well as legal assessments and the actual data submitted in response to those requests. The ACLU accuses the transportation agency of stonewalling, refusing to provide copies of the requests or details about how and why the information was handed over.
The timing of this lawsuit is no accident. Over the past year, Puerto Rico has seen a sharp uptick in immigration enforcement. From January to late September 2025, ICE agents on the island arrested at least 1,128 people suspected of being in the territory illegally, according to the ACLU’s own figures. The vast majority of those detained hail from the neighboring Dominican Republic, reflecting longstanding migration patterns between the two Caribbean islands. For many years, immigrants without legal status in Puerto Rico lived with relative security, rarely fearing detention. That changed dramatically after the Trump administration implemented new, more aggressive deportation policies and pledged to remove millions of undocumented people from the United States and its territories.
Devdiscourse highlights that the ACLU’s legal move comes squarely in the context of these heightened deportation efforts. The organization argues that the alleged breach of confidentiality could have a chilling effect on immigrants’ willingness to come forward for basic services, such as obtaining a driver’s license—a necessity for daily life and work. Martínez Orabona reiterated that the law was designed to protect vulnerable individuals from exactly this kind of exposure, stating, "the law was intended to protect such data from being used for immigration enforcement."
For many in Puerto Rico’s immigrant community, the recent arrests and the prospect of further data sharing have sparked fear and anger. Immigrant advocates argue that the government’s actions undermine trust, not just between immigrants and the authorities, but within the broader community. The ACLU’s lawsuit seeks to restore some measure of accountability, insisting that the government be transparent about what information was shared, with whom, and under what legal justifications.
The government, for its part, has yet to publicly respond in detail to the allegations. Officials from the justice secretary’s office and the Department of Transportation and Public Works have not issued statements addressing the specifics of the ACLU’s claims. However, the legal challenge puts them under the spotlight, raising questions about how Puerto Rico balances its obligations to federal agencies with its responsibility to protect residents’ privacy and legal rights.
The 2013 law permitting undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses was, at the time, seen as a progressive step—one that recognized the practical realities faced by thousands of people living and working on the island. Advocates argued that allowing access to driver’s licenses would make roads safer, help people get to work and school, and integrate immigrants more fully into Puerto Rican society. But, as the ACLU now points out, the promise of safety and privacy was central to the law’s passage and acceptance.
What happens next in the courts could have far-reaching implications, not just for Puerto Rico, but for other U.S. jurisdictions grappling with similar issues. If the ACLU prevails, it could set a precedent for how state and local governments handle sensitive data belonging to immigrants, especially in an era of aggressive federal enforcement. Conversely, if the government’s actions are upheld, it may prompt renewed debate over the limits of state autonomy in the face of federal immigration policy.
For now, the ACLU’s lawsuit stands as a test of both legal principle and public trust. By demanding transparency and accountability, the organization hopes to ensure that the rights of immigrants—many of whom have built lives and families in Puerto Rico—are not trampled in the rush to comply with federal requests. As Martínez Orabona put it, the fight is about more than documents: it’s about honoring the commitments made to vulnerable residents and upholding the rule of law.
As the case works its way through the courts, immigrants and advocates across Puerto Rico will be watching closely, hoping for clarity—and perhaps reassurance—that their private information will not be used against them in the very place they sought refuge and opportunity.
