Civil rights organizations and immigrant advocacy groups in Puerto Rico have raised concerns over what they describe as an increase in immigration enforcement operations targeting Haitian migrants across the island.
According to a statement released Monday, the groups said agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have intensified interventions and arrests at airports, neighborhoods and communities where Haitian nationals live or frequently travel.
Annette Martínez Orabona, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Puerto Rico, warned that the reported operations raise concerns that factors such as national origin, skin color, language or place of residence may be used to identify, question and detain individuals.
Advocates also expressed alarm over deportation flights to Haiti, arguing that many migrants are being returned to a country facing severe violence, political instability and a worsening humanitarian crisis.
The reported increase in enforcement comes as legal disputes continue over the Trump administration’s effort to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians. Although the administration announced the program’s termination and the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion allowing that move to proceed, a federal court order temporarily keeping the protections in place has not yet been lifted.
