Scenes of direct confrontation between residents and federal agents marked the weekend in several neighborhoods of San Juan, Puerto Rico, where the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted operations that led to arrests, tension, and massive rejection from the Dominican community settled on the island.
According to a report by El Nuevo Día, the interventions began on Thursday, October 22, with about 24 units deployed on Del Parque Street in San Juan, and extended over several days through Barrio Obrero, Villa Palmeras, Capetillo, Río Piedras, and Puerto Nuevo, areas with a high presence of Dominican immigrants.
One of the tensest moments occurred on Sunday at the Antonio R. Barceló Square in Barrio Obrero, when agents halted traffic and arrested a father who was heading down with his wife and three children to eat at a nearby restaurant.
Los operativos de ICE en Puerto Rico forman parte de una tendencia más amplia en todo el país. Sigue todos los detalles sobre arrestos, deportaciones y derechos migratorios en nuestra sección de
Neighbors surrounded the federal vehicles in an attempt to prevent the arrest, but were unsuccessful. An employee in the area recounted that the agents also tried to enter her establishment while chasing another man: "I told them no, that they were not going to come in here, and then they left," she said.
In Villa Palmeras, the residents achieved what those in Barrio Obrero could not: by shouting "Get out, ICE," they succeeded in forcing the agents to leave a business located near the University of the Sacred Heart.
On Saturday, in Río Piedras, tension escalated when an agent pointed pepper spray at members of the Colectiva Feminista who were documenting an intervention, warning them: "You won't like this."
The Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Puerto Rico, Annette Martínez Orabona, described the incident as a "very condemnable threat" and reminded that the First Amendment protects the right to record public officials. The organization also denounced that these actions "add to the pattern of systematic violence and harassment against our immigrant communities."
Among the most heartfelt voices of the day was that of Oneida de los Santos López, a resident of Barrio Obrero, who tearfully called out: "I need them to stop taking hardworking Dominicans; we are not criminals. We are people who take care of your families, the elderly, we care for your children, we clean the house, we work in construction, we are not afraid of hard work."
A Dominican woman with legal status interviewed by Noticias Telemundo emphasized that fear does not disappear even when one has the proper documents, while another woman, a U.S. citizen whose husband was detained, reported: "They take people who are working, mistreat them, and throw them on the floor."
The operations are part of a more aggressive federal immigration policy that has led the ICE office in Miami —which has jurisdiction over Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands— to accumulate more than 41,000 arrests since January 2025, averaging around 120 detentions daily.
The local context adds another layer of controversy: the Department of Transportation and Public Works of Puerto Rico provided ICE with personal data of 6,321 immigrants who held provisional licenses, an action that the ACLU legally challenged and that the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico ordered to document to the organization just days before the operations.
The mayor of San Juan, Miguel Romero Lugo, responded on Monday by ordering the Municipal Police not to participate in or provide support for federal operations, and announced the strengthening of the city's Office of Immigrant Assistance in coordination with community organizations and lawyers.
The Dominican community contributes at least 1.7 billion dollars annually to the Puerto Rican economy, according to Noticias Telemundo, highlighting the significance of a community that, despite its deep roots, is facing increasing uncertainty. "May God have mercy on the Dominicans who lack legal documents," cried De los Santos López.
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