ACLU sues Puerto Rico's government over release of immigrants' information

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union chapter in Puerto Rico sued the island’s justice secretary and its transportation and public works department on Wednesday over confidential information of immigrants lacking legal status shared with federal agents.

Since 2013, the U.S. territory has allowed these immigrants to obtain a driver’s license, with nearly 6,000 having received one.

The ACLU is asking that a judge order the transportation department and Puerto Rico’s government to turn over all documents associated with the sharing of that personal information.

The ACLU accused the transportation agency of not providing copies of information requests issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as legal assessments and information submitted to comply with those requests.

Annette Martínez Orabona, executive director of the ACLU in Puerto Rico, said 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.”

The ACLU said in the lawsuit that the confidential information was shared with federal agents between February and March.

The ongoing arrests in Puerto Rico have surprised and angered many in the U.S. territory, where immigrants without legal status had lived without fear of being detained until U.S. President Donald Trump implemented a new policy and pledged to deport millions of people who have entered the United States illegally.

From January to late September, ICE agents in Puerto Rico have arrested at least 1,128 people suspected of being there illegally, according to the ACLU. The majority of them are from the neighboring Dominican Republic.