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Puerto Ricowhich for years was seen as a sanctuary for illegal immigrants, is now the subject of increased attention under the Trump administration, and an immigration expert told Fox News Digital that the U.S. island territory has long been a favored jurisdiction for evading immigration restrictions.
More than 200 people have been arrested since deportation operations in Puerto Rico intensified on Jan. 26, 149 of whom are citizens of the Dominican Republic, according to data provided by U.S. Customs and Immigration. to the Associated Press. Local migrants are “panicking,” José Rodriguez, president of the Dominican Human Rights Committee, told the AP. “They're afraid to go out; they're afraid to take their children to school.”
Illegal migrants have lived in Puerto Rico “for decades,” according to the report, which added that many of them have been staying in the U.S. territory “without fear of arrest,” while many have been allowed to open bank accounts, obtain driver's licenses and even open their own businesses.
But Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation's Center for Border Security and Immigration, told Fox that this has long been a problem with island territories like Puerto Rico and Guam.
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Police said they processed a group of illegal migrants, mostly from China, on January 28, 2025, in Coral Gables, Florida. Two suspected smugglers were arrested, one from Cuba and the other from Puerto Rico. (Pedro Portal/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
“These localities allow them to open bank accounts, issue driver's licenses, set up businesses, it only facilitates and prolongs this illegal immigration,” Ries said. “And then, of course, immigrants, aliens, if they're subject to deportation proceedings by ICE, then they use that as a shield, a defense, saying, 'You can't deport me because I've been here so many years, and I have a business here, and I have these financial ties.'”
The recent raids have “shattered the perception” that the island territory was a sanctuary for illegal immigrants, leaving many fearing for their own fate.
Ries said that despite feeling safe, illegal migrants in any U.S. territory face the same potential consequences as those on the U.S. mainland.
“They're still ignoring their personal responsibility. They knew they were breaking the law. They knew they were continuing to break the law. They knew they could be arrested, deported and detained for breaking the law… don't try to blame the U.S. government and then play the role of victim,” Ries said.
Ries noted that U.S. territories, including those in the Pacific like Guam, are often departure points for illegal migrants, who first enter and then find travel more easily to the American continent. Meanwhile, others begin a life that they later attempt to use as a “shield” against immigration authorities.
President Donald Trump has stepped up deportation efforts across the United States (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
A US Department of Homeland Security The spokesperson told the AP that the agency has focused its efforts in Puerto Rico on people with criminal records or those who have received a final court order allowing them to leave the country.
Nonetheless, the AP report said there was an increase in support for Puerto Rico's illegal immigrant population, noting that volunteers worked to provide meals to families too frightened to leave their homes, while government officials in several jurisdictions moved to limit cooperation with federal authorities.
Ries argued that the situation is no different from what has occurred in many parts of the United States, where so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions have severely limited cooperation with federal authorities and prioritized illegal immigrants over their native citizens.
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U.S. Border Patrol agents Elvis Torres, left, and John Almond prepare to escort illegal migrants they allegedly found hiding in the bushes after arriving in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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“It’s the same thing,” Ries said. “It's about local officials not cooperating with federal agents, or local officials who devote very limited resources, time and attention to illegal aliens rather than their own constituents. They need to do a better job representing their citizens and giving them their resources.”
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
