Dozens Of Dominicans Arrested in Immigration Raid at Puerto Rico Hotel Construction Site

Federal agents arrested dozens Dominican nationals during an immigration raid at a construction site in Puerto Rico, according to officials with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Rebecca González-Ramos, special agent in charge of HSI in San Juan, said the 53 individuals were taken into custody while working for a private construction company at the Hotel La Concha Renaissance, located in the Condado neighborhood just north of San Juan.

As reported by El Nuevo Día, González-Ramos said none of the individuals had identification documents, and some admitted they did not have legal immigration status.

The people were then transported to immigration facilities in San Juan for further processing. González-Ramos said the raid was part of ongoing compliance inspections conducted at businesses to identify whether they employ unauthorized workers.

"We're going to determine if anyone is in violation of a criminal offense in order to bring federal charges and coordinate with the U.S. Attorney's Office," González-Ramos said, adding that authorities have conducted 238 business inspections so far this year.

Arrests of undocumented immigrants in U.S. territories, particularly in Puerto Rico, have increased since the start of the Trump administration, the report said.

González-Ramos said that prior to the May 8 operation, authorities had already detained 364 individuals without legal status in 2025. Of those, 67 were charged with serious criminal offenses, including one who had previously been deported.

She did not specify how many of the 364 have been released or how many are undergoing administrative proceedings in federal immigration court as first-time offenders.

According to ICE-HSI data, of the 364 individuals arrested so far this year in Puerto Rico, 245 are from the Dominican Republic, 31 from Haiti, 16 from Venezuela, 12 from Mexico, 9 from Brazil, and 6 from China.

César Julio Cedeño Ávila, Consul General of the Dominican Republic in Puerto Rico, confirmed to El Nuevo Día that he has remained in contact with the detained individuals and said none of them had legal immigration status. He urged Dominicans seeking to move to Puerto Rico to pursue legal pathways to avoid detention.