The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Puerto Rico on Thursday demanded the resignation of Edwin González Montalvo, secretary of the Puerto Rico Transportation and Public Works Department (DTOP), after confirming the agency voluntarily sent federal immigration authorities the confidential information of about 6,321 immigrants who hold driver’s licenses in Puerto Rico. ACLU executive director Annette Martínez Orabona said the secretary showed he is unable to meet the duties of his office by handing data to ICE and refusing to produce information so the public could know the truth.
The demand follows a Puerto Rico Supreme Court "no ha lugar" ruling, issued October 9, 2026 and reported October 14, rejecting DTOP’s second motion for reconsideration. Lower courts had found the subpoena behind the data transfer is a public document, and DTOP then gave it to the ACLU. The Department of Homeland Security issued the administrative subpoena on January 26, 2025, addressed to DTOP’s Driver Services Directorate (DISCO), with a February 7 deadline.
DTOP delivered the data three days later, in a document dated January 29, 2025. The ACLU says DTOP had no legal obligation to respond and should have required a court order. The data included license details, full names, birth dates, citizenship status, home addresses, town, postal code and phone numbers.
The ACLU sued on October 1, 2025. The court of first instance ordered the subpoena released; DTOP appealed, the Court of Appeals confirmed in January 2026, and the Supreme Court issued denials on April 27 and June 5. The ACLU also criticized Justice Secretary Lourdes L. Gómez Torres for obstructing access for over a year.