In Puerto Rico, a legal dispute between the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Transportation and Public Works Department (DTOP) tested the scope of the right of access to public documents. The ACLU sought federal subpoenas sent to DTOP concerning data on immigrants who applied for driver’s licenses without being U.S. citizens. The Puerto Rico Supreme Court issued no opinion on the merits but rejected the Government’s requests to intervene three times: on April 17, June 5 and October 9, 2026, so the case set no new binding precedent.
The Court of First Instance and the Court of Appeals both ruled for the ACLU. An appeals panel of Judges Sánchez Ramos, Romero García and Pérez Ocasio ruled on January 7 that the document was public, held by the State and not expressly classified as confidential by law, citing Law 141-2019, the transparency and expedited access to public information law, which must be read in the manner most favorable to the requester.
The court said access to public information is a constitutional right, that the Government must justify any exception, and that general claims of confidentiality or security are not enough. It found DTOP identified no federal or local legal provision barring disclosure; the subpoena merely asked that it not be disclosed. The panel also rejected the argument that release would harm an ongoing investigation, noting the Government gave no concrete explanation and that federal authorities had themselves shared information with media.
After the documents were released, the ACLU said they showed Puerto Rico’s Government gave information to the federal government quickly and without requiring a court order.