The new U.S. immigration policies, implemented by President Donald Trump during his first week back in office, exacerbate the vulnerability faced by immigrants in Puerto Rico.

According to the study “Quisqueya en Borinquen: A Socioeconomic Profile of the Dominican Population in Puerto Rico 2023,” women represent 58% of the island’s total Dominican immigrant population.

Despite achieving higher education levels over the past two decades, Dominican women in Puerto Rico are now poorer than before, and the wage gap, compared to Dominican immigrant men and the rest of the population, has widened, the study found.

Those without regularized immigration status now face the threat of being pursued and deported or dealing with the deportation of a family member or close friend, even when their presence benefits the communities where they live.

At least eight executive orders directly affect immigrant populations in Puerto Rico and the United States.

Following a raid on Sunday, January 26, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), 11 immigrants, primarily women, agreed to leave Puerto Rico voluntarily to avoid a criminal record that would prevent their return, according to César Cedeño Ávila, the Dominican Republic’s consul in Puerto Rico, in an interview with El Nuevo Día.

“Many of these women, through their work, support our families, our communities, and all spaces of coexistence. In Puerto Rico, they are part of our community, and we should recognize them as such,” said Silva Martínez, a professor of social work.

Silva Martínez noted that migrant women’s work in childcare, elder care, or domestic roles allows other women to enter the workforce.

“When governments exacerbate anti-immigrant policies or actions, people who are already vulnerable due to their different identities — whether by gender, race, or immigration status — find their situations significantly worsened,” she stressed.

Among the challenges migrant women may face during operations like the one on Sunday, when ICE agents raided Barrio Obrero, Santurce, and detained several migrants, are hesitations to request a protection order for fear of being detained, fear of reporting a violent relationship due to threats of deportation by their partner, and incomplete or missing payments at work under the threat that they cannot do anything and will be reported.

“The condition of violence not only exacerbates but perpetuates, placing them in a position of great risk and impunity regarding their experiences,” Silva Martínez stated, adding that no one with irregular immigration status should be called “illegal.”

Dr. Elithet Silva Martínez is a professor at the Graduate School of Social Work Beatriz Lasalle, from the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras, co -editor of the book Narratives of Lucha: Women immigrants and gender violence in Puerto Rico.
Photo by Ana María Abruña Reyes | Todas | todaspr.com

Precarity Before New Threats

Even before the crisis created by the new U.S. immigration policies in Puerto Rico, Dominican migrants on the island had seen their conditions worsen in recent years.

In 1999, the average annual salary of a full-time employed Dominican immigrant woman in Puerto Rico was $28,565, like the rest of the female population on the island, though about $2,000 less than Dominican immigrant men and $6,000 less than other men.

From 2016 to 2020, this income decreased by 13%, widening the wage gap between Dominican men and women in Puerto Rico, according to the “Quisqueya en Borinquen” study.

The research, conducted by the Dominican Studies Institute at the City University of New York (CUNY), was authored by its director, Ramona Hernández; Columbia University professor Francisco L. Rivera-Batiz; and Sidie Siday, a researcher at the institute.

Dr. Hernández said women constitute most Dominican immigrants in the United States and European countries. However, she estimated that Puerto Rico has the largest Dominican population.

The study indicates that over two decades, the average annual salary for women in Puerto Rico improved slightly, with an increase of just $1,670. Meanwhile, it decreased for all other residents. In 1999, the average annual salary for men was $34,891, which dropped to $33,269; and for Dominican men, it jumped from $31,120 to $30,328.

Researchers noted that the impact of Puerto Rico’s economic crisis, hurricanes, earthquakes, and the COVID-19 pandemic has been even more significant among the Dominican population on the island. Among all groups, Dominican women experienced the most significant drop.

According to researcher Hernández, discrimination based on skin color, ethnicity, and gender, combined with irregular immigration status and an economic crisis that historically hits the most vulnerable populations hardest, contribute to the precariousness of Dominican women’s lives in Puerto Rico, as shown in the study.

Although Dominican women have a high labor participation rate of 55.7% — compared to 73.7% among Dominican men, 50.5% of the total male population, and 39.7% of the total female population — they also have the highest unemployment rate: 19.8%.

The economic situation of Dominican women in Puerto Rico contrasts with the promise of social mobility through education, as they represent the group with the most educational progress in the last 20 years. In 2000, 24% of Dominican women in Puerto Rico had a bachelor’s degree, associate degree, or some college education, compared to 23% of Dominican immigrant men. This figure increased to 37.6% for Dominican women and 30.4% for Dominican men.

Employed in Low-Paying Sectors

One explanation for this precariousness is the sector in which they are employed, which cannot be separated from gender roles and ethnic reasons imposed on women, specifically Dominican women in Puerto Rico. While Dominican men primarily work in construction, Dominican women have found jobs in the service sector. One is more valued and better paid than the other. This has widened the wage gap between Dominican men and women in Puerto Rico, leaving Dominican women increasingly behind.

On the other hand, the percentage of Dominican immigrants who are self-employed has significantly increased over the past 20 years, from 21.5% in 2000 to 37.9% for men, and from 20.9% to 35.5% for women.

Precarity Impacts Families and Youth

About 33.6% of Dominican immigrants are part of a household headed by a separated, widowed, divorced, or single mother. Due to gender inequality and other intersecting factors among the Dominican population, this situation has significant economic implications. In this population group, which relies solely on a woman’s salary, 62.3% live below the poverty line. Among the rest of the population in Puerto Rico living in a female-headed household, 58% are below the poverty line.

The population group aged 0 to 17 represents 75.9% of Dominicans on the island. The number of people identifying as Dominican in Puerto Rico has decreased, but the number of Dominican women has remained constant, indicating that the most considerable reduction has been among Dominican men.

Resources and Recommendations for Migrants

The Centro de la Mujer Dominicana (CMD) published a community guide in 2024 on legal remedies for immigrant survivors of gender violence in Puerto Rico. Although the document is not intended to replace legal advice from a professional attorney, it explains some ways to seek help when one is a survivor of gender violence.

Additionally, the CMD aids migrant women in situations of gender violence. Their number is (787) 772-9251.

Furthermore, Ayuda Legal Puerto Rico published some recommendations on their website in case immigration agents knock on your door. These include:

  • Do not open the door immediately; first, ask the person to identify themselves as an agent.
  • Request to see a search warrant signed by a federal judge. If they have one, ask them to slide it under the door. A warrant that is not signed by a federal judge is not valid.
  • Ensure the warrant includes the issuing court, the names of the person or persons it pertains to, the authorized address for entry, and the federal judge’s signature.
  • If no valid search warrant is presented, you have the right to refuse entry and keep your door closed.

Ayuda Legal also suggests not showing identification with the door ajar and that you have the right to always remain silent, even if agents have a search warrant.

Similarly, it recommends that if agents enter the house anyway, the person should not resist and has the right not to answer questions about their immigration status, birthplace, or how they arrived in the country. “Even if asked directly, you do NOT have to answer,” the publication states.

If you have valid documents, you should show them to the federal immigration agent, not the police. It also recommends not signing documents without consulting a legal representative and trying to record the intervention as much as possible. Finally, it advises against approaching airports or federal places when you do not have a defined immigration status.

If federal agents arrive at your workplace, the American Civil Liberties Union of Puerto Rico (ACLU-PR) recommends the following actions:

  • Ask if you can leave, and if so, leave calmly.
  • You have the right not to allow a search and to say out loud that you do not consent to your belongings being searched.

Like Ayuda Legal, ACLU-PR recommends remaining silent, recording the intervention if possible, and showing valid documents if you have them.

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