Puerto Rico | LatinoJusticePRLDEF

As a human and civil rights organization dedicated to defending the rights of all Latinos, including Puerto Ricans, to lead a life of dignity, respect and meaning, LJP believes that Puerto Rico must be able to enjoy self-determination and participate in a true decolonization process immediately. All of our work on the Island, from disaster assistance, human rights work in Vieques, and advocacy around the public debt supports our colleagues on the ground in furtherance of this principle.

Addressing FEMA's Response to Hurricane Maria: Juan Cartagena's Testimony to the USCCR

LatinoJustice past President & General Counsel Juan Cartagena presented testimony in June 2021 to the United States Commission on Civil Rights addressing the civil rights implications arising from FEMA’s disparate response to Hurricane María in Puerto Rico and Hurricane Harvey in Texas. The devastating and long-lasting impact of Hurricanes Irma & María on Puerto Rico is still being felt today. LatinoJustice applauds the Commission’s decision to hold a follow-up briefing in Puerto Rico in December that will further review FEMA’s wholly inadequate disaster assistance response to Hurricane Maria. LatinoJustice will be presente!

Amicus brief CPI v FOMB First Circuit

Statement Supporting CPI

SCOTUS amicus brief in CPI case

LatinoJustice File Amicus Brief to Supreme Court In Support of Puerto Rico Equal Protection Case

United States v. Vaello-Madero requests that the U.S. Supreme Court overrule the Insular Cases, which essentially held that Puerto Ricans were “unfit” to handle the full rights and duties of citizenship, on the grounds that these cases have no place in modern American jurisprudence.

Ayuda Legal Huracán María (ALHM)

We helped create a Puerto Rico led disaster relief legal response initiative called ALHM to assist thousands of Puerto Ricans affected by Hurricane Maria seek Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance, housing assistance, resettlement and relocation assistance and other aid. Our team is supporting legal efforts on Puerto Rico; and, in Florida and other states, we are working with Puerto Ricans displaced by the hurricane.
For disaster recovery legal assistance in Florida, contact [email protected].

International Human Rights

We elevate human rights violations occurring in Puerto Rico on behalf of Vieques residents to the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights and on behalf of all residents to the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights.

Migration and the Diaspora

We provide legal assessments in housing, employment, education and voting rights in Florida and Georgia to assist Puerto Rican families as they seek to rebuild their lives.