ACLU condemns alleged pattern of violence and harassment against immigrants in PR
By THE STAR STAFF
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Puerto Rico on Sunday denounced what it described as a pattern of violence, intimidation and harassment by federal immigration authorities against immigrant communities across the island, following a series of enforcement operations carried out in recent days.
Annette Martínez Orabona, executive director of the ACLU of Puerto Rico, criticized the recent deployment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in several municipalities where immigrant populations are known to reside, saying the operations have been documented through videos circulating on social media.
“We strongly reject the massive deployment of ICE agents who, in a threatening manner and armed with long guns, continue occupying the streets of communities where immigrant residents are known to live,” Martínez Orabona said in a statement.
According to the civil rights organization, the operations began last Thursday and continued throughout the weekend. The ACLU alleged that ICE is implementing discriminatory enforcement practices targeting immigrant communities, including arrests carried out without judicial warrants, family separations and actions that interfere with ongoing immigration proceedings.
The organization characterized the recent enforcement activities as part of a broader pattern of systematic violence and harassment and warned that interventions appear to be increasing in frequency.
Martínez Orabona also emphasized that residents have a constitutional right to record, document and protest ICE operations.
“That right is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution,” she said.
The ACLU noted that it has previously documented and challenged what it described as retaliation by ICE and other federal agencies against individuals exercising those rights in the continental United States, including incidents involving the use of force against observers, intimidation of protesters and journalists, and reprisals against critics of immigration enforcement actions.
Martínez Orabona pointed to litigation brought by the ACLU in Minnesota, identified as Tincher v. Noem, as an example of alleged misconduct involving federal immigration agents.
The civil rights advocate further argued that responsibility for the situation extends beyond federal authorities. She accused Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer González Colón and Transportation and Public Works Secretary Edwin González Montalvo of facilitating federal immigration enforcement efforts by voluntarily providing residential addresses and confidential information belonging to more than 6,000 immigrants residing in Puerto Rico.
“Both the federal and state governments are responsible for the escalation of violence that we are seeing from ICE,” Martínez Orabona said.
Neither ICE nor Puerto Rico government officials had publicly responded to the ACLU’s allegations at the time the statement was released.
The comments come amid heightened scrutiny of immigration enforcement activities on the island and growing concerns among advocacy organizations about the impact of those operations on immigrant communities.
