ACLU condemns bill empowering municipal police to execute DHS, ICE orders

ACLU-PR Executive Director Annette Martínez Orabona (LinkedIn)

By The Star Staff

The American Civil Liberties Union of Puerto Rico (ACLU‑PR) issued a statement Tuesday strongly condemning House Bill (HB) 139, introduced by Reps. Ángel Morey Noble and Swanny Vargas Laureano, which seeks to empower municipal police forces on the island to execute orders from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

During public hearings held on March 5, the island House of Representatives apparently only notified and invited police forces and mayors, excluding the migrant community, human rights defenders and experts, and civil society itself, the ACLU-PR noted in the statement.

“[HB] 139 mocks the commitments of mayors, legislators and the executive branch to protect our migrant population,” ACLU-PR Executive Director Annette Martínez Orabona said. “Authorizing police -- particularly municipal police -- to sign agreements with federal law enforcement agencies to assume tasks delegated to them is, in reality, a direct step toward turning local forces into instruments of immigration enforcement.”

“Delegating immigration functions to local municipal police fractures community trust, reduces crime reporting, and exposes municipal officials to lawsuits for civil rights violations for which the federal government will not respond,” Martínez Orabona added.