ACLU: Witnessing, including recording video, of ICE interventions is constitutionally protected

ACLU of Puerto Rico Executive Director Annette Martínez Orabona (LinkedIn)

By THE STAR STAFF

Annette Martínez Orabona, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Puerto Rico, expressed on Thursday her rejection of statements made by Rebecca González Ramos, special agent in charge of the Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), about possible criminal actions against those who witness interventions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The ACLU of Puerto Rico is following up on the statements by González Ramos regarding the witnessing of ICE detentions, Martínez Orabona said.

“For the ACLU, it is important to remind citizens that freedom of expression is a protected right, both in the United States Constitution and in the Puerto Rican Constitution,” the island ACLU director said. “This includes verbal statements and actions such as recording the interventions of law enforcement agents, legitimate actions that do not constitute a crime.”

Martínez Orabona added that an arrest without an arrest warrant or without a court order signed by a judge is, in principle, illegal, so she urged the media and journalists to inquire about the existence of such warrants in each intervention carried out by ICE and HSI.

She noted that the ACLU has documented numerous incidents in which citizens have faced retaliation for recording the interventions of federal or state agents, raising concerns about the respect for constitutional rights during immigration operations.