Aguada mayor refutes ACLU’s assertion regarding municipal police collaboration in ICE raids
By THE STAR STAFF
Aguada Mayor Christian E. Cortés Feliciano on Wednesday refuted statements made by Fermín Arraiza, legal director of the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). In a press conference the previous day, Arraiza alleged that members of the Aguada Municipal Police had participated alongside U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in the unlawful arrests of individuals with an undefined immigration status.
“These assertions are false, and Mr. Arraiza should issue a proper clarification,” the mayor stated. “We are not collaborating in such activities. We do not know where Mr. Arraiza obtained this information, which was broadcast yesterday during the afternoon edition of ‘Telenoticias’ (Channel 2).”
In the same context, the office of Puerto Rico’s Resident Commissioner in Washington, Pablo José Hernández Rivera, noted yesterday that since January 2025, it has demanded explanations from federal authorities regarding ICE operations in Puerto Rico -- both through official correspondence and during public hearings.
“I have supported the ‘Protecting Sensitive Locations Act’ to limit operations in places such as schools and churches; denounced the Government of Puerto Rico’s disclosure of immigrants’ personal data; and co-sponsored the ‘Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act’ to reform immigration detention, the ‘Immigration Enforcement Staff Body Camera Accountability Act’ to mandate the use of body-worn cameras by agents, and the ‘No Secret Police Act’ to require that agents identify themselves during operations,” Hernández Rivera stated in a press release.
In June, the resident commissioner also opposed a Republican-backed budget proposal that would have allocated an additional $70 billion to ICE and Customs and Border Protection without adequate accountability measures.
