Governor may seek dismissal of cases including police reform, education trustee

By The Star Staff

Gov. Jenniffer González Colón said late last week that several judicial cases involving the Puerto Police Police Bureau and the island Department of Education could potentially be affected by the executive orders issued by President Donald Trump.

“We are discussing the ‘third party’ (trustee) that is being established,” the governor said during a press conference on Friday. “The president has signed an executive order that could allow for the dismissal of these lawsuits. For instance, in the case of the Puerto Rican police reform, once the new commissioner is confirmed, we will need to file the necessary paperwork with the federal Department of Justice to determine if we can exit the police reform case using that executive order. This process is not automatic; we will need to actively work on it.”

She added that “[t]he same applies to the Department of Education and the ‘third party’ that has been assigned, as well as the ongoing class action lawsuits.”

“I have requested a status update on these cases, including the Warren case related to special education services,” González Colón said. “Some of these cases have not complied with court processes. While we need to review the situation, we acknowledge the importance of special education, and I had a meeting this week with the secretary of education about this matter.”

The police reform case began in 2013, and a trustee for the Department of Education was appointed by the federal government in 2019. Meanwhile, the Warren case will reach its 23rd anniversary this Friday.

Regarding other executive orders from Trump, the governor noted that the review process concerning services offered to undocumented immigrants -- such as for driver’s licenses, health services and assistance for crime victims -- has not yet been completed.