PIP lawmakers launch effort to safeguard rights of immigrants

Puerto Rican Independence Party Rep. Denis Márquez Lebrón with fellow Rep. Adriana Gutiérrez Colón

By The Star Staff

The Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) delegations in both legislative chambers have launched a proactive initiative targeting the municipalities to safeguard the fundamental rights of immigrant communities in Puerto Rico.

The action follows a series of recent arrests and raids carried out by federal authorities.

The proposed ordinance will be brought before municipal legislatures for review. Its main goal is to establish a public policy that protects vital spaces essential for exercising fundamental rights. It further seeks to clarify and standardize the legal framework that governs the interactions between municipal entities and federal immigration authorities, ensuring strict adherence to the rule of law.

“In February, the PIP delegations introduced Bill 331 in the House of Representatives and Bill 379 in the Senate at the request of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). These bills were specifically crafted to defend the fundamental rights of immigrant communities in Puerto Rico,” stated PIP House spokesperson Denis Márquez Lebrón. “However, due to the legislative leadership’s inaction on these bills and the rise in raids following the alarming incident where the government shared information on about 6,000 individuals with federal authorities, we’ve shifted our approach by transforming the bills into a municipal ordinance. This will empower municipalities to protect our immigrant communities.”

Márquez Lebrón’s colleagues in the lower chamber, Reps. Adriana Gutiérrez Colón and Nelie Lebrón Robles, noted that the proposed municipal ordinance will set legal guidelines for interactions between municipal and federal immigration authorities, ensuring they comply with both state and federal laws.

Gutiérrez Colón and Lebrón Robles pointed to a troubling incident involving a Dominican immigrant woman in Cabo Rojo who was arrested by federal authorities after a municipal police officer tipped off immigration officials while she sought information to start a street vending business in the area.

“In the Cabo Rojo incident, the municipal officer, according to the mayor, acted on his own when he notified federal authorities about the Dominican woman, who had committed no crime and held a valid work permit in the United States, all without a warrant,” Gutiérrez Colón said. “Our initiative will lay down the necessary protocols to protect the rights of our immigrant communities from further abuses.”

Márquez Lebrón had stated previously that the new priorities in immigration law enforcement do not justify the infringement of fundamental rights.

“Protecting the human rights of all individuals, regardless of their immigration status or ethnic background, must be our priority,” he stressed. “We need to rally behind our immigrant brothers and sisters, who play an essential role in Puerto Rican society.”

The three legislators have left the door open for introducing additional measures to express solidarity with immigrant communities in Puerto Rico, especially given the hurdles they have faced since the onset of Donald Trump’s second term as president.