San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero Lugo sent a letter to Rebecca González Ramos, director of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) office, asking that the methods used in immigration raids over the past weekend be investigated. In the letter, sent Wednesday and also posted on social media, Romero denounced alleged intimidation, use of long weapons, entry into church spaces without judicial orders, and violence against residents and activists who documented the operations.
He said the residents of the affected communities "deserve dignified treatment and respect for the constitutional guarantees that apply to them, including due process of law." The raids, carried out by multiple ERO-ICE agents in Barrio Obrero and Villa Palmeras, in Santurce, led to the detention of Dominican immigrants, according to residents’ accounts. Videos supplied by activists show agents with uncovered faces, US flags on their uniforms, and communication in English.
The operation was directed by ERO’s Miami office, which sent agents from Florida to increase immigrant arrests in Puerto Rico. Romero also cited the case of Feminista en Construcción leaders who were documenting the raids when agents pointed pistols and pepper spray at them, and asked that street raids not be equated with border checkpoints.
Last year, the Transportation and Public Works Department gave ICE access to the list of 6,127 immigrants with provisional licenses, most of them San Juan residents. El Nuevo Día requested comments from HSI San Juan and awaits a response.