Amid a spate of recent arrests by federal immigration officers, Government House said Virgin Islanders should not interfere with law enforcement operations but should record them when necessary.
Videos of multiple arrests outside of a market on St. Croix were shared widely on social media Thursday. One depicted several agents subduing and arresting a man, while one agent appeared to have his knee on the man’s head and neck. The U.S. Homeland Security Department, which oversees Customs and Border Protection, has not returned calls to the department’s regional office in San Juan.
“The video that was circulated on St. Croix was particularly disturbing — I think the community can agree,” Government House spokesperson Richard Motta Jr. said during a press briefing Monday. Motta said the administration is encouraging Virgin Islanders not to “engage or interrupt or hinder” law enforcement operations in any way. “Stay away — do not intervene.”
“But,” he added, “we also encourage individuals to record … if they see something that is untoward or if they see excessive use of force, it is not against the law to record that, and so that is what we’re encouraging Virgin Islanders to do when they see those types of activities taking place.”
Motta noted that the federal agency doesn’t share operational details with local authorities, “and so largely we are not in the know” regarding ICE’s operations in the territory.
Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett urged Virgin Islanders last week to make sure they know their rights during encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That information has been posted to Plaskett’s website in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole.
“Regardless of immigration status, you have constitutional protections,” she said. “I want to remind everyone in the community that in the United States, being present in the country without the appropriate documentation is a civil matter, not a criminal one.”
