ICE agent threatens Puerto Rico feminist collective member with pepper spray in Río Piedras

San Juan, Puerto Rico — An agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) threatened a member of the organization Colectiva Feminista en Construcción while she documented an immigration operation in the Río Piedras neighborhood of San Juan, El Nuevo Día reported on Saturday, October 24.

In a short video posted on the organization's social media accounts, the agent is seen pointing a pepper spray canister at the person recording, while ordering her to step back. "Back off. You're not going to like this. Step back," were the agent's words, according to the report by journalist Víctor Ramos Rosado.

The image accompanying the complaint shows the ICE agent with the pepper spray canister aimed at the person documenting the operation in Río Piedras. Colectiva Feminista en Construcción is a Puerto Rican feminist organization that, among other work, accompanies and documents federal authorities' operations in communities across the island.

The report, published Saturday night, does not detail whether the operation resulted in arrests, nor does it include an official ICE response to the incident. Immigration operations in Puerto Rico have drawn protests and complaints from community organizations, which accuse federal agents of acting aggressively toward people who observe and record their interventions.

The episode adds to a series of similar complaints in different parts of the United States, where activists and neighbors documenting ICE operations have reported threats and intimidation by agents.

Photo: El Nuevo Día

Source: El Nuevo Día