Federal agents' appearance at Chicago Puerto Rican museum angers local officials
Federal agents' appearance at Chicago Puerto Rican museum angers local officials
Local officials said they might take legal actions after agents from the Department of Homeland Security showed up unannounced at a Puerto Rican museum on Tuesday.
CHICAGO - Local officials said they might take legal action against the federal government after agents from the Department of Homeland Security showed up unannounced at a Puerto Rican center on Tuesday.
They said the feds tried to intimidate workers at the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture in Humboldt Park, and could be planning major action at an upcoming family festival.
What we know:
Security footage at the museum shows the agents showing up to the parking lot and coming toward the building. Other footage shows some of the agents inside the building.
Museum officials said the agents did not have a warrant and were told the leave the property, but did not. One official allegedly asked to use a bathroom, but then came in with other agents.
Museum officials are worried that federal agents are preparing major action at this weekend’s Barrio Arts Festival, so they’re stepping up security.
"You can't just come into communities and start looking at Latino people and saying, ‘Well, maybe they're undocumented, so I'm going to handcuff them,’" said Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th Ward). "Which seems to be the tactic that we're watching ICE, the National Guard, and other cities sort of implement very widely. But here in Chicago, we are going to stand firm in that you're not going to enter private property. You're not going to come into cultural events without a judicial warrant. It's a violation of the Constitution. It's a violation of people's rights, and quite frankly, it's illegal."
Museum officials said the agents never told them why they were there, but also worry about an upcoming Colombian festival that's going to happen in a few weeks. They said they also weren't sure why a Puerto Rican museum is being targeted because Puerto Ricans are American citizens and can therefore not be deemed illegal or deportable.
Fuentes said the city will consider taking legal action. Museum officials said they believe the agents were there unlawfully.
"We're having attorneys on site to ensure that if they were to come back in any way, shape or form, that we would have the right representation without disrupting the family free festival," said Veronica Ocasio, the museum’s director of education and programming. "It would be very ignorant on their behalf to attempt to come into a family festival with children and seniors and community members, but I wouldn't put it past them. So we're prepared."
The other side:
In a statement, DHS responded to the allegations were "FALSE. The Department of Homeland Security DID NOT target the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture. On July 8, HIS Chicago’s Financial Crimes Task Force (FCTF) staged and held a quick briefing in the Museum’s parking lot in advance of an enforcement action related to a narcotics investigation."
But a DHS spokesperson did not answer follow-up questions as to why the agents staged the briefing on private property or whether they had a warrant to be there.
It appeared the feds were confused because while there is a public park there, but museum officials had to explain to the agents that the museum is private property, and they could not be there without a warrant.