<<<Back to News Center 2010

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Pierluisi Urges the Federal Government to Devote More Resources to Fight Crime in Puerto Rico

Washington, DC- Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi today urged the Department of Justice to make every possible effort to fill all current vacancies in federal law enforcement agencies on the Island, in order to more effectively combat drug-related violent crime on the Island.

In letters addressed to Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, the Resident Commissioner reiterated his concerns regarding the level of resources that the federal government is devoting on the Island to fight crime, and highlighted the disparity between the resources dedicated to Puerto Rico and those dedicated to states with high levels of violent crime.

“The Department should increase the number of authorized positions among its component agencies in Puerto Rico and undertake intensive efforts to promptly fill those positions,” said Pierluisi in his letter to Attorney General Holder. The Resident Commissioner specifically cited the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), where less than half of all authorized positions are currently filled. He also mentioned the problems the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is having in retaining agents beyond their standard three-year commitment. “Both ATF and DEA should use whatever means are needed to expeditiously fill those positions,” wrote Pierluisi.

The Resident Commissioner recommended that the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security both establish a program designed to recruit agents to fill authorized positions in high-need areas. “Adequate staffing is critical to improving public safety in jurisdictions that are struggling to confront violent crime. The Department must make special efforts to ensure a sufficient number of agents are stationed in Puerto Rico,” said Pierluisi in his letter.

In the letter to Secretary Napolitano, the Resident Commissioner noted that 25% of positions authorized to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Puerto Rico are currently vacant. He also observed that the Coast Guard currently does not have coastal patrol aircraft stationed on the Island. “While the Coast Guard has helicopters on the Island, it currently does not have any coastal patrol airplanes in Puerto Rico, and is not scheduled to have any until 2018. The Coast Guard should take the necessary steps to deploy a dedicated helicopter to Puerto Rico,” Pierluisi wrote in his letter to Secretary Napolitano.

Pierluisi also urged the federal government to demonstrate a commitment to ensuring that drug traffickers do not use Puerto Rico as a smuggling route that is comparable to the commitment the government has shown in seeking to curtail the flow of drugs across the Southwest border.

Today’s letters are the latest in a series of steps the Resident Commissioner has recently taken in an effort to obtain more resources in the fight against crime. In July 2010, Pierluisi wrote to Attorney General Holder and, in September 2010, he met with the Attorney General to discuss the concerns expressed in that letter. Also in September, Pierluisi met with Under Secretary Rafael Borras and Assistant Secretary Juliette Kayyem to discuss how the Department of Homeland Security could strengthen its presence in Puerto Rico and more effectively combat violence on the Island.

With this latest effort, the Resident Commissioner built upon of the conclusions of the recently-issued White House Task Force Report, which recommended the establishment of a working group composed state and federal law enforcement agencies that would work together to address violent crime in Puerto Rico.

“I am committed to working with you to ensure that Puerto Rico receives the resources it needs. The government of Puerto Rico is doing everything within its power to combat drug-related violence. They need the full backing of the federal government in this fight. Words of sympathy and support from Washington must be followed by concrete action,” said the Resident Commissioner in his letters.