(19 Apr 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
San Juan, Puerto Rico – 18 April 2025
1. Man reenacting Jesus carrying a cross
2. Participants in traditional attire with young woman portraying Virgin Mary
3. Close of actor portraying Jesus
4. Congregation gathered in a San Juan church
5. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Rosario Ortiz, organizer of the Good Friday procession:
“There is fear that, as rumours have been circulating in recent days about ICE agents also entering churches, these rumours have spread, causing people to avoid attending church to protect themselves."
6. Actors during reenactment
STORYLINE:
Holy Week celebrations in Puerto Rico started with the traditional Good Friday procession and reenactment of the Via Crucis in San Juan.
This year’s celebrations were marked by relief over the return of electricity after an island-wide blackout hit the U.S.A. territory earlier this week.
Miguel Deliz has played the role of Jesus in the Via Crucis procession for 19 years and said he is always filled with emotion when he is out in the street and in close contact with the people.
But another matter cast a shadow on this year’s celebration.
Fewer people from the migrant communities, devout Dominicans and Haitians, attended the procession over fears regarding the change in Puerto Rico’s policy toward immigrants.
The procession with actors dressed as Roman soldiers and a tearful virgin Mary was held at Barrio Obrero, an area of San Juan where a large community of Dominicans have lived without fear of arrest for decades.
Then, on Jan. 26, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided a Dominican community in a nod to a new policy of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has pledged to deport millions of people who have entered the United States illegally.
Rosario Cruz, the organizer of the procession, confirmed that the streets were not as crowded as in previous years.
"There is fear because rumours have been circulating in recent days that ICE agents were also going to enter the churches," Cruz said.
Puerto Rico authorities have denied the rumours, but many still prefer to stay home.
More than 200 people have been arrested since Jan. 26, nearly all men. Of those arrested, 149 are Dominican, according to data ICE provided The Associated Press.
AP Video shot by Alejandro Granadillo
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