State Senate Majority Leader Frank Ciccone III (D-Providence, Johnston) is pursuing legislation to prohibit immigration enforcement activity on state property without a judicial warrant, he told The Herald on Sunday.
Ciccone wrote in an email to The Herald that he met with Chief Justice Paul Suttell of the Rhode Island Supreme Court to discuss the legality of such a law, as well as potential challenges the federal government could raise in court. Suttell could not be reached for comment.
The Department of Homeland Security and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The move to pursue statewide legislation comes on the heels of Providence Mayor Brett Smiley’s Jan. 20 executive order prohibiting immigration enforcement activities on city property. The order prevents the use of city property “as a staging area, processing location or operations base” for civil immigration enforcement, according to a city press release.
According to Providence press secretary Anthony Vega, “clear signage” outlining the order will be posted on all city-owned properties, including “facilities, parks, parking lots or buildings” owned by the city, within 30 days.
Ciccone’s legislative pursuit also follows the second fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen by federal agents in Minneapolis this month. On Jan. 7, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Good. On Saturday, amid a heightened immigration enforcement presence in the city, a Border Patrol agent killed Alex Pretti.
Gov. Dan McKee did not respond to multiple requests for comment about the executive order and proposed legislation. Senate Minority Leader Jessica de la Cruz (R-North Smithfield, Burrillville, Glocester) and House Speaker Joe Shekarchi (D-Warwick) did not respond to a request for comment on whether they would support the statewide legislation.
In a statement to The Herald, House Minority Leader Michael Chippendale (R-Coventry, Foster, Glocester) called Smiley’s order “purely unconstitutional, just as any legislation passed by my radical colleagues in the House would be.”
In response to Chippendale’s accusations, Vega wrote that the executive order "does not restrict or interfere with the enforcement of criminal law or lawful federal activity."
According to the Providence Department of Public Safety’s Chief Public Information Officer Kristy dosReis, the Providence Police Department “will comply with and enforce” Smiley’s executive order. “If a federal agent does not have a valid, authorized judicial warrant, Providence Police will issue a notice to vacate the property,” she wrote in a statement to The Herald.
DosReis said that the police department does not “proactively collaborate” with any federal agency in civil immigration enforcement. In July, a city oversight board found that PPD officers violated city ordinances by assisting ICE officials with detaining an individual after a car crash, The Herald previously reported.
City spokesperson Josh Estrella wrote in a statement to The Herald that “when (PPD) officers respond to a scene, their role is to prioritize the protection and safety of all residents.”
Olivia Blush, an organizer with advocacy group Providence General Assembly, said that members of the group have “put pressure” on city officials in the past to pass legislation like Smiley’s order.
Blush said that the day after an ICE agent fatally shot Good, the advocacy group announced demands that call for the city to prohibit ICE agents and operations in Providence.
While Blush additionally wants lawmakers to pursue similar legislation at the state level, she stated that the mayor’s recent executive order has “basically met (the organization’s) demands,” and the PGA has plans to help ensure the new order is enforced.
Members of the group will visit “major city properties and make sure these posters are getting put up,” she said. She added that members plan to “go throughout our neighborhoods and business districts” and “hand out these posters ourselves.”
Michelle Bi is a sophomore and metro section editor at The Herald.
