Rhode Island RED!

News out of Rhode Island is that ICE agents and state police raided six Rhode Island courthouses yesterday, arresting dozens of people employed by two contractors hired by the state. The detainees are all believed to be maintenance workers.

It appears that the state was not very careful about ts contractors.  As we reported last March, Gov. Donald L. Carcieri signed an executive order that includes steps to combat illegal immigration. The order requires state agencies and companies that do business with the state to verify the legal status of employees. It also directs the state police and prison and parole officials to work harder to find and deport undocumented immigrants.  Under the order, the state police will enter an agreement with federal immigration authorities permitting them access to specialized immigration databases.

To add to the ironies of this raid, a 27-member advisory panel charged with monitoring “unintended consequences” of Governor Carcieri’s executive order on illegal immigration met for the first time yesterday. As the panel convened, immigration agents arrested 31 people at six state courthouses.

UPDATE: A thoughtful op-ed on the Rhode Island raid appears in the July 18 Providence Journal.

KJ