Panel urges Carcieri to clarify immigration order

PROVIDENCE—Gov. Donald Carcieri should clarify the intent of his executive order cracking down on illegal immigration nearly a year ago because it was widely misunderstood and feared, according to a panel charged with studying the effects of the order.

The panel released Monday a draft of its final report outlining what it said were the unintended consequences of the order.

Carcieri created the panel after his order last March sparked concern among religious and community groups that the crackdown thrust immigrants, legal and illegal, into a state of fear.

The order made it mandatory for companies that contract with the state to use the federal E-Verify database to check the legal work status of new hires and directed state police and prison officials to identify immigration violators for possible deportation.

Panel member Rev. Don Anderson, executive minister of the Rhode Island Council of Churches, said the order stirred up undercurrents of racism in the state.

“It’s like somebody stood up, and took a shovel and started digging that stuff up and muddying the water, mucked up everything,“ he said. “This order just had a totally disproportionate effect than I think what the Governor ever intended.“

The report also recommended that the state collect data and analyze the cost of the order to learn whether Rhode Island is actually saving money.

Such a study could weigh gains from certain mandates in the order - paroling immigrants convicted of nonviolent crimes early if they agree to be deported, for instance, or money saved on social services if immigrants are deterred from coming - against possible costs, like any harm to local businesses’ ability to hire seasonal workers in tourism and agriculture.

It was too soon for Caricieri to say whether he’d implement any of the panel’s recommendations, said spokeswoman Amy Kempe.

“The Governor wants to take a look and see if and how to move forward,“ Kempe said.

One possibility: rather than restate the mission of his order, he could look at improving communication with community groups to make sure their members understand what’s already been clearly and
narrowly outlined, she said.

Not all of the order has been enacted. Many employers are using E-Verify, and the state’s only prison is on its way to implementing its part of the order.

But state police still have not received specialized training that would make them into de-facto immigration officers. The agency has applied to federal immigration authorities for the training but has not yet received word on when they might get it, State Police Lt. Col. Steven O’Donnell said.

The panel based its recommendations mostly on a series of five “listening sessions,“ in which panel members fanned out to hear residents’ concerns over the order.

Some were afraid to report crimes to police out of fear they’d get reported to federal immigration authorities. Others felt a rise in intolerance and racial and ethnic profiling, both by law enforcement and citizens.

“There were people not going to church, not going to medical facilities, not going to school, living in fear,“ said Anderson.