Clergy want meeting with Carcieri on immigration

PROVIDENCE—Gov. Don Carcieri has twice postponed a meeting with an advisory panel he created that was critical of his 2008 order to crack down on illegal immigration, and three clergymen on the panel asked again Monday for a time and place.

Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin, Rabbi Alan Flam and Protestant minister Donald Anderson asked for the meeting in a letter on behalf of the panel of about two dozen members. The group wants the governor to respond to its report critical of his executive order.

“All I know is that report was given to him in January, and this is almost August, and we haven’t had a formal response yet,“ said Tobin, who previously called on the federal government to stop raids targeting illegal immigrants in Rhode Island.

Carcieri spokeswoman Amy Kempe blamed the delays on scheduling conflicts.

“Trying to get all the people on the panel together has proven to be a challenge, but the governor is committed to meeting with them,“ Kempe said.

The governor’s office estimates between 20,000 and 40,000 illegal immigrants live in Rhode Island.

His order required Rhode Island State Police and prison officials to identify illegal immigrants for possible deportation. It also requires the executive branch to use a federal database called E-Verify to check the immigration status of new hires, and companies doing business with the state must also use E-Verify.

After receiving the report in January, Carcieri did not respond but agreed to meet with the advisory panel in May or June, the clergy said in Monday’s letter. But, they said, Carcieri never set a date. The clergymen contacted the governor’s office and were told the meeting would be in July or August. Recently, they learned the meeting had been postponed again, until sometime in September.

“Our approach has been one of continued respect for you and your office; we simply ask that the same courtesy be shown to the panel you established,“ the clergy said in the letter, made public Monday.

The panel report said the governor’s order targeting illegal immigrants was widely misunderstood and feared.

Carcieri has said he will not rescind the order. He created the panel after being criticized by religious leaders and advocates for immigrants over the order. A majority of members on Carcieri’s Commission on Hispanic Affairs, a panel separate from the advisory group, resigned to protest the order, saying they had not been consulted about the crackdown and warned it was creating a climate of fear and anxiety for immigrants in the state.