Chafee stifles law enforcement dispute

01:00 AM EST on Friday, February 25, 2011
By Gregory Smith
Journal Staff Writer

Rhode Island’s public safety commissioner, Brendan P. Doherty, has called out his Providence counterpart over the city’s reluctance to participate in a federal program aimed at determining if criminal suspects are in the country illegally.

But Doherty’s boss, Governor Chafee, quickly muzzled him in a private meeting Thursday at the State House.

Chafee made it clear that he does not want a public duel while he formulates a policy for the executive branch of state government on the implementation of the program, an immigration enforcement effort titled Secure Communities.

Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven M. Pare two weeks ago asked permission from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for his city to stay out of Secure Communities.

Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin has enrolled Rhode Island in the program, which operates in a number of other states.

Doherty said in a statement Wednesday that Secure Communities will enhance public safety. He pledged his department’s cooperation with the program and denounced Pare’s decision as “dangerous and irresponsible.â€