Federal agency reviewing RI immigration request
By Hilary Russ
Associated Press Writer / January 13, 2009

PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Nearly a year after an executive order that opened the door for state troopers to begin enforcing federal immigration law, the U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement agency says it hasn't approved Rhode Island's request for specialized training of its officers because it still has dozens of applications to review.

The training is required to allow state officers to directly access federal immigration records and, in some cases, make arrests for alleged immigration violations.

Gov. Don Carcieri in March directed state police to apply for the program in order to carry out federal immigration law as part of an executive order cracking down on illegal immigration.

But ICE officials said Tuesday that they have about 30 applications from sheriff's departments, jails and other local law enforcement agencies around the country still pending.

The federal agency must sign off on the agreement before officers can be trained and deputized to enforce immgration law during the course of their normal duties.

State Police Lt. Col. Steven O'Donnell said officials sent the application to ICE within a month of Carcieri's executive order.

"These things take time," said Carcieri spokeswoman Amy Kempe. "It's more important to get it right than to rush it through."

The federal government must vet applications to make sure they're viable -- that there is enough transportation, ICE supervising personnel, technology and detention space to support it, ICE spokesman Richard Rocha said.

"We work with an agency to make sure having a program in that area would be sustainable and effective," Rocha said.

Since 2006, at least 67 other local police, state police, sheriff's departments and jails in 23 states have inked agreements with ice to get the program, called 287(g).

ICE officials say at least 79,000 people suspected of being in the country illegally have been identified through the program, most of them at jails.

Religious and community leaders in Rhode Island have criticized the idea, saying it has made both legal and illegal immigrants afraid of going to police for help.

"ICE does not randomly enforce our nation's immigration laws, and we do not authorize local officers to randomly enforce the nation's immigration laws," Rocha said.

Rocha wouldn't say how long it takes to process an specific application.

Training for the program would teach troopers how to tap into federal immigration databases to search for alleged violations and how they are allowed to use -- and not use -- the information.

It also shows them how to process ICE detainees according to ICE procedures, interviewing, immigration law and how to avoid racial profiling, Rocha said.

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