Court backs Carcieri on E-Verify executive order

01:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, April 7, 2009

By Cynthia Needham

Journal State House Bureau

PROVIDENCE — The Carcieri administration won a sizable political victory when a Superior Court judge on Friday upheld the legality of his order requiring contractors doing business with the state to use the federal E-Verify database to screen the immigration status of new hires.

Rejecting a challenge by the Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, Judge Mark A. Pfeiffer ruled that the governor acted within the scope of his gubernatorial authority when he issued an executive order implementing the E-Verify program.

“The executive order and the final regulation are a proper exercise of executive authority and do not violate any constitutional authority of the General Assembly,â€