Immigrant focus puts police in tough spot

01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, August 24, 2008

BY Amanda Milkovits

Journal Staff Writer

A police officer stops a car for a minor traffic violation and asks the driver for his license and registration. The driver has an expired license and speaks little English. The three passengers are uneasy and uncommunicative.

The officer needs to know who the driver is and whether he is wanted for any crimes. Should the officer also ask what country the driver is from and whether he’s a legal citizen here? Should he ask the same questions of the passengers?

This was the kind of scenario discussed by police commanders from around Rhode Island last week at a seminar sponsored by the state police.

For police, dealing with the complexities of illegal immigration requires striking a balance between civil liberties and upholding the law, says Warwick Police Chief Stephen McCartney, the president of the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association.


Police officials interviewed recently by The Journal say they are caught in the middle of the heated and unresolved national debate over illegal immigration. Immigrant advocates sometimes accuse them of racial profiling when they arrest an illegal immigrant for a crime or assist U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. Advocates for stricter enforcement of immigration laws pressure them to raid businesses suspected of employing illegal immigrants.

The police officials say they are only interested in arresting criminals; if they find the suspects are also illegal immigrants, they’ll contact ICE for further action.

“I’m not a zealot. I’m not planning on raiding any factories. I’m not planning on setting my troopers on the highway looking for illegals,â€