R.I. immigration plan may face delay

01:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, June 10, 2008

By Karen Lee Ziner

Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE — A national backlog will probably delay one main element of Governor Carcieri’s controversial executive order — deputizing state troopers and corrections officers with immigration enforcement powers — through at least next year, federal authorities say.

Rhode Island must first qualify for the so-called 287(g) initiative. Approval is not a certainty, but authorities say there are other federal options.

The directive in question, one of six in the executive order Carcieri issued in March, asks state police and the corrections department to join the 287(g) initiative with the federal Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The program speeds deportation of criminals and suspects who are illegal immigrants.

As more states become frustrated at the inaction on the federal level regarding immigration, at least 90 law enforcement agencies have asked to join the program, and the government is having trouble keeping up. After a slow start, 50 agencies are now participating.

“Our training classes are filled until the end of this fiscal year, Sept. 30,â€