Rhode Island News

ACLU, U.S. Attorney debate local policing for immigration
01:00 AM EST on Tuesday, January 27, 2009
By Karen Lee Ziner
Journal Staff Writer

Steven Brown, right, executive director of the Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, and U.S. Attorney Robert Clark Corrente talk to people after yesterday’s debate.
The Providence Journal / Mary Murphy

PROVIDENCE –– Entrusting local and state police agencies with the enforcement of immigration law can lead to racial profiling and the undermining of trust between the police and communities of color, the head of the Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union said during a debate yesterday with the United States Attorney for Rhode Island.

Steven Brown, executive director of the ACLU affiliate, and U.S. Attorney Robert Clark Corrente exchanged views at a Providence Rotary Club luncheon at the Marriott.

Brown read part of a policy statement from the Major Cities Chiefs Association that said allowing local police to enforce immigration laws “will likely negatively affect and undermine [the] local level of trust and cooperation between police and local immigrant communities.â€