Posted on Sun, Apr. 27, 2008

Outcry follows crackdown on illegal immigration
By RAY HENRY The Associated Press


PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Rhode Island's closest international border is the Canadian one, about 200 miles to the north. About 11 percent of the 1 million people who live in Rhode Island were born in another country, and estimates say a third or less of those people are in the country illegally.

But Gov. Don Carcieri says illegal immigration has become such a problem -- and costs the state so much money as it grapples with a $568 million budget deficit -- that last month he signed an executive order directing state police to crack down on illegal immigrants.

Church leaders and some of Carcieri's own advisers have urged him to rescind the order or have said it is creating a climate of fear among minorities.

Protesters stormed the office of Carcieri's top policy aide. Police departments are divided. Some say they'll enforce the order, but the chief in Providence says it's destroying the bonds of trust officers have built with communities.

After meeting with concerned clergy Friday, Carcieri declined to rescind his order. But he agreed to create an advisory committee that will monitor how it is enforced.

"It's very difficult to think about what drove the governor to do this. I'm amazed," said Jaime Aguayo, a member of the governor's Advisory Commission on Hispanic Affairs, which the governor did not consult before signing the order. Some members have threatened to quit in protest.

Carcieri's office has not studied the measure's cost, although the governor said it will be minimal.

The order directs state police to enter an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to allow police to enforce immigration law. State and local law enforcement agencies in 17 other states have made similar agreements.

Carcieri's order also requires the executive branch and companies that do business with the state to use a federal computer system to verify the immigration status of new hires.

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