Thread: R.I.: Advocates want more information on detainees

Advocates want more information on detainees

01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, July 20, 2008

By Karen Lee Ziner

Journal Staff Writer

Since the middle of last month, at least 84 suspected illegal immigrants have been arrested throughout Rhode Island, including two highly publicized mass arrests — one at state courthouses last week.

The arrests raise many questions.

Has the federal bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement targeted Rhode Island for a crackdown on illegal immigration? Exactly how many people have been arrested so far this year? Where are they being detained? And, are these stepped-up raids driven by Governor Carcieri’s executive order on illegal immigration?

Unlike other law enforcement agencies that are compelled to release such information, ICE often operates in secret, say lawyers, advocates for freedom of the press and civil libertarians.

Steven Brown, executive director of the Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the Rhode Island raids represent “the same storyâ€

[b]“We work with attorneys all the time and those attorneys are provided with information on their client. Families who are searching for their loved ones can call our office of Detention and Removal,â€

The advocates don't need to be given any information! That's what Consulates are for!