Smiley: “Providence Police Will Not Actively Collaborate With ICE” in Response to Trump Designation

Smiley: “Providence Police Will Not Actively Collaborate With ICE” in Response to Trump Designation

After the Trump administration designated the State of Rhode Island, Providence, and Central Falls as “sanctuary jurisdictions” on Thursday, GoLocal reached out to Governor Dan McKee along with Providence Mayor Brett Smiley and Central Falls Mayor Maria Rivera for reaction.

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According to the Executive Order and the designation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Rhode Island, Providence, and Central Falls “are deliberately and shamefully obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws, endangering American communities. Sanctuary cities protect dangerous criminal aliens from facing consequences and put law enforcement in peril.”

Jurisdictions in 30 states across the country were named by the Department of Homeland Security to be “Sanctuary Jurisdictions.”

Smiley said, “Providence’s policy remains fully compliant with federal law and does not violate any federal regulations. The city’s policy remains the same and will not change: Providence will not proactively collaborate with ICE to provide information.”

“The Providence Police are not and will not be immigration officers, and are better able to keep our community safe with this policy. Providence remains committed to being a safe and welcoming city for all,” Smiley added.

 

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Mayor Rivera cited previous federal legal action by the City of Central Falls blocking the federal government from forcing the city’s police officers from serving as agents of ICE.

“Central Falls stands by our values and our community. Our ordinance is legal and makes our city safer––building a stronger foundation for public trust in our local police department. Together with the City of Providence, we won this fight before during the first Trump Administration,” said Rivera.

“We filed a lawsuit in 2018 to prevent the Department of Justice from forcing police officers to be agents of immigration and to keep our cities’ police funding under the Byrne JAG program. Our cities won two successive victories in the Federal District Court in Rhode Island, and again in the First Circuit Court of Appeals. We’re focused on keeping our community safe, and standing by our city’s nationally-awarded, effective community policing work,” said Rivera

Despite contacting all three members of McKee’s press office, he did not respond to GoLocal’s questions.