Unmarked police cars mirror ICE tactics, Providence lawmaker says, urging R.I. governor to ban State Police use
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In Rhode Island, agents have detained a parent outside a Central Falls school; a man in Cranston after he clocked out of work; and a 20-year-old man 'taken after a routine appearance at traffic court,' Morales said Friday.
This week, ICE was seen
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Reached by email, an ICE spokesperson did not provide details about the incident, or about recent ICE activity in Providence.
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'As part of its routine operations, ICE arrests aliens who commit crimes and other individuals who have violated our nation's immigration laws. All aliens in violation of U.S. immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removed from the United States, regardless of nationality,' the spokesperson said. 'Due to our operational tempo and the increased interest in our agency and operations, we are not able to research and respond to rumors or specifics of routine daily operations for ICE.'
As for why ICE uses unmarked vehicles and masked agents, the spokesperson wrote
'ICE continues to stand by those comments,' the spokesperson wrote.
On Friday, Morales announced he would file an information request with ICE. He is seeking details of all ICE 'activities in the past eight months, including enforcement operations, arrests, detentions, and any related administrative actions,' among other information, according to a copy of his request shared with the Globe.
'Neighbors have to frequently ask what is happening,' he said. 'Unmarked vehicles are pulling up. Men that are armed, with masks and unidentified clothing, are knocking on doors in predominantly Latino neighborhoods.'
On Wednesday, there were several unmarked SUVs with tinted windows and armed men in plain clothing outside Nathanael Greene Middle School in Providence during the morning student drop-off, Morales said.
Morales was informed they were Rhode Island State Police working with the US Marshals 'Violent Fugitive Task Force' and that 'they were just using the school parking lot to coordinate for the day,' he said.
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'To use unmarked vehicles and unidentified officers near children, without community notice, without transparency and without any understanding of the trauma that this creates is reckless, dehumanizing, and just plain dangerous,' Morales said.
In a letter to McKee, Morales wrote the 'presence of unmarked vehicles and unidentified officers sparks immediate fear of detention, deportation, or family separation' for many immigrant Rhode Islanders.
Asked Friday if he has any concerns that barring State Police from using unmarked vehicles could create issues for authorities working undercover in other cases, Morales said, 'During normal times, I would say yes.'
'But unfortunately we living during very dangerous times where unmarked vehicles are being used to literally kidnap immigrants,' he said.
State Police Superintendent Darnell S. Weaver did not immediately return a request for comment Friday.
Miguel Sanchez, Providence City Councilor for Ward 6, said a few city councilors are considering a 'similar request to the mayor and the police chief regarding unmarked vehicles.'
'Right now, we should leave absolutely no space or oxygen for confusion, for these types of terror actions that we're seeing by our federal agents,' he said.
Morales also raised concern about State Police collaborating with the US Marshals Service.
State Police have limited cooperation with ICE. Police do not assist the agency with civil immigration matters,
In his letter to the governor, Morales wrote that although the US Marshals Service's 'Violent Fugitive Task Force' is 'primarily tasked with pursuing fugitives,' it has 'become entangled in immigration enforcement.'
'Under directives from the US Department of Justice earlier this year, Marshals have supported ICE operations by targeting and arresting undocumented residents,' Morales wrote. 'This overlap between criminal and immigration enforcement seriously threatens our values of due process and transparency. Rhode Islanders deserve to know whether and how our state police are cooperating with federal agents whose operations may ensnare residents in the immigration enforcement system.'
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A spokesperson for McKee did not immediately return a request for comment on Friday.
Christopher Gavin can be reached at
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