RI bill would create 'protected spaces' to prevent ICE sweeps. How it would work.
RI bill would create 'protected spaces' to prevent ICE sweeps. How it would work.
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Pete Hegseth pledges to support President Trump's immigration policy
Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Defense Department will support "mass deportations in support of the president's objective."
Would require warrant for ICE to enter schools, churches, hospitals or libraries.
Inspired by President Donald Trump's promised immigration crackdown
Not based on law in other states
A critic calls the bill a "flagrant violation" of federal law that could instead draw the attention of ICE.
PROVIDENCE – State Rep. Karen Alzate isn't waiting for federal immigration raids in Rhode Island to try to protect unauthorized immigrants living here.
In response to President Donald Trump's call for mass deportations, Alzate has proposed legislation, H5225, that would create "protected spaces" in Rhode Island where immigration enforcement and border patrol agents couldn't enter without a warrant signed by a judge.
"Immigration is super complicated, and these particular places are places where people are asking for help or places where they feel the most safe," the Pawtucket Democrat said Thursday at the State House. "And so we want to make sure that schools, hospitals, churches are places where people can go when they are seeking refuge."
Which places would be protected?
The protected places in Alzate's bill include all schools, public or private; any rented or owned place of worship where religious ceremonies take place; public libraries; and any health care facility, including hospitals, clinics, urgent care centers, doctors' offices or sites for substance abuse treatment.
More: From cops to court to prisons, here's how RI agencies are navigating new immigration directives
The legislation says these places "shall not grant access to their premises, for any federal immigration authority to investigate, detain, apprehend, or arrest any individuals for potential violations of federal immigration laws," unless those federal agents present "a judicial warrant that clearly identifies the individual whom the federal authority seeks to locate, serve, or apprehend."
Alzate said she is not aware of any other states where similar legislation passed or whether a state law can restrict federal law enforcement. (The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects people from unreasonable search and seizure.)
"I've heard from a couple of lawyers that said we already do this, or this is already the law," she said. "But this administration is really not following the law anyway."
Critic says legislation is 'flagrant violation' of federal law
Terry Gorman, president of Rhode Islanders for Immigration Law, called the bill a "flagrant violation" of federal law that, if passed, could draw the attention of Trump.
"It seems to do nothing more than encourage illegal aliens to flock to churches, hospitals, schools and libraries to hide out from ICE," Gorman wrote The Journal. "With the new sheriff in town these Legislators can pass this bill at their own peril."
More: RI immigration lawyers are getting flooded with requests for advice – and misinformation
Is Alzate worried that passing a law like the Protected Spaces Act could draw more attention from federal immigration authorities?
"We can't be afraid of this administration, really, is what I'm trying to say," she said. "We can't live in fear either. We've seen this kind of stuff happen before, and when people lived in fear, the Holocaust happened. We have tons of wars happening."
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