The Providence City Council on Thursday gave its final OK to tighten rules in order to deter local police from interacting with federal immigration officers, sending the measure to Mayor Brett Smiley, who has pledged to sign it.
Councilors unanimously gave its second approval to amend the city’s Community-Police Relations Act to clarify prohibited conduct following questions over police compliance after officers were seen at the scene of an U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during the summer.
“At the end of day, this is building trust and more accountability as public servants,” Council Miguel Sanchez said. “We all have seen and continue to see, unfortunately, horrific actions by our federal administration when it comes to immigration enforcement.”
The council gave its first approval to amend the ordinance on Oct. 16 after updating a new provision that allows community organizations to challenge potential violations in court. Smiley had previously expressed the initial language could open the city up to “frivolous lawsuits.”
Councilors changed the wording to clarify that organizations may only sue the city as a whole and only for a court to uphold one’s civil rights, not for monetary damages.
The ordinance now heads to Smiley’s office, where the mayor has 10 days to sign, veto it or allow its enactment without his transmittal.
“After collaborating with Council to update their proposed amendments, Mayor Smiley will sign the Community Police Relations Act,” Anthony Vega, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office said in an email to Rhode Island Current.
Amendments to the existing policy come after a civilian oversight board found Providence police officers violated the ordinance during an ICE arrest on Alverson Avenue in July.
The new language in the ordinance would bar Providence police from complying with any federal agency’s request for assistance — such as sharing information or controlling traffic — unless they provide a criminal warrant signed by a judge.
Providence’s public schools and the municipal court are also barred from granting 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 there is a judicial warrant.
That provision acts somewhat of a prelude to the next action councilors like Sanchez want to take: Urging Rhode Island’s Judiciary to provide virtual court hearings amid ICE officer sightings and arrests outside the state’s courthouses.
The council on Oct. 16 passed a resolution asking the city’s Municipal Court and Probate Court begin to offer accommodations for remote hearings if requested, when possible, beginning Nov. 1.
The council’s resolution emphasized the Rhode Island Supreme Court’s 2021 order permitting courts to conduct hearings remotely at the discretion of the court or upon a party’s request during the pandemic — which certain judges still do to this day, said judiciary spokesperson Jonathan Bissonnette.
“Currently, some court calendars are held in a virtual format; for example, the Family Court’s child support calendars are held primarily virtually,” he said in an email to Rhode Island Current Thursday. “Most other matters which implicate constitutional and due process concerns are held in person.”
A decision to grant a request for a virtual hearing is within the discretion of the presiding judicial officer, Bissonnette added.
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
