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And an Internet post this month by columnist and blogger Ed Morrissey said Rhode Island has been doing for years what Arizona now wants to do
-- but "without a peep" from the U.S. Department of Justice. But those comparisons don't mention that local police in Rhode Island are under no legal obligation to determine a suspect's immigration status and that some specifically choose not to. That distinction is critical because city and town police officers are directly responsible for investigating neighborhood crime and would presumably have greater opportunity to encounter illegal immigrants than state troopers. In Providence, home to the state's largest police department, officers wary of rupturing community ties or scaring off potential witnesses generally will not check a suspect's immigration status or involve U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement unless a search for criminal history or outstanding warrants reveals the individual is wanted for an immigration violation, said Police Chief Dean Esserman. "Our focus is public safety and crime and building trust in the community for people to come forward and speak to us," Esserman said. "We do not take the role of the federal immigration authorities." The Justice Department did not return an e-mail seeking comment Monday on whether it had considered challenging laws in states other than Arizona. Carcieri imposed the executive order in March 2008, blaming illegal immigrants for using up state resources and, like Arizona officials, faulting the federal government for failing to control the problem. The Pew Hispanic Center has estimated Rhode Island's illegal immigrant population as between 20,000 and 40,000. The executive order in Rhode Island, as well as Arizona's law, prompted an outcry from civil rights groups and immigrant advocates who feared it could lead to racial profiling. Some in Rhode Island who support the order say they don't think it goes far enough and prefer the Arizona law, which is the target of a Justice Department lawsuit and is set to take effect July 29.
[Associated
Press;
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