Rhode Island

Immigrants’ rights groups are planning a rally at the Statehouse to call on Gov. Don Carcieri to rescind his executive order that cracks down on illegal immigrants.
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The rally is scheduled for Thursday, the same day protests are being held around the nation to demand comprehensive federal immigration legislation.

In Rhode Island, groups including the Center for Hispanic Advocacy and Policy and Ocean State Action say immigration reform is a federal responsibility, not a state one.”*

Private employers would be forced to verify the immigration status of new workers under a bill that House lawmakers passed yesterday to discourage illegal immigration.
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The bill, adopted 53 to 17, would force all companies in Rhode Island to use a federal database called E-Verify to determine whether new hires are in the country legally.

Companies that refuse could face a fine up to $5,000.”*

Rhode Island’s closest international border is the Canadian one, about 200 miles to the north. About 11 percent of the 1 million people who live here were born in another country, and estimates say that a third or fewer of those people are in the country illegally.

But Gov. Don Carcieri says illegal immigration has become such a problem — and cost the state so much money at a time that it is grappling with a $568 million budget deficit — that last month he signed an executive order directing state police to crack down on illegal immigrants.”*

just look at Rhode Island’s page

Members of the state’s Hispanic community yesterday gathered at the State House once again to protest Governor Carcieri’s recent order cracking down on illegal immigration.

The issue has stirred up passions on both sides of the immigration debate, even prompting members of the Hispanic community to briefly occupy a State House office during a protest earlier this month.

In contrast to that boisterous protest, yesterday’s gathering on the south steps of the State House was marked most often by murmured prayers and somber calls for divine intervention.”*

*From: http://www.projo.com
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On March 27, Gov. Donald Carcieri ‘65 signed an executive order to address undocumented immigration in Rhode Island. This order will negatively impact all Rhode Islanders.

The new policy relies upon racial profiling, turns state police officers into federal agents and uses terminology that describes Rhode Island public school students born to undocumented immigrant parents in America as a “tremendous strain” on the state despite their equal status as full U.S. citizens.

In a letter delivered to Carcieri on March 31, immigrant rights groups including Immigrants United, We Can Stop the Hate Rhode Island, the Hispanic Ministerial Association and the Univocal Legislative Minority Advisory Coalition called the order “the biggest attack on the rights of immigrants in Rhode Island in at least a generation.” Their frustration is understandable. The order contains six provisions almost all of which will harm Rhode Island and its citizens. “*

*From: http://media.www.browndailyherald.com
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Governor Carcieri won’t reconsider an executive order cracking down on illegal immigration despite pleas yesterday for him to take another look at it.

That’s according to Carcieri spokesman Jeff Neal.

Carcieri’s Commission on Hispanic Affairs yesterday said that while they don’t support illegal immigration, they fear the governor’s order could cause police to target Hispanics who are in the country legally. They also question the accuracy of population statistics that Carcieri has cited to justify his order.”*

*From: http://www.eyewitnessnewstv.com
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A member of Governor Carcieri’s Cabinet apologized yesterday for raising concerns that the governor’s effort to curb illegal immigration has caused hatred and widespread fear across the state.

“The executive order is the first step in the right direction toward immigration reform,” said Department of Children, Youth and Families Director Patricia Martinez, a day after saying that Carcieri’s recent order, like several bills proposed by the legislature, “is really slamming immigrants” by promoting racial profiling.”*

*From: http://www.projo.com
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Carcieri’s order directs the state police and state correctional officers to work with federal authorities to enforce some aspects of immigration law. It also requires electronic verification of the legal status of executive branch employees, and of employees hired through vendors who do business with the state.

Immigrant advocates, Hispanic leaders and many of Rhode Island’s top clergy members have sharply criticized the order, saying it has created a climate of fear in Rhode Island’s immigrant community and is based on flawed assumptions and inaccurate numbers.

But the reality is, no one can say with certainty how many illegal immigrants live in Rhode Island or how much they drain — or add to — the economy.”*

*From: http://www.projo.com
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Rhode Island religious leaders who have publicly lambasted Gov. Don Carcieri’s recent executive order cracking down on illegal immigration are urging congregations to pray about the issue this weekend.
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Carcieri’s order would require state agencies and companies that do business with the state to verify the legal status of their employees. The governor asked clergymen to appeal for calm after his order triggered days of debate and a raucous protest at the Statehouse.”*

*From: http://www.boston.com
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Supporters of immigrants’ rights on Monday decried an executive order Gov. Don Carcieri signed last week cracking down on illegal immigrants and urged the General Assembly to reverse it.

In a letter delivered to Carcieri’s office, about 50 representatives of community groups, lawmakers and others argued that the order will discourage illegal immigrants from reporting crimes and will be unfair to all immigrants because of racial profiling and flaws in a Department of Homeland Security database used to verify people’s legal status in the country.”*

*From: http://www.forbes.com
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He said he did so because the federal government has dropped the ball on immigration reform and left state taxpayers to pick up what he said are the considerable costs of illegal immigration.

During a sometimes contentious news conference, the governor said he knew he was tackling “a difficult, sensitive issue,” and one that “stirs great emotion.””*

*From: http://www.projo.com
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A group of Latino pastors gathered in Providence on Wednesday to demand the Rhode Island attorney general’s office investigate a business owner after he asked to see the Social Security cards of a Spanish-speaking customer.

“This is completely outrageous and we will not tolerate it,” said the Rev. Miguel Rivera, president of the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders. “This is an example of a hate crime and violation of civil rights and we will pursue charges against this individual.”"*

*From: http://www.turnto10.com
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Providence, RI: More than sixty Rhode Island Latino leaders and community members joined Mayor David Cicilline, Sen. Juan Pichardo and Providence Councilman Leon Tejada yesterday to organize a statewide barnstorm for Hillary Clinton. The energy-filled meeting at Ada’s Creations on Broad Street on the city’s south side, organized by local activists Emelda Benitez and Marilyn Cepeda, drew Clinton supporters from across the state who pledged to work over the next two weeks to turn out the Latino vote.

“Latino families are concerned about our economy and the well-being of their families. Hillary Clinton has a plan to put our economy back on track, improve access to quality education for our nation’s children and to support comprehensive immigration reform. She is the best choice for Rhode Island and our nation,” said Mayor David Cicilline.

Senator Juan Pichardo said: “Hillary Clinton has the qualifications and know-how to get things done in Washington and has proven her ability to build consensus among both parties. I will be working together with the community to help ensure Rhode Island Latinos make our voices heard on March 4.”

Sabina Matos of Providence believes Hillary Clinton has the ability to start moving the country in a positive direction the day she takes office. “Like many Rhode Islanders, I believe Hillary Clinton has the strength and qualifications to lead our nation. She also has the only health care plan that will cover every American – an important issue for Latino families.”

Latino community members attending the meeting will be working with hundreds of other supporters to speak to community members, canvas the state and bring Hilary supporters to the polls on primary day.

Any supporters interested in working with the campaign can call (401)751-Hill (4455) or visit the website at http://www.hillaryclinton.com/hq/rhodeisland.”*

*From: http://www.hillaryclinton.com
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State Rep. Grace Diaz, D-Providence, a leader in the state’s Latino community, will be appointed vice chairwoman of the Rhode Island Democratic Party. By virtue of the post, she will also become a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention.

Diaz’s appointment will be announced today by William Lynch, of Pawtucket, the state Democratic chairman. “Grace Diaz is a leader we can all look to for inspiration,” said Lynch. “I am honored to elevate a woman who has given so much to her community and worked tirelessly in the name of progress for all Rhode Islanders.””*

*From: http://www.projo.com
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Leonardo Cos Elias arrived illegally in America with the sweat-and-blood skills of a subsistence farmer. In his native Guatemala, he raised maize and beans in the highlands and traveled south to chop sugar cane. He could wield a machete but not a pen: he never learned to read or write in either Ki’ché — his indigenous Mayan dialect — or in any other language.

But in America, Cos found factory work at the helm of a complicated machine. It mangled him for life.

Through a temporary agency, Cos began working last year at Packaging Concepts Ltd. in Lincoln, a manufacturer of display cases and furniture. First, friends say, he swept floors. Then he worked at a computer-numerically controlled (CNC) router, a high-speed machine that can cut metals, acrylic and wood while simultaneously engraving — or carving — intricate designs.”*

*From: http://www.projo.com
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Rhode Island, facing a budget crisis that will lead to massive cutbacks, is engulfed in the most intense battle over illegal immigration in New England, with Republicans and Democrats alike calling for a crackdown on unauthorized workers.
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In the past few weeks, state lawmakers and the governor have proposed a battery of measures targeting unauthorized workers, from expelling undocumented children from the state’s healthcare system to making English the official language to jailing business owners and landlords who harbor illegal workers.

Even the father of the state’s first baby born in the New Year was caught up in the issue. Days after a beaming Mynor Montufar appeared in the news, the illegal immigrant was picked up for deportation to Guatemala.”*

*From: http://www.boston.com
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In 2000, Maria Inez Lopez, then mayor of the tiny town of Santa Rosa de Cabal in the far regions of Risaralda, Colombia, headed to visit people in the mountains when she was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

She spent one month in captivity walking through the mountains and contained in a pen of barbed wire and electrical fencing before the government’s military police rescued her and others who had been captured by FARC.

Yesterday, she joined some 175 fellow Colombians and others who gathered in Central Falls as part of a worldwide vigil for peace in Colombia and to condemn the FARC. In Colombia, hundreds of thousands reportedly took to the streets to march against the rebels. They were joined by protests in other Latin American countries and smaller protests in countries including India, Spain, Japan, France, London, Sweden and Italy.”*

*From: http://www.projo.com
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Edgar Velásquez, an illegal Mexican immigrant who accidentally slashed his face open with a chainsaw in 2006, yesterday won a $30,000 settlement in a groundbreaking case against the owner of a Warwick tree service company.

Velásquez was working for William J. Gorman Jr., owner of Billy G’s Tree Care, who hired the 22-year-old and then turned his back after Velásquez sustained severe injury.”*

*From: http://www.projo.com
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CENTRAL FALLS — Hispanic children outnumber white children by a nearly 2-1 margin, 56.4 percent to 28.4 percent, while in Pawtucket, white children outnumber Hispanics 55.6 percent to 21 percent, according to a new report issued Monday by RI Kids Count called Central Falls and Pawtucket Data in Your Backyard.
…
In Rhode Island, 36 percent of Hispanic and black children live in poverty, compared with only 9 percent of white children.”*

Cynthia Garcia Coll, professor of education, psychology and pediatrics, was named one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in the United States in the October issue of Hispanic Business magazine.

Garcia Coll, who was born in Puerto Rico, came to the mainland at age 22 to pursue a master’s degree at the University of Florida, then earned a doctorate at Harvard University. She has been at Brown since 1982.

The honor came as a “complete surprise,” she said.”*

“Tomas Alberto Avila, of the R.I. Small Business Development Center at Johnson & Wales University, has been honored by the Association of Small Business Development Centers, with the 2007 ASBDC Rhode Island State Star. The award, for what the group called “his outstanding contribution and creative excellence,” was presented at the ASBDC’s 2007 National Conference in Denver.

Avila is the administrator of the R.I. SBDC’s Primer Paso FasTrac business-feasibility planning program, which was the subject last year of an award-winning series by Providence Business News staff writer Natalie Myers. (READ MORE) Since joining the SBDC last year, he also has served as an instructor, business counselor and minority business specialist. Network colleagues describe him as “engaging, forward thinking, thoughtful and progressive,” the local SBDC said.”*

“Edgar Velásquez, who sliced his face open with a chain saw last year while working for a Warwick tree service company, has waited a year in his remote Mexican village for the chance to return to this country and have his day in court.

Today, back in Rhode Island, he is going to court.

Velásquez, 22, was working for William J. Gorman Jr., owner of Billy G’s Tree Service, when the accident occurred on March 31, 2006. Though Velásquez was in the country illegally, state law allows an employee to pursue a workers’ compensation claim regardless of his or her immigration status, according to Chief Judge George E. Healey Jr. of the Rhode Island Workers’ Compensation Court.”

“Swiss filmmaker Heidi Specongna traveled to Guatemala and Los Angeles to make a complete portrait of the first Latino killed during the U.S. invasion of Iraq in The Short Life of Jose Antonio Gutierrez, showing tomorrow as part of the Providence Latin American Film Festival.

Gutierrez was killed by “friendly fire” on the first day of battle when U.S. forces invaded Iraq. Other than press reports at the time that glorified him as the first Latino to die in the war, he probably would have remained just another faceless statistic.”

“Many college students watch America’s Next Top Model and other fashion shows, but few of them ever meet a real-life beauty queen - or what’s more - become one.

University of Rhode Island sophomore Sasha Zacarias accomplished that feat when she was crowned Miss Rhode Island Latina in a pageant on Sept. 1. She will represent the state in the national Miss Latina competition in Mexico next August.”

“Rhode Island has the ninth-highest ratio of African-American-to-white inmate population, and the eighth-highest ratio of Hispanic-to-white inmate population, according to a new report by The Sentencing Project, a national nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C.

The report, “Uneven Justice: State Rates of Incarceration by Race and Ethnicity,” also notes that Rhode Island’s overall incarceration rate for all races is lower than that of most states.”