Senate Majority Leader Frank Ciccone III says he will soon file legislation to protect Rhode Islanders from the examples of unconstitutional conduct by federal immigration officers making headlines in other states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLook at what\u2019s taking place across the country, we don\u2019t want that to happen here,\u201d Ciccone said in an interview Friday. \u201cWe don\u2019t want somebody just picking someone up without a warrant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Providence Democrat, a licensed federal firearms dealer and gun rights supporter, said he was especially outraged by the recent shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by Border Patrol agents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo innocent person should be shot for no reason,\u201d he said. \u201cSupposedly there was a license to carry. It was a protest, but it was not in a restricted area.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the next three weeks, Ciccone said he will introduce legislation requiring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to conduct their duties in full compliance with the United States Constitution. He said federal immigration agents have undermined the protections afforded by the Fourth Amendment, which guards against unreasonable searches and seizures, and the Fifth Amendment, which guarantees due process and equal protection under the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Senate will consider legislation addressing ICE arrests, including the locations in which such arrests may occur and the requirement that agents possess a valid warrant or judicial order authorizing the arrest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senate President Valarie Lawson intends to back the legislation once filed, said chamber spokesperson Greg Par\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ciccone\u2019s comments came on the same day that a large crowd of demonstrators<\/a> gathered in 15 degree weather outside the State House as part of a national protest <\/a>against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity. It was also the same week Gov. Dan McKee joined calls for the resignation of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKristi Noem needs to go,\u201d McKee said in a statement Wednesday. \u201cFree speech is not a threat to the Constitution; it is a basic building block of our democracy. Yet, under Kristi Noem, ICE is treating peaceful protesters as combatants, using reckless\u2014and sometimes fatal\u2014tactics. How long must the list of victims grow before our own government stops terrorizing its citizens?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos has also called for Noem\u2019s dismissal, along with abolishing ICE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ciccone said he wants to see what, if any, policies ICE and the Department of Homeland Security take to rectify how it\u2019s carrying out immigration enforcement operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf she\u2019s saying they\u2019ll continue doing what they\u2019re doing irrespective of what the law and Constitution is, then I don\u2019t think she should be there,\u201d he said of Noem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Senate legislation will follow similar action taken at the municipal level after Providence Mayor Brett Smiley on Jan. 20 signed an executive order<\/a> barring federal immigration officials from conducting operations on city-owned property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under Smiley\u2019s executive order, Providence police are tasked with vacating federal agents from city-owned property without a judicial warrant. Ciccone\u2019s legislation is still being drafted. Details on who would be tasked with enforcing ICE-free zones across the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ll touch base with the colonel of the State Police,\u201d Ciccone said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ciccone anticipates pushback from the Trump administration, which is why he recently met with Rhode Island Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Suttell to discuss the legality of such banning ICE from operating on state properties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Judiciary has been made aware of several bills that will be up for consideration regarding ICE operations, is monitoring the statuses of those bills, and will continue to meet with House and Senate leadership, as requested,\u201d Lexi Kriss, a spokesperson for the state\u2019s court network, said in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n