On Jan. 29, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers detained one individual in Newport. The detainment came amid the new Trump administration’s recent federal policies targeting undocumented immigrants.
Charlie Holder, the mayor of Newport, stated that “no one was notified” of the raid before it happened and the city did not work with federal immigration agents.
The Newport Police Department does “not have any information on the activity that ICE conducted,” including “who was arrested or where they currently are,” according to NPD Lieutenant Joseph Carroll.
Holder added that Newport does not plan on cooperating with federal immigration agents to enforce detainments or identify potential undocumented immigrants.
“We’re not here to come into anyone’s house or school or business and take people away,” he said, noting that “it’s a scary time for some people.”
Newport’s first priority is calming residents’ fears following the detainment, Holder added.
“We want to make sure that people know that we are here to protect you,” he said. Holder specifically highlighted the need for students to be comfortable in schools and hopes that undocumented students will continue to attend classes.
Although ICE officers were previously discouraged from entering schools, the Trump administration has changed a longstanding policy to allow immigration enforcement in schools.
With the exception of family and emergency contacts, Newport schools do not release student information to anyone, Newport Public Schools Superintendent Colleen Burns Jermain wrote in an email to The Herald.
“We will continue to keep our students safe,” Jermain added.
Immigration enforcement in the state is “presently very similar” to the practices under the Biden administration, said Jennifer Wood ’80, the executive director of the Rhode Island Center for Justice.
Immigration lawyer Claudia Gregoire has met with other “local Rhode Island and immigration lawyers” to gather “anecdotal evidence” regarding recent ICE activity in the area. At the moment, “raids or any kind of large-scale deportations in Rhode Island” do not appear to be occurring, she said.
But Gregoire believes that the current situation could change, depending on the funding available for federal agents.
“When (ICE has) more resources and personnel, they may be able to take some more of those folks in and say, ‘now we’re going to really process you for removal,’” Gregoire said.
Wood noted that the Immigration Coalition of Rhode Island, which is composed of 33 pro-immigration organizations including the RI Center for Justice, has recently received more requests for training and information regarding immigrant legal rights and ICE raid preparation.
Nonprofit organizations are also hosting “community clinics” where immigration attorneys “provide consultations for immigrants about their current legal status,” Wood added.
“Newport is a hospitality town … and we don’t want that to change,” Holder said. “We want people to feel safe, to feel at home and to feel comfortable in this environment.”
