Mayor Jorge O. Elorza on Jan. 30 said Providence is joining the coalition of so-called "sanctuary" cities across the United States that do not allow local police to function as an arm of the federal government's Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Elorza had previously said he did not consider Providence to be a sanctuary city, when the city was at risk of losing federal money due to a threat from then President-elect Donald Trump to withhold funds from such communities.
When the new president made the threat part of an executive order last month, Elorza said Providence will stand with the targeted communities.
"We are a sanctuary city and regardless of the threats we hear from President Trump, we're not going to change," he said.
What could Providence lose? The executive order doesn't specify what funding would be at risk. According to Providence's Schedule for Expenditures of Federal Awards, federal funding decreased from $86.8 million in 2013 to $71.3 million in 2015.
Roger Williams University School of Law professor Jared Goldstein predicts Trump's executive order will have "very little effect."
Goldstein called Trump's order "presidential grandstanding" and said the state was in no real danger of losing federal money, due to a lack of statutes allowing the president to withhold such funds.
"Even if there were … it would be unconstitutional because the conditions of the funding have to relate to the funding," he said.
But Rick Manning, president of Americans for Limited Government in Fairfax, Va., said Elorza "was foolhardy to jump in front of that buzz saw without a plan," with federally funded jobs on the line.
Cities and states cannot demand federal funding while ignoring federal law, said Manning.
Indeed, states could also be subject to the executive order, which gives the secretary of homeland security, Gen. John F. Kelly, discretion to decide who is in violation. There is no legal definition of a sanctuary city or state.
David Ortiz, spokesman for Gov. Gina M. Raimondo, said it is unclear if Rhode Island would be considered a sanctuary state; but the governor would fight any related loss of federal funding.
Elorza's office says the city's cooperation with federal immigration authorities won't change.
The city cooperates with federal immigration authorities in some cases, including holding anyone with an immigration detainer who is charged with a crime. But it does not hold undocumented workers charged with simple infractions.
Elorza said his decision on the city's sanctuary status stemmed from moral opposition to Trump's order, and the cost of detaining undocumented immigrants. Moreover, he added, the executive order will not increase safety.
"Public safety depends on relationships between the police and the city; it makes it much more difficult if folks are afraid to report crime," he said. •