R.I. ACLU files suit over Carcieri’s order on illegal immigration

PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island ACLU this month filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of Gov. Donald L. Carcieri’s executive order on illegal immigration.
Filed in R.I. Superior Court, the suit specifically takes aim at the executive order’s requirement that all vendors and contractors with the state participate in the E-Verify program, a federally run Internet database that allows employers to check the employment eligibility of new hires.
In a statement, the civil rights advocate said that E-Verify “returns inaccurate information regarding the immigration and employment status of new hires – and particularly, lawful foreign-born workers – at more than a minimal rate.” The ACLU also said that the program is subject to abuse by employers looking to discriminate against prospective employees deemed too “foreign.”
Following the governor’s executive order in June, the R.I. Department of Administration sent a notice to all persons and businesses on the state’s vendor registration list at the end of July, requiring them to certify within 45 days that they and their subcontractors are registered with and use the E-Verify program. The notice states that failure to comply will prohibit the recipient from obtaining business from the state in the future and may adversely affect their current contracts.
The ACLU lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence (RICADV) and two Rhode Island College professors – Ann Marie Mumm and Daniel Weisman – who have contracts with the state and object to participation in the program. •