EthnicNewz.org first published this commentary on April 12, 2008.

Gov. Carcieri's eight-point executive order directed at non-legal immigrants reveals his failure to competently address the complex issues involving Rhode Island's deficit of more than $600 million.

The governor diverts our attention from the state's bleak socioeconomic reality by appealing to misinformed anti-immigrant sentiment, which impedes a truthful discourse on what it takes to create a resilient state.

Gov. Carcieri's extrapolations allege non-legal immigrants are to blame for the budget deficit.

Yet the Pew Hispanic Center estimates that non-legal immigrants comprise only 1.9 to 3.7 percent of Rhode Island's population.

The governor himself openly admitted that agreements between the state police, the RI Department of Corrections (DOC) and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – which are called into action in his executive order – had yet to be worked out.

Moreover, Gov. Carcieri claims he does not want to raise taxes. And he proclaims his intent to decrease Rhode Island's budget deficit.

However, his executive order willfully accepts the federal government's attempt to shift the costs of immigration and customs enforcement to the states.

How will this order be implemented? What resources must be diverted from crime prevention and solving in order to make this executive order work? How much will it cost?

What protocols will be in place to prevent and track racial profiling by the state police and state agencies – and punish those who engage in racial profiling?

Moreover, minority-owned businesses, particularly small business, will be adversely impacted by Gov. Carcieri's executive order, which requires that state vendors and contractors use the federal E-Verify program to confirm that employees are working legally in the U.S.

The cost and implementation of E-Verify virtually ensures that African American-, Latino- and East Asian-owned businesses cannot compete for the state's set-aside contracts for minority businesses.

There is no question that an open, honest debate on immigration must occur immediately.

However, Gov. Carcieri needs to leave immigration enforcement to the federal authorities and focus on what he was elected TWICE to undertake: steer Rhode Island out of our economic black hole and lay the foundation for opportunity and prosperity for all Rhode Islanders.

If not, the State of Hope will become the State of Despair.

Ramon Martinez is the president and CEO of Progreso Latino [1], a social services agency in Central Falls, RI.

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source: EthnicNewz.org

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SEE ALSO:

Rhode Island Clergy Unite Against Governor's Crackdown on Illegal Immigration [2]

Gov. Carcieri Orders Statewide Action to Curb Illegal Immigration [3]

Latino Clergy React After RI Storeowner Asks Customer for Social Security Card [4]