Providence, R.I. – Governor-elect Lincoln Chafee today reaffirmed his intention to repeal Executive Order 08-01, which established Rhode Island’s use of the federal E-verify program, after his inauguration in January.
“I maintained throughout my campaign that my very first act as governor would be to repeal the Executive Order on E-verify, and today I reaffirm that commitment,” Chafee said. “This was a fundamental promise of my campaign, and one I stand by. E-verify has not only proven to be divisive to our state, it simply doesn’t work. It has ostracized our Latino communities, and has proved ineffective. We are one of only a handful of states using this system, and it has done more harm than good. I pledged in my campaign to unite our state and bring Rhode Islanders together, and that’s what I’ll do as governor. Repealing E-verify is an important first step.”
Chafee did, however, express a willingness to open a dialogue with the Rhode Island State Police on one of the Executive Order’s eight provisions: an agreement, authorized by Section 287 (g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), allowing the State Police to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to enforce immigration laws and policies in Rhode Island.
Contact: Mike Trainor Office: 401-222-4029 Cell: 401-252-1097 mtrainor@governorelectchafee.org