R.I. could lose up to $10.9M in federal funds over ‘sanctuary city’ status

PROVIDENCE MAYOR JORGE O. ELORZA said Providence will continue to focus its public safety employees on their local duties and not on becoming federal immigration agents, despite Attorney General Jeff Sessions' threat to withhold federal funds from states that do not follow the administration's directives on the matter. / PBN FILE PHOTO/STEPHANIE ALVAREZ EWENS
PROVIDENCE MAYOR JORGE O. ELORZA said Providence will continue to focus its public safety employees on their local duties and not on becoming federal immigration agents, despite Attorney General Jeff Sessions' threat to withhold federal funds from states that do not follow the administration's directives on the matter. / PBN FILE PHOTO/STEPHANIE ALVAREZ EWENS

PROVIDENCE – Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Monday announced certain states with so-called sanctuary cities stand to lose billions of dollars in federal grants, again raising questions about how Providence and Rhode Island might be affected.

The state current receives at least $10 million in grants through the U.S. Justice Department Office of Justice Programs, which goes toward various cities and towns, and social service programs like Day One that deal with issues of sexual assault.

Sessions, during a White House briefing, said complying with federal immigration policies would become a prerequisite to receiving such funding.

“Failure to remedy violations could result in withholding of grants, termination of grants, and disbarment or ineligibility for future grants,” he said.

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The R.I. Department of Public Safety Grant Administration Office, or PSGAO, administers about $10 million in federal grant programs funded by the Office of Justice Programs.

PSGAO is under the umbrella of the R.I. Department of Public Safety Central Management, which is slated to receive $10.9 million of its $13.7 million fiscal 2018 budget from the federal government, according to Gov. Gina M. Raimondo’s proposed budget.

How much – if any – of that money would be impacted by federal action isn’t yet clear, as Sessions did not provide specific details about which states and cities are under consideration. But the U.S. Department of Homeland Security last week did cite Providence and the R.I. Department of Correction as entities not honoring Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, detainer requests without court ordered warrants.

“I urge our nation’s states and cities to consider carefully the harm they are doing to their citizens by refusing to enforce our immigration laws, and to rethink these policies. Such policies make their cities and states less safe, and put them at risk of losing valuable federal dollars,” Sessions said, noting the Homeland Security report.

At this point, there is no federal definition of a sanctuary city, which is a political term – not a legal one.

Providence Mayor Jorge O. Elorza has called the capital city a sanctuary city, and considers himself in opposition to President Donald Trump and his controversial immigration policies.

The city in fiscal 2016 received at least $636,223 in direct funding from U.S. Department of Justice grant programs, but the amount at-stake would likely be greater, as it wasn’t immediately clear how much it receives in federal funds administered by the state.

A city spokeswoman said City Hall was actively trying to pin down an exact number.

Meanwhile, Elorza released a statement, arguing the city complies with all applicable federal laws, again positioning himself against the Trump administration.

“There’s no lawful basis for Providence to lose federal funding as a result of any of its policies on immigration,” he said. “Providence’s policies are designed to keep our city and all of its residents safe and that is why our police officers will never be converted into immigration enforcement agents. These baseless threats and attempts of fear mongering from the president’s administration will not change them.”

Likewise, Raimondo’s communication director Michael Raia, who hadn’t yet seen any specific direction or order from the federal government, said he believed the state was in compliance with federal law, and that Rhode Island law officers “are not federal ICE agents.”

“The governor has been consistent on this,” he said.

PSGAO administered grant programs include:

  • Byrne/JAG Grant
  • Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Act
  • National Criminal History Improvement Program
  • Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grant
  • Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners Formula Grant Program
  • Victim’s Assistance Formula Grant Program
  • Violence Against Women Grants

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