After evidence surfaced and a Providence External Review Authority ruling found that Providence Police collaborated with an ICE raid in July, Mayor Brett Smiley remained silent. It wasn’t until September, less than a week after mayoral challenger David Morales announced his campaign and criticized the mayor’s failure to act, that Smiley held a press conference announcing his intention to sign an executive order reaffirming the current policy that local police would not collaborate with ICE.
The Providence community noticed, questioning Smiley’s sudden motive to act, raising skepticism on local forums and news coverage comments.
Moreover, the order itself doesn’t sufficiently protect the community. No penalties are outlined should it be breached. The use of “proactive collaboration” leaves space for “passive” and “incidental” cooperation. Data sharing, including immigration status, is not addressed, and no external body is set to permanently monitor compliance.
In the end, this order was no more than a restatement of policy that was already broken without consequence. It reads less as a further safeguard and more like an act of political showmanship in response to an upcoming challenger to his position.