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RI’s Sanctuary State Status Blasted by Loughlin, DePetro

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Kate Nagle, GoLocal Contributor

Rhode Island's designation as a "sanctuary state" for immigrants has drawn increasingly sharp criticism by some in Rhode Island including former Congressional candidate John Loughlin and radio host John DePetro.

The Center for Immigration Studies recently published of a map of "more than 200 cities, counties, and states across the United States are considered sanctuaries" -- including the designation of the state of Rhode Island for the policy enacted under Governor Chafee that the Department of Corrections wouldn't honor a Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer without a warrant, then altered to require that detainers be accompanied by a judicial deportation or removal order.

"It only makes sense Rhode Island is a sanctuary state since our roads and infrastructure are truly third world to begin with," said DePetro. "On a serious note, I think it is a disgrace and embarrassment that our political leaders do nothing to discourage the amount of illegals that flow into our state. Chafee set the tone when he rescinded the Carcieri executive order. We cannot control what happens on a national level, but we certainly do not have to make Rhode Island such a safe haven for people living in the country illegally."

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Loughlin, who ran against former Providence Mayor David Cicilline for Congress in 2010, accused Cicilline at the time of running a "sanctuary city" in Providence -- and spoke to the "sanctuary" characterization of the state.

"When you look at it from the 30,000 foot level, rather than running around and [having states] create a bunch of new laws, we should enforce existing laws," said Loughlin. "When I ran for Congress, I flew down to the border. One of the things I learned, is it's not compassionate to create sanctuary cities. You encourage people to make a journey that can cost them their lives. so to the extent that we encourage people to come is neither smart nor compassionate. You can't just arbitrarily decide which laws you'll enforce and which ones you won't."

Sanctuary Classification

Earlier this month, the CIS characterized its map of "sanctuary states, counties, and the cities" as the following:

"More than 200 cities, counties, and states across the United States are considered sanctuaries that protect criminal aliens from deportation by refusing to comply with ICE detainers or otherwise impede open communication and information exchanges between their employees or officers and federal immigration agents. These state and local jurisdictions have policies, laws, executive orders, or regulations to this effect. These sanctuary policies obstruct federal law authorizing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to administratively deport illegal aliens without seeking criminal warrants or convictions from federal, state, or local courts. Although federal regulations plainly require cooperation, the federal government has never sued nor sanctioned a sanctuary jurisdiction, nor denied federal funds."

Immigration policy has become a hot-button issue in the 2016 Presidential campaign, with Republican Donald Trump telling CNN, "You have people coming in, and I’m not just saying Mexicans — I’m talking about people that are from all over that are killers and rapists, and they’re coming into this country" -- and critics of his remarks cutting ties with the real estate mogul, from sponsorships to former Miss Universe (and Miss Rhode Island) Olivia Culpo backing out of judging this year's pageant based in his statements.

"Trump clearly struck a nerve on how people are angry at the Obama Whitehouse and feel their voice is not being heard in Washington," said DePetro. "The Trump view on Mexico has been lost in the way it was presented and perceived by those with an agenda to maintain the status quo."

"I think that [Trump's] basically galvanized a lot of public support by saying what's on a lot of people's minds, but doing it in a way that's unfiltered, unhandled, and unprepared, and I think people respect that," said Laughlin. "It's hyperbolic, but we have a right to determine who comes into the U.S. as a sovereign state. It's not xenophobic, and it's not racist."

Trump opponents in Rhode Island, however, countered the position.

“At the same time Trump was gaining ground with the most hard core anti-immigrant slice of Republican primary voters, he was repelling Latinos and other general election voters. Trump is now rated unfavorably by more than 8-in-10 Latinos, according to the most recent Washington Post Poll,and is trailing Hillary Clinton by about 20 points among the general electorate-doing much worse on both these scores than the other major Republican Presidential candidates," said Democratic consultant and GoLocal columnist Rob Horowitz. "Trump's movement with primary voters has come at the price of becoming all but unelectable in November in the unlikely event he does end up securing the nomination."

The Washingon Post reported on Monday that in their latest poll, "Trump Surges to Big Lead in GOP Presidential race."

Debate of Drivers Licenses

Loughlin pointed to Governor Gina Raimondo's support of driver licenses for undocumented immigrants as an issue for the state's "sanctuary" status.

During the campaign, Raimondo said in response to an ACLU questionnaire that she was the first candidate in the gubernatorial race to explicitly call for drivers’ licenses for undocumented immigrants, saying it was an "issue of fairness and public safety"

The ACLU supported the position, qualifying, "It is important that the state makes the process for qualifying for the license as simple as possible and ensures that the license does not contain obvious distinguishing marks that would stigmatize license holders."

Legislation was introduced this year by Senator Frank Ciccone III for licenses for undocumented immigrants, but did not move forward.

“We want to ensure that all drivers, regardless of their immigration status, are trained, tested and insured when driving on our roads,” said Ciccone. “It would also be better for our economy.”

Loughlin, however, countered the position.

"It encourages people to come here illegally," said Loughlin of the proposal. "Once you give incentives for people to come here illegally, you exacerbate the problem. Let's enforce the current laws. We need to filter the way we look at state policies -- do they make us safer and more prosperous? That's what we should be asking."

"Illegals have become a tremendous burden on Rhode Island schools, hospitals, law enforcement and social services," said DePetro. "The leaders at the state house continue to roll out the " red carpet" to all illegals with the hope of allowing them to vote. Politicians always say it is about " the children," yet they have zero concern for legal citizen children of Rhode Island."

Related Slideshow: Rhode Island’s Changing Media Landscape

Radio, print, television and digital - the faces in Rhode Islands's media has changed drastically over the past months... Let's take a look at some of the biggest moves:

Bob Kerr

The long time Providence Journal columnist Bob Kerr was sent packing by the new ownership group.

The unceremonious dismissal ended the tenure of the Projo's only true news columnist.

Kerr was talented and often controversial.

Howard Sutton

The long-time publisher was Belo's man in Providence. Howard Sutton was the man that implemented the changes that Dallas wanted to try and make the company more efficient and more profitable.

The results were dismal. Maybe no newspaper in the country lost a higher precentage of ad revenue than the Projo over the past decade.

He was the face of the paper in the community.

Andrew Gobiel

Andrew Gobeil has been named campaign manager for Republican candidate for Attorney General Dawson Hodgson.

Gobeil began his media career covering politics as a teenager for a Cape Cod radio station. He has served as one of the youngest NPR affiliate news directors in the country, Washington editor and national correspondent for a television station group, and managing editor and host of a statewide public affairs program.

Gobeil was the morning co-anchor at Providence’s ABC-TV affiliate and co-host of a morning news program on WPRO radio. He is currently working on a non-fiction book about the journalism business.

Rick Daniels

Rick Daniels has joined GoLocal24 as Chief Operating Officer.

Daniels is the former President of the Boston Globe. He also served as CEO of Gatehouse Media for New England and led a consortium of investors who attempted to purchase the Boston Globe from the New York Times Company in 2013.

Daniels then went on to play a key role at Empirical Media Advisors based in New York, focused mainly on Tribune Publishing, where Emprical’s co-founder and CEO, Jack Griffin, recently took the role of CEO.

Fred Campagna

Fred Campagna has joined FOX25 in Boston.

Before Campagna began working at FOX25, he served as the Chief On-Air Meteorologist at ABC6 for fourteen years.

After leaving ABC6 in July 2012, Campagna launched his own digital weather platform, Right Weather.

Karen Meyers

WLNE-TV has fired anchor Karen Meyers. She had been with the station since 2011.

Meyers had anchored the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. news with John DeLuca. Sources say station management opted not to renew her contract and decided to go in another direction.

Before Meyers joined ABC6, she was a reporter/anchor with New England Cable News and was a reporter in Washington, DC.

Felice Freyer

According to RIPR reporter Ian Donnis, Providence Journal's Health Reporter is leaving. Felice Freyer has been the sole reporter covering Rhode Island's largest businss sector.

Freyer leaves for the Boston Globe.

Her departure follows Phil Marcelo who recently left the Projo for AP in Boston.

Editor's note: An earlier version incorrectly had RIPR reporter Scott MacKay as breaking the story.

Flo Jonic

Veteran radio reporter Flo Jonic recently was fired by RINPR after she filed complaints against the station for gender-based pay discrimination.

Jonic is a 30 year veteran of New England news radio.

In her charge filed in February, Jonic wrote, "I believe that I have been discriminated against based on my sex by my employer," and referred to the difference in her pay and that of RIPR reporter Ian Donnis.

"Currently, [reporter] Ian Donnis earns at least $75,000 a year, while I make $51,000 per year. We perform the same duties, and I have 32 more years experience than he does," wrote Jonic in her complaint.

Phil Marcelo

After a seven year stint reporting for the Providence Journal's state house bureau, Phil Marcelo left the paper to take a reporting gig with the Boston office of the Associated Press.

Hailing from Long Island, New York, Marcelo came to ProJo in 2006, and covered everything from regional news, to Providence City Hall and the Statehouse. Marcelo's departure was first reported by WRNI's Ian Donnis.

Julie Tremmel

Formerly a nightly news reporter for WJAR, Tremmel was fired from the "Team You Trust" after two clips, one of her performing on-air handstands, and the other offering tips on what to do during a bear attack, went viral.

The video became an internet sensation, but long-time Channel 10 newsman Jim Taricani called Tremmel’s antics “a smudge on our station's reputation.”

Jim Taricani

A long-time staple of Channel 10’s news team, Taricani announced plans to retire after over three decades with the station.

Taricani has won 5 regional Emmy awards, an Edward R. Murrow award for investigative journalism and a Prestigious Yankee Quill Award from the New England Newspaper Association.

He was convicted to six months in prison in 2004 for refusing to reveal a source, and is the youngest person ever to be inducted into the Rhode Island Hall of Fame.

John DePetro

WPRO talk show host has come under fire for comments he made on air regarding women. Leading union organizations have called for DePetro to be fired.

Most recently, he has been on announced suspension.

DePetro apologized for his comments.

Helen Glover

Former star of the reality show Survivor, turned talk radio show host is out. Helen Glover departs and is replaced by radio Veteran Ron St. Pierre, who only months earlier was let go by 630 WPRO. St. Pierre is a radio Hall-of-Famer and former top sports anchor on WPRI-12.

Mike Stanton

Mike Stanton, the remaining reporter from the Providence Journal's once storied investigative team, is leaving Fountain Street for a teaching job at the University of Connecticut.

Stanton, who was part of the team that won the Providence Journal's last Pulitzer and is the author of the "Prince of Providence," the Buddy Cianci expose, departs leaving the Projo without an investigative reporter.

Dean Starkman

GoLocal named Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Dean Starkman as a contributor and editor-at-large.

"Dean Starkman has a tremendous track record in financial, media, and investigative reporting. His work at the Wall Street Journal as a reporter and as an editor and writer at Columbia Journalism Review (CJR), coupled with ground-breaking investigations of public corruption for The Providence Journal, is unsurpassed in the region," said Josh Fenton, Co-Founder and CEO at GoLocal24, the parent company to GoLocalWorcester.com.

Karen Bordeleau

Karen Bordeleau takes over for Tom Heslin as Executive Editor for the Providence Journal.

Before joining the newspaper in 1996, she worked at the Kent County Times and the Woonsocket Call.

She is a graduate of Northeastern University and a Rhode Island native.

Bob Whitcomb

Bob Whitcomb has been the editor of the editorial page of the Providence Journal since 1992 and Vice President since 1997.

His book, "Cape Wind" unveiled the business and political story behind Jim Gordon's effort to build a wind farm off of Cape Cod.

Prior to being a powerful voice at the Providence Journal, Whitcomb served as Financial Editor at International Herald Tribune.

He is slated to leave later this year according to RI NPR.

Tom Heslin

Managing Editor of the Providence Journal, Tom Heslin, is retiring.

Heslin who has been a journalistic leader of the Journal since the 1990's, led the paper's team the one their last Pulitzer Prize in the early 1990's and had to implement a series of staff cuts during the past decade.

Widely respected by journalists, Heslin has recently suffered from health issues.

Tara Granahan

The former co-host to the morning drive show is now Buddy Cianci's sidekick and co-host on the 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm drive time show on WPRO AM.

Granahan has had a host of assignments at WPRO and is the only woman on air at WPROAM.

Connie Grosch

She was the star photographer for the Providence Journal for better than a decade.

Her State House/Political photos made her one of the most influential members of the Providence Journal staff.

In late 2012, the Providence Journal let her go as part of the latest cost cutting ordered by the home office in Dallas.

In January, she was named press secretary to U.S. Congressman David Cicilline (D-1). She just announced she was leaving the Congressman's staff to return to photography.

Gene Valicenti

The co-host of Channel 10's 6:00 pm news is now doing double as the host for WPRO's 6:00 am to 10:00 am morning show.

Previously, Valicenti lost his 11:00 pm slot on WJAR.

Jennifer Jordan

One of the top Providence Journal reporters is leaving not only Fountain Street, but also journalism.

She was one of the guild members with the least longevity - more than 10 years.

She leaves for Boston-based Opportunity Nation - a not-for-profit.

Ron St. Pierre

The new guy at WHJJ - he takes over the morning show from the departed Helen Glover.

For decades, Ron St. Pierre has been a key player in the media industry in both local television and radio.

St. Pierre handled sports at WPRI TV, hosted morning drive at WPRO AM, and most recently, was Buddy Cianci's co-host in the afternoon.

(Photo: Alan Levine, Flickr)

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