Gov. McKee speaks on Rhode Island being named a ‘sanctuary jurisdiction’ by DHS

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The Department of Homeland Security has named Rhode Island as a “sanctuary jurisdiction” on a newly-released federal list.

An executive order issued by President Donald Trump in April included a requirement for a list of states, cities, and counties that “obstruct the enforcement of Federal immigration laws” to be published, according to DHS.

The list was released on May 29 and identifies Rhode Island as a whole, as well as Central Falls and Providence as sanctuary jurisdictions.

In response, Governor Dan McKee said: “I think that what is important for everybody to know is that we’re not a sanctuary state, that we do follow [a] federal court decision, that is called Morales, and what is says is that we will cooperate with ICE when there’s a warrant, and without a warrant, were not going to detain people because that would violate the fourth and fifth amendment.”

According to DHS, the sanctuary jurisdiction list was created based off factors including “compliance with federal law enforcement, information restrictions, and legal protections” for people living in the country illegally.

DHS said that each jurisdiction will receive formal notification of its “non-compliance with federal statutes.” McKee said the state has not yet received the notification.

Cities in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, and Connecticut were also on the list.

The list can be found on the DHS website.