Prohibits state and municipal officials or body from entering into and renewing any agreements that will be used to detain individuals for federal civil immigration violations.

Plain-English Summary

This bill would prevent Rhode Island state and local government officials from making or renewing agreements with federal authorities to hold people in custody for civil immigration violations. In other words, state and local jails, detention facilities, or other government bodies would not be allowed to enter into contracts that allow them to detain someone solely because federal immigration authorities have flagged that person for a potential civil immigration violation.

It's important to understand the distinction this bill is focused on: civil immigration violations are different from criminal offenses. A civil immigration violation might include things like overstaying a visa or being in the country without authorization — situations that are handled through the civil legal system rather than the criminal justice system. This bill would not affect cooperation between state/local authorities and federal law enforcement on criminal matters.

The bill would primarily affect local law enforcement agencies, county jails, and other government bodies that currently have or might seek agreements — sometimes called intergovernmental service agreements (IGSAs) — with federal immigration agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Anyone currently being held under such an arrangement in Rhode Island could also be impacted. Immigrants in the state, particularly undocumented individuals, would likely be directly affected, as would the government agencies that manage these detention contracts.

The bill has been introduced and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, meaning it is still in the early stages of the legislative process and has not yet been voted on.