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RI Dems call on Carcieri to cease and desist with spiteful policy towards RI’s immigrant community

PAWTUCKET - Rhode Island Democratic Party officials blasted Governor Carcieri today for signing an executive order that essentially mandates racial profiling.

“Sadly, the governor has been in office for five years and he has yet to grasp how to solve complicated problems. No matter the issue, you begin by bringing people together from diverse backgrounds to discuss the issues and how they can be solved. Instead, once again we witnessed another meaningless media orchestration by the Carcieri administration that was closer to a hate rally than a press conference,” said Tim Grilo, a first-generation American, whose parents emigrated from Portugal. Grilo serves as executive director of the Rhode Island Democratic Party.

“Doesn’t the governor understand that hundreds of thousands of immigrants have legally come to Rhode Island’s borders for the past two centuries and have greatly contributed to our society? The tone Governor Carcieri set yesterday was deplorable. Instead of hosting a meeting and inviting respected leaders of the minority community to the table, he chose the low road and took another cheap political shot,” Grilo said. “Given his plummeting public approval numbers, this looks like little more than a desperate attempt to throw a little red meat to his withering right-wing base.”

“There are ramifications to Governor Carcieri’s actions that he clearly does not understand. His spiteful tone not only encourages racial profiling but it encourages outright discrimination against legal citizens of our state. I think it might be time to remind Governor Carcieri that he represents all Rhode Islanders, not just those that share his narrow points of view,” said State Representative Grace Diaz (D-Dist. 11), vice chair of the Rhode Island Democratic Party.

“We need sensible immigration policies in this country, but yesterday’s actions by the governor did nothing to move the ball forward. Maybe its time to remind Governor Carcieri that when his ancestors came to Rhode Island, along with thousands of other Italian immigrants, they were treated as second-class citizens. Is it his intention to return us to those dark times where immigrant bashing was fashionable and accepted?” asked Grilo.

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