PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Back in May, Governor Dan McKee made it clear: Rhode Island is not a sanctuary state.
"We do follow a federal court decision that is called Morales, and what it says is that we will cooperate with [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] when there's a warrant," he said, referencing a district court judge's 2017 decision in Morales v. Chadbourne.
That didn't stop the Department of Justice from including Rhode Island on its new list of 35 "sanctuary jurisdictions" it's willing to take to court over policies that the department says block federal immigration officials from doing their jobs.
In an extensive email exchange with 12 News, a spokesperson with the DOJ would not say whether there is a specific policy Rhode Island needs to change, only saying, "The fed