Providence Mayor Brett Smiley signed an executive order Tuesday announcing that city property — from parking lots to parks — will now be formally off-limits to federal immigration enforcement, unless agents arrive with a judge-signed warrant.
The order prohibits U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from using any city-owned garage, school, park or municipal building as a staging area, processing site or operations base for civil immigration actions. Even assembling vehicles or personnel on city property is banned.
City officials have 30 days to map out properties that might be used for immigration enforcement and post signage making clear the land cannot be used by ICE. The city will also provide printable signs for private property owners who wish to declare their non-public spaces off-limits as well.
Smiley said the policy was necessary because federal enforcement actions elsewhere in the country have created fear in Providence.
“There are kids in Providence who are not going to school,” Smiley said. “There are people not going to work.”
Public spaces, the mayor explained, are meant for community use — like winter soccer and swimming pools — not “terrorizing” residents.
“If the federal government has a reason to believe somebody committed a crime, they know what to do,” Smiley said. “They go to court. They get a judge to sign a warrant.”
Under the order, Providence police will be instructed to vacate ICE agents from city property if no judicial warrant is produced, though Smiley stressed the city will still honor warrants, as it has “yesterday, today and tomorrow.”
Smiley said he is also urging the state judiciary to adopt similar restrictions and expand virtual court hearings to discourage immigration officers from appearing in person.
“We’re taking clear action to affirm Providence’s values,” the mayor said, adding that city land exists to support residents — not to be used by federal agents conducting civil immigration enforcement.
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