by Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Current
February 2, 2026
Senate Majority Leader Frank Ciccone III says he will soon file legislation to protect Rhode Islanders from the examples of unconstitutional conduct by federal immigration officers making headlines in other states.
“Look at what’s taking place across the country, we don’t want that to happen here,” Ciccone said in an interview Friday. “We don’t want somebody just picking someone up without a warrant.”
The Providence Democrat, a licensed federal firearms dealer and gun rights supporter, said he was especially outraged by the recent shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by Border Patrol agents.
“No innocent person should be shot for no reason,” he said. “Supposedly there was a license to carry. It was a protest, but it was not in a restricted area.”
In the next three weeks, Ciccone said he will introduce legislation requiring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to conduct their duties in full compliance with the United States Constitution. He said federal immigration agents have undermined the protections afforded by the Fourth Amendment, which guards against unreasonable searches and seizures, and the Fifth Amendment, which guarantees due process and equal protection under the law.
The Senate will consider legislation addressing ICE arrests, including the locations in which such arrests may occur and the requirement that agents possess a valid warrant or judicial order authorizing the arrest.
Senate President Valarie Lawson intends to back the legislation once filed, said chamber spokesperson Greg Paré.
Ciccone’s comments came on the same day that a large crowd of demonstrators gathered in 15 degree weather outside the State House as part of a national protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity. It was also the same week Gov. Dan McKee joined calls for the resignation of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“Kristi Noem needs to go,” McKee said in a statement Wednesday. “Free speech is not a threat to the Constitution; it is a basic building block of our democracy. Yet, under Kristi Noem, ICE is treating peaceful protesters as combatants, using reckless—and sometimes fatal—tactics. How long must the list of victims grow before our own government stops terrorizing its citizens?”
Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos has also called for Noem’s dismissal, along with abolishing ICE.
Ciccone said he wants to see what, if any, policies ICE and the Department of Homeland Security take to rectify how it’s carrying out immigration enforcement operations.
“If she’s saying they’ll continue doing what they’re doing irrespective of what the law and Constitution is, then I don’t think she should be there,” he said of Noem.
The Senate legislation will follow similar action taken at the municipal level after Providence Mayor Brett Smiley on Jan. 20 signed an executive order barring federal immigration officials from conducting operations on city-owned property.
Under Smiley’s executive order, Providence police are tasked with vacating federal agents from city-owned property without a judicial warrant. Ciccone’s legislation is still being drafted. Details on who would be tasked with enforcing ICE-free zones across the state.
“We’ll touch base with the colonel of the State Police,” Ciccone said.
Ciccone anticipates pushback from the Trump administration, which is why he recently met with Rhode Island Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Suttell to discuss the legality of such banning ICE from operating on state properties.
“The Judiciary has been made aware of several bills that will be up for consideration regarding ICE operations, is monitoring the statuses of those bills, and will continue to meet with House and Senate leadership, as requested,” Lexi Kriss, a spokesperson for the state’s court network, said in an emailed statement.
ICE’s regular presence at the state’s courthouses is among Ciccone’s concerns. Last November, ICE agents temporarily detained a teenage judicial intern outside of the Licht Judicial Complex in Providence. On Jan. 15, ICE officers bypassed security inside the Garrahy Judicial Complex on Dorrance Street in pursuit of two men who apparently did not get taken into custody.
“Policies are supposed to prevent that,” Ciccone said, referring to the recent court incidents. “I want to put more teeth to make sure everyone knows what’s taking place.”
Ciccone’s district covers Providence’s Silver Lake neighborhood, which has residents from many Latin-American backgrounds. He said his constituents have not brought many concerns about ICE in Rhode Island to him, but wants to avoid issues should there be a surge in activity as has happened in other cities.
“I want people in my district and the state to feel comfortable,” he said.
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</a>Rhode Island Current is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Rhode Island Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janine L. Weisman for questions: info@rhodeislandcurrent.com.
