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Police in Rhode Island’s largest city are in hot water with municipal investigators over their alleged presence and behavior at an immigration enforcement operation.
Providence’s External Review Authority, or PERA, found Friday that police in the Ocean State’s capital acted in violation of a city ordinance against cooperating with ICE while present at a July operation involving federal agents.
PERA found police “impermissibly assisted” ICE agents in conducting civil immigration enforcement operations,” according to WLNE, which obtained a copy of the report.
PERA’s report claimed police wrongfully established a perimeter, gathered intelligence and generally aided ICE’s response to the pursuit of Honduran national and alleged fentanyl trafficker Ivan Rene Mendoza-Meza.
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The civilian board, which requires part of the police’s budget be allocated to its own, singled out one sergeant who had allegedly helped ICE confirm Mendoza-Meza’s location when speaking with a landlord.
The report suggested Providence Police put out clearer operational guidelines for situations involving federal agencies and hold training sessions with all officers.
Providence Police told WLNE in a statement that it reviewed PERA’s report and confirmed it is creating training materials as recommended.
“The Providence Police Department remains dedicated to fairness, accountability and building trust with all members of our community.”
Mendoza-Meza was listed as a “worst of the worst” candidate by ICE in a statement identifying him as a “documented MS-13 gang member” who goes by “El Negro.”
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On July 13, federal agents were chasing Mendoza-Meza when he crashed his vehicle.
Mendoza-Meza reportedly hit a parked car, and Providence Police responded to “ensure public safety” at the accident scene, according to a Boston Globe report.
However, the Globe further reported that video from the scene showed police allegedly assisting ICE by speaking with the landlord, reviewing photos taken by federal agents of a figure seen inside the dwelling and an exchange in which one officer told an agent “I want your people grabbing him; we’ll help you.”
Mendoza-Meza had faced a prior charge of fentanyl trafficking in Rhode Island in 2023, according to the paper, and indictments in two other instances, according to WLNE.
City Council President Rachel Miller asked for an external review at the time, remarking, “What is this if it’s not cooperation,” and claimed the perception of police working with the feds is “damaging to the overall community safety.”
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In 2017, then-Mayor Jorge Elorza signed the Providence Community-Police Relations Act into law, which is what the police in Mendoza-Meza’s case are accused of violating.
The ordinance prescribes that police are prohibited from complying with interagency requests to assist in operations conducted “solely for the purpose of enforcing federal civil immigration law.”
Examples given by the law include traffic perimeters solely meant for immigration enforcement, providing documentation on inmates and allowing feds access to police premises without a warrant.