Providence Mayor Brett Smiley signs Executive Order prohibiting the use of city property for civil immigration enforcement activities

"With this executive order, we are making clear that city property will be used to serve our community, not to carry out civil immigration enforcement," said Mayor Smiley.

Jan 21, 2026

[Thank you to San Shoppell for their help with this piece.]

“We’re taking clear action to reaffirm Providence’s values,” said Providence Mayor Brett Smiley at a City Hall press conference Tuesday morning. “The recent chaotic actions that we’re seeing from the Trump Administration are threatening immigrant communities and causing fear and uncertainty. Here in Providence, we’re watching what’s happening in other places around the country. It’s affecting us here, which is why today, Executive Order 2026-1 entitled Prohibiting Use of City Property and Civil Immigration Enforcement Activities, makes it clear that city-owned property will not be used for civil immigration enforcement, whether it’s a staging area, a processing site, or an operational site.”

Mayor Smiley continued:

“We do not want and will not allow Providence’s public property to be used to execute what we see as unlawful immigration enforcement,” continued the Mayor. “As is the case today, if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) presents a valid judicial warrant, we will honor it. We honor those today, but the reality is that’s not what’s happening in almost all instances, so in Providence, we want to ensure that our neighbors know that this is a safe and welcoming environment for all, regardless of their immigration status.
“Our top priority is and will remain to be maintaining a safe and dignified place for all residents. Our Providence Police Officers are not and will not be immigration enforcement officers. The executive order I signed a few months ago, and then the ordinance that the City Council updated affirms that.
“Across the nation, we are seeing the federal government create fear and uncertainty, but in Providence, we are choosing a different path, a path that is rooted in trust, inclusion, and community safety. Community property exists to serve our residents, whether that be a parking lot at recreation centers so that our kids can play soccer in the winter, the parking lot outside of the pool, or one of our city-owned lots so that our hardworking city employees can come to work. That’s what those spaces are for.
“This executive order makes it clear that public spaces are used to support, not terrorize, our community. City departments are being directed to take clear and visible steps to implement this policy. We will be installing clear signage that prohibits civil immigration enforcement.”

“Additionally,” continued Mayor Smiley, “in working with community organizations and businesses who have expressed a desire to take a similar stance, we are making templates available for private landowners who would like to identify non-public areas where immigration enforcement activities are prohibited. The templates will look like this, with the opportunity to modify them to suit your business, your community-based organization, or your house of origin.”

In signing the Executive Order, Mayor Smiley has seemingly satisfied all four demands of the Providence General Assembly. These demands were modeled after Chicago Executive Order No. 2025-8, signed on October 6, 2025, in response to increased ICE activity in that city.

No ICE on City Property!
We demand that the City prohibit ICE, or other “immigration enforcement agents, from using any City property, including properties the City has leased out, as a staging area, processing location, or operations base for immigration enforcement.
No City Collaboration with ICE!
We demand that the City reiterate and ENFORCE the written policy of City agencies collaborating with ICE, or other “immigration enforcement” agents, in any way. This includes the Providence Police Department (PPD), Providence Public Schools, libraries, and other entities. The PPD and the City have blatantly violated this directive in the past.
Act Now!
We demand that the City create and implement a plan to enforce this policy. City Departments and Agencies should collaborate to identify all City-owned properties and post signage prohibiting ICE or other “immigration enforcement” agents from using them.
ICE OUT of Our Communities!
We demand that the City design and print standardized signage that private landowners and leaseholders can display to delineate the non-public areas of their property where they wish to restrict activities related to ICE and other civil immigration enforcement.

Join the Providence General Assembly outside the Providence City Hall on Thursday, January 22, at 5 pm to make your voice heard and demand that the Providence City Council take steps to limit ICE’s brutality.

“This action builds on our ongoing commitment to public safety without fear,” said Mayor Smiley. “It reaffirms the Providence Police Officers’ relationship to immigration enforcement, which is that we will not assist. Providence’s strength originates from our diverse communities. They’re essential to our families, economy, and shared future.”

Mayor Smiley continued:

“Many of the leaders you see behind us, who are leading this city in elected positions and community organizations as faith leaders, are proud of their immigrant past, and we are proud of them. We will continue to do everything in our power to help and protect families and maintain their trust throughout the community.
“I want to acknowledge that we cannot control every action of the federal government. I know we are all frustrated by what we see happening around the country, and we do at times feel powerless. What we are doing today and what we are prepared to do again and again in the future is to continue to take action as this situation evolves. As we see a new threat across the country, we will try to address it here in Providence. Some of our options are limited, but I want the people of Providence to know that despite those limitations, we are and will do everything we can.”

Mayor Smiley encouraged the courts to adopt silar policies, and to move to remote hearings to protect undocumented people from being picked up by ICE.

“Court property is not city property, so today’s EO would not affect it, although we are certainly encouraging them to take the same step,” said Mayor Smiley. “They’re aware of the action that we’re taking today. Similarly, many advocates and community partners believe the most effective thing the courts can do is, wherever possible, transition to remote hearings. They did that during COVID. They know how to do this. They can do it again. Along with the city council, I have called on the judiciary to transition to remote hearings whenever and wherever possible. And to their credit, my understanding is that the chief justice has been working on this, and I hope that we will see that happen very soon.”

Mayor Smiley took questions from reporters:

Reporter: Are you worried that Providence will receive federal funding, as the President has suggested?

Mayor Smiley: Honestly, nobody in the country knows how or why this Administration, which is reckless and erratic, hits and chooses its targets. I work closely with my colleagues through the U.S. Conference of Mayors. We’ve all been talking a lot lately, including with the Mayor of Minneapolis. And the honest answer is none of us know who’s next, and we don’t believe there’s any way to know who’s next. So, in the absence of that, what I think is most important is that the City of Providence first do everything it can to protect its residents. Second, that the people of Providence see, understand, and hopefully trust that their government, including their police department, is on their side and there for them.

And, as I mentioned earlier, I expect to sign a few more executive orders this year. This will continue to evolve, and we will take whatever steps we think are necessary. The fear of consequences from the federal government is not a factor at this time because families in Providence are afraid, and they are justified in their fear. There are kids in Providence who are not going to school. There are people in Providence who are not going to work for fear of enforcement actions like this, and my responsibility is to them, not to anyone in Washington, D.C.

Reporter: How will this order be enforced exactly? If ICE agents are meeting in a city parking lot, will the city police respond to enforce it?

Mayor Smiley: The law department is developing a notice that the police department will provide to any unlawful gathering that violates this executive order and the prohibition signed today, and that such gatherings will be vacated.

Reporter: Do you have any documented evidence or comprehensive data on how often city property has been used by ICE for these operations?

Mayor Smiley: We do not have any documented evidence or any reason to believe that ICE has mustered, gathered, or staged on city properties to date. We would like to keep it that way. Additionally, as has been talked about a few times, of course we have ICE activity in the city, we have more ICE activity today than a year ago because of this Administration, but we have also not seen a massive deployment of ICE enforcement like what we’re seeing in Minneapolis or that we’ve seen places like L.A., Chicago, or now, New Orleans.

If the federal government has reason to believe that somebody has committed a crime and they’re here unlawfully, they know what to do. They go to court and get a judge to sign a warrant. The judge would be happy to do so if that person had committed a serious crime. If they present us with a warrant signed by a judge, we will honor it. We honor it today, we honored it yesterday, we will honor it tomorrow. As a result of this executive order, it has not changed. What we are seeing around the country is administrative detainers - all it takes is one ICE agent to sign. We’ve seen the lack of professionalism from some of these ICE officers, which does not meet the standard a judge would sign off on.

We will continue to honor, respect, and cooperate with a valid judicial warrant. We don’t want violent criminals in our community, regardless of their immigration status. We want everyone in our community to feel welcome, regardless of immigration status, if they are otherwise law-abiding residents.

Reporter: Do you have any evidence on how the previous executive decided a few months ago? How have police been interacting with ICE since that?

Mayor Smiley: The executive order, updated through the PCPRA thanks to the City Council, has been followed, and we have had no complaints or violations on the PCPRA or on the EO. My understanding is that we have clear lines of communication with some of the ICE agents in town, but unlike under previous administrations, they do not call us when they’re coming. We do not have prior knowledge of their actions, and we have not and will not assist in their civil immigration enforcement. It is particularly important, given the chaos, lawlessness, and real danger happening in Minneapolis.

I trust our Providence police officers to de-escalate the situation. I trust the months of training, the culture, and the leadership of the Providence Police Department to know how to diffuse and de-escalate the situation, and I trust that when they respond to a scene, they are there for the protection and safety of all of our residents, and I mean all of our residents.

The police must have those relationships because I think we can help protect our community. What you see in Minneapolis is the opposite. You see federal officers who, in my opinion, are inadequately trained, who are escalating, not de-escalating, situations, who are igniting, not diffusing, situations, and who are risking not just their targets but the whole community’s safety. That’s not what our Providence Police know how to do. That’s not what they do, and that’s why I continue to put my trust in them and not in federal organizations.

Reporter: Just to be clear, when we were talking about warrants a moment ago, if someone’s only violation of this country undocumented, does this order stop ICE agents from following that person in the City Hall?

Mayor Smiley: The scenario that you’re mentioning is covered by the previous executive order, not today’s. It has already been the case that we have clearly marked spaces in City Hall that are off-limits to the public, which would prevent an ICE agent from trying to enforce a civil detainer. If an undocumented person’s only crime is their lack of documentation, as far as I know, no judge in America will sign a warrant for their expulsion, and it is not our job; it’s the judiciary’s job to ascertain whether a warrant is worthy of being signed or not. I trust the judiciary to do that. If that ICE agent, in this scenario, had a warrant signed by a judge, we would honor it. If the judge does not sign it, we will not honor it. And as far as I understand, if that individual has committed no other crimes, a judge won’t sign that.

Reporter: Will Providence police be prepared to intervene if they encounter a situation where ICE is acting outside the bounds of the executive order?

Mayor Smiley: They’re prepared to, but to be clear, this is where it’s very difficult and why I went on at length a minute ago to say that this will come down to judgment and training and the general orders of the Providence Police Department. All of the right general orders are in place, and I trust the training and judgment of our police officers to understand how to de-escalate a situation, that their obligation is to protect the community, and that means every member of the community. They will intervene to the best of their ability in a situation like that.

Reporter: Can you expand on your thoughts on what you’ve seen happening in Minneapolis, and does it seem to you that the ICE agents, on the whole, are law-abiding and following the law?

Mayor Smiley: It does not appear to me, from what I’ve seen, that the ICE agents in Minneapolis are law-abiding. Everybody in Providence knows that it is the fundamental and most important responsibility of any mayor to keep their community safe. I spend a lot of time with our police department, so when I see a federal agent crack a windshield and drag someone out, when I see a video of a federal agent, whose only apparent probable cause is that an individual had an accent, I see the antithesis of our police department. I see the exact opposite of what we train in the academy. I see the opposite of the work we do in partnership with community-based organizations like the Nonviolence Institute, or with other leaders who come to speak to our trainees and command staff, or with the individuals who serve on our police community advisory board. It’s the opposite of what we do here at Providence.

I’m not a lawyer or a judge, and so it’s not exactly my decision to determine what is lawful and unlawful, but it appears to me to be unlawful and certainly appears to be reckless, and it appears to be the exact opposite of how we seek to keep the community safe here in Providence.