H 7436Police & Prisons

State Affairs and Government - Detention for Federal Civil Immigration Violations

This bill bans Rhode Island state and local governments from signing contracts to detain people for federal civil immigration violations.

Held for study

Population
Affected

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Introduced Jan 30, 2026Committee House Judiciary

Plain-English Summary

This legislation prohibits the State of Rhode Island and all municipal governments within the state from entering into or renewing contracts to detain individuals for federal civil immigration violations. This ban extends to leasing public property for such purposes. Additionally, the bill mandates that any state or local agency currently party to such an agreement must exercise termination clauses to end the arrangement by July 1, 2026. The intent is to prevent Rhode Island facilities and resources from being utilized for federal civil immigration detention.

For younger readers

This new law tells the government in Rhode Island that they are not allowed to make deals to help the federal government keep people in jail just because they broke immigration rules. If a town or the state already has a deal to hold these people, they have to cancel it by the summer of 2026. This means that jails and buildings owned by Rhode Island towns or the state cannot be used to lock people up for non-criminal immigration issues.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups

Immigrants and Asylum SeekersMunicipal GovernmentsState Correctional FacilitiesLaw Enforcement AgenciesTaxpayers

Impacted communities

All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely. The bill relies on the anti-commandeering doctrine (10th Amendment), which establishes that the federal government cannot force states to use their resources to enforce federal regulatory programs. While the Contracts Clause prohibits states from impairing obligations of contracts, the bill provides a lead time for termination (2026) and likely falls under the state's police power to regulate for public welfare.

Estimated cost

None

Estimated revenue

None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints

For Progressives

Ends state and municipal complicity in the federal deportation machine, ensuring that local public resources are not used to separate families or detain individuals for civil infractions.
Builds trust between immigrant communities and local government by creating a clear firewall between local services and federal immigration enforcement, encouraging residents to engage with public services without fear.
Protects human rights by refusing to participate in a detention system often criticized for inhumane conditions, lack of legal representation, and indefinite confinement of asylum seekers.
May result in detainees being transferred to facilities in other states, moving them far away from their families, support networks, and legal counsel, which creates new hardships.
Could result in a loss of revenue for municipalities that relied on federal contracts to fund local budgets, potentially threatening funding for other social services.
Does not actually stop federal immigration enforcement or detention; it merely displaces it, potentially leading ICE to use private facilities or more aggressive direct enforcement tactics in the community.

For Conservatives

Asserts state sovereignty and local control by refusing to allow the federal government to commandeer state facilities and resources to do a job that belongs to federal agencies.
Ensures that local law enforcement resources and jail space are prioritized for addressing local criminal activity and public safety rather than federal administrative issues.
Reduces potential legal liability and insurance costs for municipalities that often arise from lawsuits regarding the treatment and rights of federal detainees.
Undermines the rule of law by obstructing federal efforts to enforce immigration statutes and secure the nation's borders, effectively making the state a sanctuary jurisdiction.
Eliminates a source of federal revenue for local municipalities that housed detainees, which will shift the financial burden for maintaining those facilities onto local taxpayers.
May impede cooperation between local and federal law enforcement, potentially allowing individuals who have violated federal laws to remain in the community.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 23 additions

SECTION 1. Title 42 of the General Laws entitled "STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter: 42-169-1. Short title. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Detention for Federal Civil Immigration Violations”. 42-169-2. Prohibition on agreements to detain individuals for federal civil immigration violations.

(a) No state or municipal government official or body, or instrumentality or agency thereof, may enter into, renew, or otherwise agree, to be a party to any contract or agreement, that is or will be used to detain individuals for federal civil immigration violations including, but not limited to, any intergovernmental services agreements to detain individuals for federal civil immigration violations or any lease or other agreement, that facilitates the use of real property belonging to the public body, or instrumentality or agency thereof, to detain and relocate individuals for federal civil immigration violations.

(b) A state or municipal governmental official or body, or instrumentality or agency thereof, that is party to any existing agreement, that is or will be used to detain individuals for federal civil immigration violations, shall exercise the termination provision of the agreement as applied to its use for detaining individuals for federal civil immigration violations no later than July 1, 2026. 42-169-3. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section, or part of this chapter shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, that judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder of this chapter, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section, or part directly involved in the controversy in which that judgment shall have been rendered.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.