H 7439Police & Prisons

State Affairs and Government - Law Enforcement Officers’ Due Process, Accountability, and Transparency Act - Ice Out Act

Rhode Island police agencies are prohibited from hiring individuals who served as sworn ICE officers on or after January 20, 2025.

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Introduced Jan 30, 2026Committee House Judiciary

Plain-English Summary

This legislation establishes a new hiring restriction for all law enforcement agencies in Rhode Island. Specifically, it prohibits these agencies from hiring any individual who was employed as a sworn officer by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency on or after January 20, 2025. This rule applies to future employment decisions and does not affect anyone hired by a Rhode Island police department before the law's effective date. Essentially, it bars recent or future federal ICE agents from becoming local police officers in the state.

For younger readers

This new rule creates a specific instruction for police departments in Rhode Island when they are looking to hire new officers. It says that the police departments are not allowed to hire anyone who worked as an officer for a federal group called ICE (which stands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement) starting in the year 2025. If a person had that specific job with ICE during or after that time, they cannot become a police officer in Rhode Island. This rule is for new hires only and does not remove any police officers currently working.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups

Law Enforcement AgenciesICE OfficersPolice ApplicantsImmigrant CommunitiesMunicipal Hiring Boards

Impacted communities

All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

There is a distinct constitutional risk regarding the Supremacy Clause and Equal Protection. By categorically barring individuals from state employment based solely on their service in a specific federal agency, the state may be viewed as discriminating against the federal government or interfering with federal operations. While states have broad power to set police qualifications, a court could find this specific exclusion arbitrary or punitive against federal servants without a direct link to fitness for duty.

Estimated cost

None

Estimated revenue

None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints

For Progressives

Promotes trust between immigrant communities and local law enforcement by ensuring that local police ranks are not filled with individuals trained in federal deportation tactics.
Reduces the militarization of local police forces by preventing the transfer of personnel from a federal agency often criticized for aggressive enforcement and lack of transparency.
Signals a clear policy stance that state law enforcement prioritizes community safety and service over the enforcement of federal immigration mandates.
The specific cutoff date of January 20, 2025, arbitrarily allows individuals who worked for ICE during controversial periods under previous administrations to still be eligible for hire.
Focuses solely on employment history rather than individual conduct, potentially barring reform-minded individuals while failing to address systemic issues within current police departments.
Does not actually prohibit cooperation between local police and ICE, meaning the structural problems of local involvement in deportation may persist despite hiring bans.

For Conservatives

Asserts state sovereignty by rejecting federal personnel, thereby preventing potential "Deep State" federal influence from infiltrating local community policing.
Ensures that local law enforcement positions are filled by individuals committed to state and local priorities rather than those indoctrinated by federal bureaucracies.
Protects local departments from potential liability or political fallout associated with the controversial tactics often employed by federal agencies.
Discriminates against qualified, trained law enforcement professionals based solely on their service to the federal government, reducing the pool of experienced candidates.
Undermines the rule of law by stigmatizing the enforcement of federal immigration statutes and treating federal service as a disqualifier for public employment.
Creates an unnecessary divide between state and federal law enforcement agencies, potentially hampering future cooperation on cross-jurisdictional crimes like trafficking.

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 6 additions

SECTION 1. Chapter 42-28.6 of the General Laws entitled "Law Enforcement Officers’ Due Process, Accountability, and Transparency Act" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 42-28.6-19. Prohibition against hiring immigration and customs (I.C.E.) officers.

(a) A law enforcement agency, as defined by § 42-164-2, shall not employ any individual who was hired as a sworn officer of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency on or after January 20, 2025.

(b) This section applies prospectively only and does not apply to any individual hired by the agency prior to the effective date of this section.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on October 1, 2026