ICE activity at Rhode Island Hospital draws protesters. What we know.
- Around 85 protesters gathered at Rhode Island Hospital due to the presence of ICE officers with a detainee.
- The detainee's lawyer and Providence Police Chief Col. Oscar L. Perez confirmed the man's presence at the hospital while in ICE custody.
- Providence police at the scene described the protest as peaceful.
- The detainee's lawyer, Kelvin Santos, said neither ICE nor the hospital allowed him to speak with his client.
PROVIDENCE – The presence of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers at Rhode Island Hospital has drawn a small but growing crowd of protesters.
About 85 protesters were mobilized when a man in ICE custody was brought to the hospital, according to Kelvin Santos, an attorney who said he is representing the man who is now in the hospital and in ICE custody. Santos did not say why the man, whom he declined to identify, was brought to the hospital, only that he was brought in by ICE officers.
Santos said that, despite a signed form stating that he legally represents the man in custody, neither ICE nor the hospital has allowed him in to speak with his client.
Was the man brought in by ICE?
Santos and Providence Police Chief Col. Oscar L. Perez, confirmed that a person in ICE custody is in the hospital.
Why was the man in ICE custody?
June Rose, chief of staff for Providence City Council President Rachel Miller, told The Journal that ICE agents showed up at the man's door at his home in the neighborhood around Dexter Park.
At some point while the man was being detained, Rose said ICE agents used a stun gun on him. They said the Providence Fire Department was then called to evaluate him, and he was taken to the hospital.
Where are the protesters?
The protesters are at the corner of Culver and Dudley streets in Providence, across from Hasbro Children's Hospital and the Rhode Island Hospital Emergency Center.
Is Rhode Island Hospital still open?
Despite the presence of protesters, Rhode Island Hospital is still open and has not been evacuated. The protesters are not blocking the entrance to the emergency room or Hasbro Children's Hospital.
Are there police at the protest?
Emphasizing that the situation is peaceful, Perez said that Providence police had received a call from the hospital about the protest activity and some officers have gone to the site to provide assistance.
How did the protesters get to the hospital so quickly?
Sophia Wright, a spokesperson for the group AMOR, a grassroots New England organization for "victims of hate crimes and state-sponsored violence," said community members called the local hotline that has been established to report the presence of ICE and the Department of Homeland Security with a tip about the incident.
Kate Hao with the Rhode Island Deportation Defense Coalition said the protest came together quickly through several group chats. Volunteers who man the local ICE activity hotline were able to verify the presence of ICE and DHS in the neighborhood and mobilized the group to gather at the hospital. She said protesters would remain at the hospital for "as long as they need to."
Lieutenant governor expresses concerns about due process
Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos issued a statement saying that she and her office are "closely monitoring reports that ICE agents may be refusing a Rhode Islander their right to due process by preventing them from speaking with their lawyer."
"We are still learning all of the facts involved in today’s events, and I cannot speak with certainty about every detail of this incident," the statement said. "However, there are no circumstances under which we can tolerate the erosion of the Constitution. If this man is being prevented from speaking with his attorney, then I call on ICE to immediately to allow him access to counsel.
"The rights enshrined in our Constitution, especially the right to due process, are our only safeguard against authoritarianism. If we do not immediately and vocally protect the first people to be stripped of those rights, then eventually all people will be stripped of those rights.”
This story has been updated with new information, photos and video.