在一個民眾對此議題意見分歧極大，有批評者誓言要對抗查菲行動的州中，這令人驚詫的轉變，反映了移民政策多變的本質。但是拉丁裔選票成長的力量，敢於冒險的世家政客查菲竟和移民組成了個很不可能發生的聯盟，打翻以往尺度，把羅州帶往一個新方向，卻是給人上了一課。
“The big
thing was that it wasn’t working,’’ Chafee said in an interview yesterday,
describing his predecessor’s efforts to curb illegal immigration. “The idea was
that it would help us with our economy. It didn’t accomplish that.’’
查菲談及前任遏阻非法移民的行動時表示，最大的問題是那沒用，原來的想法是那樣做會幫助經濟，但並沒有達成目的。
One of his first acts in office was to rescind a
2008 order by the previous governor, Governor Donald Carcieri, that sought to
reduce the estimated 20,000 to 40,000 illegal immigrants in Rhode Island and lessen what he called a
burden on state resources. The order required state agencies and contractors to
use E-verify, a federal service that verifies a person’s eligibility to work,
and deputized several State Police troopers to help enforce immigration law,
among other provisions.
羅州前任州長卡西艾瑞(Donald Carcieri)在2008年時，為縮減羅德島州內估計有二萬到四萬名的非法移民人數，並減輕他所謂州政府資源的負擔，公佈一項行政命令，要求州府機構及合約商採用聯邦政府提供的電子確認法(E-verify)，來確認一個人是否有資格工作，命令條款中還包括指派一些州警來協助執行移民法。查菲上任後的最初行動之一，是廢除了該一命令。
Chafee said that instead of boosting the economy,
the policies alienated the state’s Latino population, which has grown more than
40 percent in the past decade and includes significant numbers of immigrants.
He said the state was unfairly blaming immigrants for the bleak economy.
查菲表示，這些政策並沒有促進經濟，反而疏離了過去十年來在該州增加40%，其中很大一部份是移民的拉丁裔人口。他說羅州不公平的把經濟不景怪罪於移民。
The son of a governor and the descendant of one
of Rhode Island’s founding families, Chafee
would appear to have little in common with illegal immigrants flowing in mostly
from Latin America, except for a $50 fine he got in 1977 for illegally working
as a blacksmith in Canada.
查菲是創立羅德島州家族之一的後代，他父親也曾擔任羅州州長。除了1977年，他在加拿大非法擔任鐵匠(blacksmith)，被罰款五十元之外，他看起來和那些大都從拉丁美洲湧來的非法移民，沒有什麼共通之處，
But immigrants said Chafee listened to their
concerns during his campaign last year, when the former Republican US senator, who
ran as an independent, said he would rescind Carcieri’s order and fight for a
path to citizenship for those here illegally.
不過移民們說，曾經是共和黨籍聯邦參議員，去年以無黨籍獨立候選人身份競選州長的查菲，在競選期間，聽到他們的擔心，並說他會廢除卡西艾瑞的命令，為本地的非法移民爭取成為公民途徑。
He won a three-way race for governor with just 36
percent of the vote, and though less than a tenth of Rhode Island voters are Latinos, he said
they probably pushed him over the top. Latinos also had a decisive role in
other close races, and in the election of Providence’s
first Latino mayor, Harvard-educated Angel Taveras.
這場大選有三人角逐，查菲以36%的得票率獲勝。查菲說，儘管羅州選民大概僅有十分之一是拉丁裔人，但很可能就是他們使他成為得票最多者。拉丁裔在其他選情接近的競選中，也扮演了決定性的角色，包括選出羅德島州首名拉丁裔市長，哈佛大學畢業的Angel
Taveras。
Chafee’s critics say the debate is far from over.
This week, about 500 protesters rallied at the State House to protest the
unanimous Sept. 26 decision by the Board of Governors for Higher Education to
grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrants, and vowed to overturn it before
the rule takes effect in September 2012.
批評查菲的人表示，移民問題這爭辯，離畫下句點還遠得很。十月中，約有500名抗議者遊行到州政府大樓，反對州長高等教育局在九月廿六日無異議的同意了，准許非法移民享有州內居民學費費率，並誓言在該法於2012年九月生效前，推翻它。
“Rhode
Island didn’t change, just the administration
changed,’’ said Terry Gorman, executive director of Rhode Islanders for
Immigration Law Enforcement, who attended the rally. He added, “We’re going to challenge
this.’’
羅德島執行移民法協會(Rhode Islanders for
Immigration Law Enforcement)行政主任Terry Gorman參加了遊行。他說，羅德島州沒有變，只是行政機構變了而已。「我們要挑戰這一決定」。
The Latino Policy Institute at Roger Williams
University says the new
rule will bring in about $162,000 annually while only affecting about 100
illegal immigrants a year. Now, undocumented students pay nonresident tuition
that is more than double the cost. Resident tuition at the University of Rhode Island
is $10,556 a year, compared with $27,262 a year for nonresidents.
羅傑威廉斯大學(Roger Williams University)的拉丁裔政策院(The
Latino Policy Institute)表示，新法規將每年為州政府帶來十六萬二千元，同時一年內約只有100名非法移民受影響。目前，無證件學生付非居民學費。羅德島大學的州內居民學費是10,556元一年，非居民學費則是27,262一年。
Antonio Albizures-Lopez, a 20-year-old here
without papers since his parents brought him as a baby from Guatemala, said
he campaigned for Chafee because the candidate had told him he would consider
helping students such as him, but he had been skeptical that things would
change.
現年廿歲，當年還是嬰兒時被父母從瓜地馬拉帶來這兒的無證件居民Antonio
Albizures-Lopez說，他為查菲助選，因為查菲曾告訴他，將會考慮幫助像他一樣的學生，不過那時他懷疑事情會改變。
“I didn’t expect it, to tell you the truth,’’
said Albizures-Lopez. “When I was working on his campaign, I always thought
maybe he’s going to be another politician who throws out promises and never
completes them. But he’s actually kept his word.’’
他說，老實說，他沒有期待這會發生。當他在查菲的助選團中工作時，他一直認為，查菲可能又是一名拋棄承諾，從不兌現的政客，但他真的說話算話了。
Rhode Island’s
flip-flop reflects a slew of similar contradictions at the national level,
where states such as Maryland and Connecticut are allowing students here illegally to pay
in-state tuition while states such as Alabama
are barring them from state colleges altogether. Researchers say many states
are tackling illegal immigration because Congress, which has power over federal
immigration law, has consistently failed to do so.
羅德島州的反覆，反應了全國層次上的一系列類似矛盾，例如馬里蘭州、康州允許非法居留學生支付州內學費，但阿拉巴馬州等卻禁止他們進州立大專院校。研究人員說，許多州都在因應非法移民問題，因為有權管聯邦移民法的國會，一直都拿不出辦法來。
