For the sixth consecutive year, the Rhode Island Senate passed legislation to reduce the maximum sentence for a misdemeanor crime by one day as a way to protect immigrants from being detained or removed from the country.
The bill sponsored by Senator Jonathan Acosta, a Central Falls Democrat, was approved by the chamber Tuesday with a 33-5 vote. All four of the chamber’s Republicans and Senator Leonidas Raptakis, a Coventry Democrat, voted against the proposed change to the definition of a misdemeanor to be an offense with a maximum sentence of 364 days rather than 365 days.
Eight states cap misdemeanor sentences at 364 days: California, Colorado, Minnesota, New York, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Utah passed such a law in 2019, but repealed the part of it applying to violent class A misdemeanors against a person in 2025.
Acosta’s bill now heads to the House for consideration, where similar versions of the legislation have stalled at the committee level due to what chamber spokesperson Larry Berman said was a lack of consensus.
“We’re hoping that this year, the sixth time will be the charm,” Acosta said on the Senate floor Tuesday.
Federal law allows undocumented immigrants, and even someone with a green card, to be detained or deported if convicted of an offense punishable by a sentence of a year or more.
Acosta’s bill is supported by several civil liberties and immigration rights groups, who flooded the Senate Committee on Judiciary with written testimony during its initial hearing on the legislation May 5.
“A small offense like shoplifting should not result in a complete uproot of the life an individual has built here, including their family or their job because they also happen to be subject to immigration laws,” wrote Sophia de los Reyes of the the Alliance to Mobilize Our Resistance. “ We can change these definitions to protect our neighbors from the overlapping, unforgiving, harsh immigration policies.”
In its letter of support, the Rhode Island Office of the Public Defender wrote the updated definition for a misdemeanor would “ensure more equitable sentencing and promote judicial economy.”
“This change would shield only the most non-violent and minimally justice-involved individuals, while continuing to allow more serious offenders to face appropriate deportation proceedings,” wrote Legislative Liaison Angela M. Yingling.
But Rhode Island’s judicial branch raised concerns about the bill’s immediate effect date if passed. Chrisanne Wyrzykowski, general counsel for the state’s court system, wrote to lawmakers that changing the state’s misdemeanor laws would require a detailed review of 1,851 criminal and 781 juvenile codes, along with creating or updating those entries in the Judiciary’s case management system.
“This is a detailed-oriented, time-consuming task, and a major undertaking that would take six months to one year to complete if no other work commitments were involved,” Wyrzykowski wrote.
Companion legislation sponsored by Representative Leonela Felix, a Pawtucket Democrat, was heard by the House Committee on Judiciary on March 4 where it was held for further study, as is standard procedure for an initial vetting.
Christopher Shea covers politics, the criminal justice system and transportation for the Rhode Island Current.
Rhode Island Current is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.