Governor Carcieri’s executive order cracking down on illegal immigration met with backlash yesterday — from Rhode Island Democratic Party leaders who accused him of “mandating racial profiling” and from immigrant advocates who accused him of scapegoating and inflaming the debate. It was the talk of talk radio, positive and negative.

The executive order the governor signed Thursday will empower state police and correctional officers to enforce some immigration laws through an agreement with the federal Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It will require electronic verification of the legal status of employees who work for the executive branch and employees of vendors who do business with the state.

Tim Grilo, executive director of the Rhode Island Democratic Party, accused Carcieri of staging “another meaningless media orchestration … that was closer to a hate rally than a press conference.”

“Doesn’t the governor understand that hundreds of thousands of immigrants have legally come to Rhode Island’s borders for the past two centuries and have greatly contributed to our society?” Grilo said. Rather than holding a forum with leaders of the minority community, “he chose the low road and took another cheap political shot. Given his plummeting public-approval numbers, this looks like little more than a desperate attempt to throw a little red meat to his withering right-wing base.”

The governor’s schedule notes he will take to the airwaves on Monday morning on WPRO radio’s John DePetro and Buddy Cianci shows.

Meanwhile, several community advocacy groups plan to address the governor’s actions at a news conference Monday.

Carcieri said he decided to take action in the face of federal inaction on immigration reform — inaction he said has led to an “epidemic” flow of illegal immigrants, leaving taxpayers to bear “the consequential costs.”

Carcieri spokesman Jeff Neal said Carcieri took action because many of the current bills aimed at illegal immigration were introduced but failed to pass the General Assembly last year, and “as a result, it is not clear that these bills will be approved this year.”

Carcieri reviewed similar policies, including executive orders, “in a number of different jurisdictions,” including Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Idaho, Montana, Missouri, Arizona, Florida, Oregon and Oklahoma, Neal said. He consulted ICE and other governors.

Carcieri said Thursday he was aware that the topic of illegal immigration “stirs great emotion” and “is a very sensitive issue.”

At several points he blamed the media for ratcheting up the rhetoric. Yesterday, critics said the shoe was on the other foot.

“He’s the one that’s inflaming the debate,” said Ali Noorani, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy coalition, which partners with Rhode Island advocacy organizations.

“The governor has scapegoated the immigration population for political gain and along the way has undermined the safety of each and every resident of Rhode Island,” Noorani said. “If you look or sound like an immigrant, there’s no reason to ever trust Rhode Island state troopers.” Noorani added, “Once a victim does not feel safe reporting a crime, the criminal wins. That’s the net result of the executive order that the governor signed.”

Many people called talk-radio shows yesterday to praise Carcieri, including Buddy Tassoni of Johnston. Tassoni is a member of Rhode Islanders for Immigration Law Enforcement, a group opposed to illegal immigration and amnesty for undocumented immigrants.

“I applaud the governor for having the backbone that our congressional delegates don’t have,” Tassoni said.

He added, “This is a nation of immigrants, as the governor stated, and we certainly welcome all that will comply with our immigration laws.” He said he also called his congressional leaders to tell them “the governor had to do something because they dropped the ball.”

RIILE president Terry Gorman said he was “extremely pleased” with the governor’s action. “I think it’s long overdue and I think this tremendous reaction from this opposite side of the issue is because they’re very nervous about the magnitude of this situation being exposed.”

Carcieri’s actions were being noted outside Rhode Island.

Bob Dane, spokesman for the conservative national group Federation for American Immigration Reform, said Carcieri “will be in good company.” He called the 287 G program that gives state police immigration powers “a kind of force-multiplier … it’s a good program. It’s not cops working as immigration officers as much as it’s cops working more closely with the immigration officers.”

Dane added, “So much of the immigration fight is moving from inside the Beltway here in Washington to cities and states across the country. The local communities in the states are doing the work the federal government isn’t doing and won’t do.”

Angela Kelley, director of the Immigration Policy Center, a research arm of the American Immigration Law Foundation, said that federal action — not executive orders by governors — is the way to go.

“I think [an executive order] is a good way to do business if you’re trying to send a message, but it’s not a terribly effective way to solve the problem,” said Kelley.

“The majority of local initiatives try to send a tough message of cracking down on folks, perhaps naïvely hoping they’ll leave. I do think it’s naïve. We’re not talking about an insignificant number of people. There are 12 million undocumented people, 7 to 8 million of them are workers, and we have 3 to 5 million U.S. citizen kids where one or more parents are undocumented. That’s why I think it’s about sending a message,” said Kelley. “I don’t think anyone really believes they’re going to go.”

kziner@projo.com