PROVIDENCE — A nonprofit group whose board members include First Lady Sue Carcieri asserts that nearly 45 percent of all immigrants in Rhode Island — legal and illegal — lack high school diplomas and “this low-skilled cohort of immigrants to Rhode Island costs state taxpayers about $212 million per year.”

“It is because such a high percentage of immigrants, legal or not, lack a quality formal education that they represent a relatively high cost to the taxpayer,” said the statement by the Ocean State Policy Research Institute. Its executive director, William Felkner, said he wrote the statement.

Felkner called people who sponsor immigrants to this country “the new deadbeat dad.” He said he means that the government has assumed the financial role for immigrants that “family, faith and friends” formerly played.

Felkner issued his remarks in a recent news release, amid a public firestorm over the governor’s executive order cracking down on illegal immigration. Felkner lauded the order and rejected widespread criticism by community advocates and clergy that it would lead to increased racial profiling and discrimination.

“The governor’s commitment to the rule of law here has practical budget implications and is not targeted at race but at the new and faulted American culture,” the statement said. In a phone interview, Felkner said the “faulted American culture” is a “salad bowl” of unassimilated cultures that are “weakening the country.”

Carcieri spokesman Jeff Neal said Felkner’s statements “are at odds” with Governor and Mrs. Carcieri’s views on the subject of immigration. He said they were unaware of Felkner’s news release until Neal brought it to their attention after The Journal sought comment.

“It clearly does not make the appropriate difference between legal immigration — which Governor Carcieri supports — and illegal immigration, which was the subject of his executive order. Mrs. Carcieri feels the same way,” said Neal.

“Governor Carcieri has repeatedly argued that legal immigration provides a net benefit to the American economy. He believes that immigrants play an important role, and that we actually need more legal immigration,” Neal said. “He has argued that we should expand the quotas for legal immigrants, and that we should expand the number of work visas being granted to legal immigrants.”

Neal was asked whether the governor and Mrs. Carcieri were concerned that the statement could be construed as inflammatory, given the broad brush it applies to all immigrants –– particularly when the executive order is still stirring debate.

“To the extent that any public statements inflame the issue, or don’t make the proper distinction between legal immigration and illegal immigration, the governor and Mrs. Carcieri think that is not helpful,” Neal said.

He also said that had the Carcieris known about the news release before it was issued, “they certainly would have made it clear that this does not reflect their views and no effort should be made to imply that it does.”

Felkner has written several opinion pieces for The Journal that tout Carcieri’s budget proposals and policies, but make no disclosure that Mrs. Carcieri is on the board. Felkner and Neal, the governor’s spokesman, said they believe such disclosure is unnecessary.

Felkner, a member of the Chariho School Committee, said OSPRI’s mailing list includes 7,000 people statewide, excluding media outlets. Felkner said the board, chaired by Jonathan Scott, a former congressional candidate, has met once since the group formed last July. He said board members do not have input into news releases.

Felkner said he approached Mrs. Carcieri at the State House, immediately after the governor’s 2007 State of the State address, and asked her to join a new group he was forming. The group became official on July 4 last year. Felkner said he first “bumped into” Mrs. Carcieri when he was embroiled in controversy for criticizing the “liberal agenda” at the Rhode Island College School of Social Work.

Besides Mrs. Carcieri and Scott, other board members include: J. William Middendorf II, former secretary of the Navy; Lloyd Monroe, a financial adviser; Dr. Daniel S. Harrop, a psychiatrist and former Republican candidate for mayor in Providence; Edward M. Mazze, a professor of business administration at the University of Rhode Island; Sandra Thompson, executive director of the Voter Initiative Alliance; and Thomas Wigand, a lawyer.

According to its Web site, the group focuses “on crafting sound public policy based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, and traditional American values.”

Last October, OSPRI issued a news release supporting the governor’s proposal to cut some state interpreters. Last month, Felkner testified at the State House, relative to a host of immigration-related bills.

The executive order Carcieri issued on March 27 calls on numerous state agencies to play a role in combating illegal immigration. Carcieri said he issued the order because the federal government has failed to enact comprehensive immigration reform.

Its more controversial measures require training of state police and Corrections Department personnel to enforce federal immigration laws, and for state executive agencies and venders to electronically verify employees’ legal status.

Clergy, community and civil-rights advocates and Hispanic leaders have held numerous protests, asserting that the order will inflame divisiveness in Rhode Island, increase fear throughout the immigrant community and lead to state police “dragnets” targeting all immigrants. Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts called the order “short-sighted.”

While Carcieri acknowledged that it’s virtually impossible to tabulate how much illegal immigration costs Rhode Island taxpayers, Felkner cited a cost of $212 million a year for all illegal and legal immigrants over 25 years of age. He added, in his statement: “Ocean State Policy believes the cost is likely significantly more as RI is never average when it comes to doling out funds.”

Felkner said the Ocean State Policy Research Institute derived its “tax and revenue figures” from a report by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, based on demographics from a 2005 American Community Survey of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Neal said neither the governor nor Mrs. Carcieri has reviewed that Heritage Foundation study, “however the governor has made it clear that it is difficult to completely assess the costs of illegal immigration in Rhode Island,” for reasons that include state and federal laws that prohibit schools, hospitals, clinics and many state agencies from asking questions about a person’s legal status.

Said Felkner, “Cultural organizations claiming that racial animus is fueling this debate are simply refusing to look at the numbers.”

Board member Edward M. Mazze said he also was unaware of the statement until a reporter asked him about it. Mazze is a regular contributor to the opinion and financial pages of The Journal.

“Definitely, I was upset,” Mazze said in a phone interview. “Number one, I didn’t read the release, and two, I was not part of it.”

After a reporter read much of the news release to him, Mazze said, “I would never put my name on something like that for a lot of reasons, not the least of which it is just inaccurate.”

He disputed its conclusion that immigrants — legal and illegal — over the age of 25 cost Rhode Island $212 million a year, noting that Felkner “can’t possibly document that.” He added, “I would not want to downgrade the contributions of the legal immigrants, as well as some of the illegal immigrants that are here… .”

Mazze also said he believes there should be a disclosure that Mrs. Carcieri is on the board.

“On any issue like that — and particularly one that is so sensitive — I mean, this would be the same as me talking about how we need to support the University of Rhode Island, and not telling people that I work for the University of Rhode Island,” Mazze said.

Another board member, financial adviser Lloyd Monroe, said, “I didn’t see the press release before it was issued. I don’t see that as a problem.”

“Quite frankly, I’m not aware that all such organizations that exist out there have a process by which such disclaimers are routinely issued or on the other hand that any public statement issued by the staff first have to be vetted by the board,” said Monroe.

The Ocean State Policy Research Institute statement is posted on its Web site blog at www.oceanstatepolicy.org/blog.

kziner@projo.com