Patricia Martinez, director of state Department of Children, Youth and Families yesterday apologized for critical remarks she made a day earlier about the governor’s directive cracking down on illegal immigrants.

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The Providence Journal / Connie Grosch

PROVIDENCE –– A member of Governor Carcieri’s Cabinet apologized yesterday for raising concerns that the governor’s effort to curb illegal immigration has caused hatred and widespread fear across the state.

“The executive order is the first step in the right direction toward immigration reform,” said Department of Children, Youth and Families Director Patricia Martinez, a day after saying that Carcieri’s recent order, like several bills proposed by the legislature, “is really slamming immigrants” by promoting racial profiling.

Martinez, a former leader of the Hispanic advocacy organization Progreso Latino, met with the governor yesterday afternoon behind closed doors for roughly 45 minutes.

The meeting came on the same day that calls for Martinez’s resignation dominated Rhode Island talk radio.

“I apologize for any misperceptions my comments might have caused,” she said in a statement released after the meeting. “In particular, I did not mean to imply that the governor’s actions were spreading hatred.”

But in a later interview with The Journal, she disputed assertions made recently by the governor and his supporters that undocumented immigrants are a drain on Rhode Island’s resources.

“We need to have the right facts before we begin to point fingers at everyone,” Martinez said, adding that the facts did not support claims that people in the country illegally hurt the state or national economy.

“Unfortunately, that’s the misconception out there,” she said. “I think we all need to take responsibility for the fear that we have created, because it’s fueling a set of misconceptions.”

Carcieri’s executive order requires state agencies and vendors to verify the legal status of all employees. It also directs the state police and Department of Corrections to work with federal authorities to help enforce immigration laws, but does not outline a specific plan.

Those details will be worked out with federal immigration authorities, which require written policies and extensive training for those state law enforcement officials involved.

The governor has emphasized that he supports legal immigration. But those living here illegally, he says, are draining limited resources intended for citizens.

At the news conference announcing the order, Carcieri said he took action in the face of federal inaction on immigration reform — inaction that he said led to an “epidemic” flow of illegal immigrants, leaving taxpayers to bear “the consequential costs.”

He has made similar statements recently on talk radio.

“In our little state, we’ve got the largest deficit we’ve been facing since probably the credit union crisis,” he said Friday to WPRO host John DePetro. “We’ve got big issues that we’re trying to deal with on the budget side. Clearly, a piece of that puzzle, not the whole thing, but a piece of that puzzle, is beginning to get control of our borders and control of illegal immigration.”

The governor’s spokesman said Carcieri was not available to be interviewed yesterday.

His spokesman, Jeff Neal, said the primary goal of the executive order was not to cut costs.

“It is not specifically about money,” Neal said of the order. “We know there are costs. We can’t accurately assess those costs. More importantly, however, the governor has an obligation to enforce the law.”

The third paragraph of the executive order, however, specifically lists the economic burden of between 20,000 and 40,000 undocumented immigrants living in Rhode Island.

“The presence of significant numbers of people illegally residing in the State of Rhode Island creates a burden on the resources of state and local human services, law enforcement agencies, educational institutions and other governmental institutions and diminishes opportunities for citizens and legal immigrants in Rhode Island,” it reads.

U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said earlier in the week that the jury is still out on whether undocumented immigrants actually contribute to the state and national economy by taking jobs that citizens don’t want, working at cheaper wages, and paying income and Social Security taxes.

And a Journal analysis of costs spread across state and local government found that little data exists on the subject.

Neal yesterday could not say whether the costs created by undocumented immigrants outweigh the economic benefits. “The problem is that until you know what the costs are, it is very difficult to answer that question,” he said.

The governor’s order has sparked a furious immigration debate in Rhode Island that has consumed local media coverage. Last week, critics –– the state’s religious leaders among them –– held protests nearly every day. The emotion peaked Thursday, when more than 50 protesters stormed the governor’s policy office, slightly injuring an office worker hit in the face by the door.

There were no arrests; the protesters left the office voluntarily and were forced out of the State House by capitol police officers.

Law enforcement officials were bracing for what was expected to be another emotional day on Smith Hill today, as the House Judiciary Committee was set to hear several bills addressing illegal immigration. The proposals would block undocumented immigrants from receiving housing assistance, unemployment benefits and driver’s licenses, among other things.

Hundreds representing each side of the debate were expected to flock to the capitol building this afternoon.

Meanwhile, Martinez, who was appointed to her Cabinet-level position three years ago by the governor, said she supports Carcieri’s plan, despite the concerns she had expressed the day before.

“I think the executive order, along with what has happened in the media, has really created an environment that is unfortunate,” Martinez said Monday morning, after the annual Kids Count breakfast. “Whether it was the purpose or not, you talk to people in church, you talk to people in the supermarket, you go to the little hair salons, people are afraid. And not because they are undocumented, but it’s just because you are going to be stopped just because you look different, just because you have an accent, just because now it has created this hatred.”

Her full apology was outlined in a statement released yesterday by the governor’s office: “I apologize for any misperceptions my comments might have caused,” she said. “In particular, I did not mean to imply that the governor’s actions were spreading hatred. Instead, I was trying to explain that immigration is a very sensitive and polarizing issue.”

speoples@projo.com