contested — Central Falls legislators Sen. Jonathan Acosta and Rep. Joshua Giraldo introduced SB 2278 / HB 7436 to cancel the Wyatt ICE contract and bar RI state/municipal entities from federal civil-immigration detention contracts. On May 5, 2026 the RI Senate Judiciary Committee advanced only 1 of 7 immigration bills; the Close-the-Wyatt measures stalled. Advocacy group AMOR held a May 4, 2026 rally at the facility and pledged to keep pushing. Days later (May 7, 2026) the Central Falls Detention Facility Corporation paid the city its first host fee ($250K) since 2021.

contested — November 20, 2025: ICE in plain clothes surrounded a state judge's car outside the Licht Judicial Complex and detained his high school intern for 30 minutes after mistaking a teenager for their target — a man in his 30s. Sen. Whitehouse confronted DHS Sec. Noem at a March 2026 Senate hearing. Rhode Island legislators introduced courthouse arrest protection bills; a state House panel heard testimony in March 2026. RI federal courts are processing 59 immigration detention challenges in 2026, equal to all of 2025.