Democrats spar over troopers' role

Democratic gubernatorial candidates Christopher F. Gabrieli and Thomas F. Reilly said yesterday they would be open to using state troopers to arrest illegal immigrants in Massachusetts, powers Governor Mitt Romney said he will seek from the federal government.

Speaking after taping a debate for last night's ``Greater Boston" program on WGBH-TV, the three Democrats running for governor -- Gabrieli, Reilly, and Deval L. Patrick -- split over Romney's proposal, which has been cheered by those who favor a crackdown on illegal immigration, but criticized by advocates for civil liberties.

If Romney's idea were approved, state troopers would be trained and authorized to arrest illegal immigrants they encounter on the job, including drivers they pull over for traffic violations.

Romney's proposal has intensified the debate over immigration in Massachusetts, and the issue is quickly becoming a focal point in the governor's race. The three Democrats all have somewhat unique positions, while the Republican candidate, Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey, has made clear that she will campaign hard against any candidate she deems to be soft on undocumented immigrants.

Reilly, who's been criticized by Republicans and gubernatorial rivals for being just that, told reporters yesterday that he would consider having state troopers deputized to help enforce federal immigration laws.

``If there is a meaningful role that's carved out for states, including State Police, that's something that we should entertain and look into," he said after the debate.

But Reilly said he was talking chiefly about using state troopers to detain illegal immigrants who had committed crimes. Romney's proposal would allow troopers to arrest immigrants who are here illegally, even if they have broken no state laws. Reilly was noncommittal about whether he could support Romney's idea.

``If it's beyond that," he said, ``they'll have to come up with details as to where are you going to put them, where are you going to hold them, and what are you going to do with them, and what's your ultimate goal."

After the Globe reported that state contractors appear to have used undocumented workers on public construction projects, Reilly has come under fire for asserting that immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility, not a role for his office. The story is also what prompted Romney to seek the new powers for the State Police.

Gabrieli questioned Romney's motives yesterday, but he didn't dismiss the idea of involving State Police in enforcing immigration laws . He said he would be releasing an immigration plan in coming weeks but that the state's focus should be on penalizing state contractors who hire illegal workers.

``I think that our public officials should be on this," Gabrieli said. ``They should be as outraged as the average citizen is that we're paying for this kind of exploitation of labor."

Patrick dismissed Romney's proposal as pure political gimmickry.

``I think the State Police has a lot to do already right now . . . and I think asking the State Police to take on a federal responsibility is not their job," Patrick said.

Immigration was the first subject raised by ``Greater Boston" host Emily Rooney in the half-hour debate. Rooney asked Reilly why it wasn't his responsibility to investigate employers who rely on undocumented workers.

Reilly said he stood by a decision he made in 2001 to fight for the rights and wages of immigrant workers, legal or not, to promise not to report them to federal immigration officials, and to not act against companies for employing undocumented immigrants.

``No one had a problem with that five years ago," he said. ``Now it's a political football back and forth."

Gabrieli said employers who accept obviously phony Social Security numbers from workers are ``laughing in the face of our laws. It is taking jobs from Americans, whether they're legal immigrants or citizens born here."

Patrick charged that Reilly has not aggressively enforced state wage and hour laws. Labor officials say that tough enforcement of laws requiring contractors to pay a prevailing wage would take away a key incentive for employers to hire undocumented immigrants, who often will work for less money.

In yesterday's debate, the Democrats also clashed over class, with Reilly seeking to distinguish himself as the only nonmillionaire in the race for the Democratic nomination.

``I live in a middle-class neighborhood, on the second floor of a two-decker in Watertown," he said. ``The problems of the people on my street -- they're up against it. They're struggling right now. I've lived in that community. I understand their problems."

Then Rooney asked Patrick about a large vacation home he's building in the Berkshires and whether that made it hard for voters to relate to him. Reilly cut in and quipped, ``It's about the size of Watertown."

``It's not that, either," Patrick said in response.

``It's close," Reilly said.

At one point, Rooney asked Gabrieli and Patrick why they didn't send their children to public schools. Patrick said he and his wife wanted a diverse school setting. ``We wanted our kids to be in a classroom where they weren't the only black kids in the school," he said.

The school population in Milton, where the Patricks live, is more than a quarter nonwhite, according to state Department of Education figures. Patrick's communications director, Richard Chacon, later clarified that the Patricks made their decision about schools for their older daughter when they were living in Newton.

Scott Helman can be reached at shelman@globe.com.