chance in leadership in this country”. Controversies ICE controversy with Governor Carcieri On June 8, 2008, Marco Riz, an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala who had been arrested twice the previous year while under a deportation order, was charged with the robbery and rape of a 30-year-old woman. A federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent criticized the Providence Police Department for not checking Riz's immigration status at the time of his previous arrest. The governor of Rhode Island, Donald Carcieri, blamed Cicilline for the department's failure. Previously, Carcieri had signed an executive order requiring all state officials to work with ICE on arrests or hirings of undocumented immigrants. When Carcieri asked the same of local agents, Providence Police Chief Dean Esserman refused. Cicilline responded that it has been the policy of the Police Department to work with ICE and its database on all arrests, that the policy had been followed when Riz was arrested, and that the ICE had failed to act. On July 8, 2008, Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri claimed that Cicilline was not upholding his oath of office by failing to report undocumented immigrants, and suggested that the U.S. Attorney investigate the mayor. Mayor Cicilline responded by accusing Carcieri of "playing politics". Eight days later, Cicilline wrote an op-ed in The Providence Journal, stating that the city always has and will continue to report all arrests to immigration authorities, and that the focus is therefore inappropriate. Firefighters' union contract arbitration Beginning in 2003, Cicilline was engaged in a dispute with the Providence Firefighters labor union, Local 799. In a July 2002 email Cicilline sent to the members of Local 799, he indicated that he hoped to resolve their pending contract dispute with the city within 30 days of taking office. In August, Cicilline said in an interview that it was impossible for him to promise to bring the contract negotiations to a successful conclusion, owing to the unpredictability of his negotiating partners. The city and the union had been in arbitration in every contract year since 2002, with Cicilline appealing one arbitration decision to the Rhode Island Supreme Court. The appeal was rejected. In 2004, Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards canceled a fundraising appearance in Providence in support of the Local 799. In 2007, Hillary Clinton asked Cicilline, a Clinton supporter, not to attend a Clinton rally, because of threats by the union to picket the