Providence Journal political reporter Scott MacKay's temporary assignment as a political columnist has come to an abrupt end after his Tuesday column cited a disconnect between some politicians' emphasis on illegal immigration and its actual impact in Rhode Island.

The move, in which MacKay was filling in for vacationing political columnist M.

Karen Lee Ziner has an excellent story in today's Sunday ProJo, revealing the role played in 2006 by the national Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) in helping to launch Rhode Islanders for Immigration Law Enforcement (RIILE).

FAIR credited Sandra Gunn, then the organization’s Eastern field representative, with helping launch a host of such groups in New England.