Jeanfromfillmore
12-10-2010, 10:18 AM
Tennessee Considers Arizona-style Immigration Law
Published December 10, 2010
Tennessee’s legislators plan to consider a bill next year styled after Arizona’s SB 1070, even though the state already has strict laws targeting illegal immigrants.
State Sen. Bill Ketron and Rep. Joe Carr, both Republicans, are preparing a bill that criminalizes illegal immigrants and authorizes local law enforcement authorities to detain “any person” suspected of being in the country unlawfully.
“You can’t deny how [illegal immigration] is affecting us, from education to healthcare to the judicial system to incarceration, and more importantly the number of jobs it’s taken away,” Ketron said.
Like Tennessee, other nearby states, including North Carolina and South Carolina, have expressed an interest in starting out the new legislative session in 2011 reviewing measures similar to the law in Arizona, the first in the nation to criminalize being in the country unlawfully.
Tennessee, where foreign-born people account for roughly four percent of the total population, already has restrictive measures that will take effect on Jan. 1.
The most controversial is SB 1141/HB 670, which requires local jails -- despite no training, funds, supervision or access to federal immigration databases -- to verify the immigration status of all those detained. There is also a measure that allows businesses to insist that employees speak only English for “security and efficiency.”
During the vehement debate over the implementation of SB 1070 in Arizona, a group of Tennessee legislators sent a letter to that state’s governor, Jan Brewer, praising her for signing the bill into law.
Recently, another Tennessee legislator, Republican Curry Todd, who supports strict immigration measures, gained notoriety when he said that illegal immigrants “multiply like rats.”
Todd later apologized for the comment, but maintains his opposition to illegal immigration.
Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2010/12/10/tennessees-legislators-plan-consider-arizona-style-immigration-law/#ixzz17jnS3Blm
Carr still pushing bills on illegals
Tennessee Republican lawmakers are expanding a package of bills they say will be introduced in the coming month targeting illegal immigration, something critics maintain will sidetrack the General Assembly from focusing on creating jobs and improving the economy. State Rep. Joe Carr, R-Lascassas, and state Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, have already vowed to file a version of the controversial Arizona immigration law. The legislation, which is still a work in progress, would empower local police officers to check a person’s immigration status and enforce immigration law.
In addition to that legislation, Carr said he is hard at work on other immigration-related bills. One would require Tennessee employers to use the federal government’s E-Verify system to check a prospective employee’s legal work status. Another piece of legislation would require state agencies to use check a person’s immigration status before doling out state benefits such as financial aid for college students.
“I’ll be carrying a number of bills related to illegal immigration,” Carr said, noting that other states have passed similar measures in recent years. “We’ve got some catching up to do.”
State Rep. Gary Odom, D-Nashville, pointed out that there is already a law on the books punishing employers from knowingly hiring illegal labor. Odom also worried that rhetoric surrounding the immigration debate could hurt the state’s economy.
Arizona has suffered $141 million in lost tourism and business travel revenue, according to a study released last month by the Center for American Progress, a self-styled progressive think tank. Arizona lost meetings-related revenue from companies that took their business elsewhere in protest of the immigration law, according to the study.
“I think it’s the rhetoric that can be really dangerous to attracting large conventions to our state, if it appears the actions we’re taking are unreasonable,” Odom said. “I still believe the federal government should have the primary responsibility in handling immigration laws.”
Immigration advocates are worried that such legislation could hurt the Tennessee economy and provide a distraction from Gov.-elect Bill Haslam’s mission to focus on jobs.
A spokesman for the transition team emphasized Haslam’s focus would be on the economy, but left the door open on the issue of immigration.
“Gov.-elect Haslam is working diligently to put together his team and develop his agenda,” Haslam’s transition team spokesman David Smith said. “He has made it clear that his priorities will be jobs, education and the budget. But he stands ready to work with the legislature on issues they present.”
Constitutional concerns
Initially Carr and Ketron hoped to file a Tennessee version of the Arizona immigration law on Thursday. However, Carr said preparing the bill has required exhaustive review by legal counsel to ensure their legislation is constitutionally sound. The Arizona immigration law is under review by a federal Court of Appeals.
Similarly, the U.S. Supreme Court is considering another lawsuit this week regarding an Arizona law that requires employers to use E-Verify to ensure prospective employees are legal residents. Carr said he wants to bring the same law to Tennessee, and argued that lawmakers here should not sit on their hands while those lawsuits go through the court system. Carr said he believed Tennessee voters want to see new state laws dealing with illegal immigration.
“Too many times as legislators we allow courts to intimidate us into passing laws or not passing laws,” Carr said. “We want to craft legislation that is constitutionally sound and that responds to the will of the voters.”
Carr also is preparing legislation that would mandate state agencies to use a federal program called Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE. The program checks a person’s immigration status before handing out state benefits. Carr said he was especially concerned about state financial aid going to illegal immigrants.
“Those programs where taxpayer dollars are used, such as the Higher Education, should go to legal residents,” Carr said.
Nashville attorney Gregg Ramos, a prominent immigration advocate, said he believed Carr has focused too much time on immigration legislation at the expense of working on issues related to improving the state’s economy.
“What are these lawmakers going to focus on, what are they going to spend all their time on?” Ramos said. “If these legislators are going to spend all their time on these divisive issues, then the legislature is going to be totally sidetracked from focusing on what the governor-elect said should be the focus.”
http://www.tennessean.com/article/D4/20101210/NEWS01/101209024/Carr+still+pushing+bills+on+illegals
Published December 10, 2010
Tennessee’s legislators plan to consider a bill next year styled after Arizona’s SB 1070, even though the state already has strict laws targeting illegal immigrants.
State Sen. Bill Ketron and Rep. Joe Carr, both Republicans, are preparing a bill that criminalizes illegal immigrants and authorizes local law enforcement authorities to detain “any person” suspected of being in the country unlawfully.
“You can’t deny how [illegal immigration] is affecting us, from education to healthcare to the judicial system to incarceration, and more importantly the number of jobs it’s taken away,” Ketron said.
Like Tennessee, other nearby states, including North Carolina and South Carolina, have expressed an interest in starting out the new legislative session in 2011 reviewing measures similar to the law in Arizona, the first in the nation to criminalize being in the country unlawfully.
Tennessee, where foreign-born people account for roughly four percent of the total population, already has restrictive measures that will take effect on Jan. 1.
The most controversial is SB 1141/HB 670, which requires local jails -- despite no training, funds, supervision or access to federal immigration databases -- to verify the immigration status of all those detained. There is also a measure that allows businesses to insist that employees speak only English for “security and efficiency.”
During the vehement debate over the implementation of SB 1070 in Arizona, a group of Tennessee legislators sent a letter to that state’s governor, Jan Brewer, praising her for signing the bill into law.
Recently, another Tennessee legislator, Republican Curry Todd, who supports strict immigration measures, gained notoriety when he said that illegal immigrants “multiply like rats.”
Todd later apologized for the comment, but maintains his opposition to illegal immigration.
Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2010/12/10/tennessees-legislators-plan-consider-arizona-style-immigration-law/#ixzz17jnS3Blm
Carr still pushing bills on illegals
Tennessee Republican lawmakers are expanding a package of bills they say will be introduced in the coming month targeting illegal immigration, something critics maintain will sidetrack the General Assembly from focusing on creating jobs and improving the economy. State Rep. Joe Carr, R-Lascassas, and state Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, have already vowed to file a version of the controversial Arizona immigration law. The legislation, which is still a work in progress, would empower local police officers to check a person’s immigration status and enforce immigration law.
In addition to that legislation, Carr said he is hard at work on other immigration-related bills. One would require Tennessee employers to use the federal government’s E-Verify system to check a prospective employee’s legal work status. Another piece of legislation would require state agencies to use check a person’s immigration status before doling out state benefits such as financial aid for college students.
“I’ll be carrying a number of bills related to illegal immigration,” Carr said, noting that other states have passed similar measures in recent years. “We’ve got some catching up to do.”
State Rep. Gary Odom, D-Nashville, pointed out that there is already a law on the books punishing employers from knowingly hiring illegal labor. Odom also worried that rhetoric surrounding the immigration debate could hurt the state’s economy.
Arizona has suffered $141 million in lost tourism and business travel revenue, according to a study released last month by the Center for American Progress, a self-styled progressive think tank. Arizona lost meetings-related revenue from companies that took their business elsewhere in protest of the immigration law, according to the study.
“I think it’s the rhetoric that can be really dangerous to attracting large conventions to our state, if it appears the actions we’re taking are unreasonable,” Odom said. “I still believe the federal government should have the primary responsibility in handling immigration laws.”
Immigration advocates are worried that such legislation could hurt the Tennessee economy and provide a distraction from Gov.-elect Bill Haslam’s mission to focus on jobs.
A spokesman for the transition team emphasized Haslam’s focus would be on the economy, but left the door open on the issue of immigration.
“Gov.-elect Haslam is working diligently to put together his team and develop his agenda,” Haslam’s transition team spokesman David Smith said. “He has made it clear that his priorities will be jobs, education and the budget. But he stands ready to work with the legislature on issues they present.”
Constitutional concerns
Initially Carr and Ketron hoped to file a Tennessee version of the Arizona immigration law on Thursday. However, Carr said preparing the bill has required exhaustive review by legal counsel to ensure their legislation is constitutionally sound. The Arizona immigration law is under review by a federal Court of Appeals.
Similarly, the U.S. Supreme Court is considering another lawsuit this week regarding an Arizona law that requires employers to use E-Verify to ensure prospective employees are legal residents. Carr said he wants to bring the same law to Tennessee, and argued that lawmakers here should not sit on their hands while those lawsuits go through the court system. Carr said he believed Tennessee voters want to see new state laws dealing with illegal immigration.
“Too many times as legislators we allow courts to intimidate us into passing laws or not passing laws,” Carr said. “We want to craft legislation that is constitutionally sound and that responds to the will of the voters.”
Carr also is preparing legislation that would mandate state agencies to use a federal program called Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE. The program checks a person’s immigration status before handing out state benefits. Carr said he was especially concerned about state financial aid going to illegal immigrants.
“Those programs where taxpayer dollars are used, such as the Higher Education, should go to legal residents,” Carr said.
Nashville attorney Gregg Ramos, a prominent immigration advocate, said he believed Carr has focused too much time on immigration legislation at the expense of working on issues related to improving the state’s economy.
“What are these lawmakers going to focus on, what are they going to spend all their time on?” Ramos said. “If these legislators are going to spend all their time on these divisive issues, then the legislature is going to be totally sidetracked from focusing on what the governor-elect said should be the focus.”
http://www.tennessean.com/article/D4/20101210/NEWS01/101209024/Carr+still+pushing+bills+on+illegals