AT A GLANCE
HB 2685: Authorizes employers to require an employee to speak, or an applicant for employment to agree to speak, English while engaged in work, if it's based on business or safe workplace and the employer notifies employees of the requirement and the consequences of violating it. Gov. Bredesen signed the bill on June 23.
HB 670/SB 1141: Local jails are required to check whether arrestees brought to them are legally in the United States. Gov. Bredesen signed the bill on June 28.
HJR 1253: Tennessee legislators approved a resolution commending Arizona for SB1070. On June 22 it was returned by Gov. Bredesen without signature.
Source: Tennessee General Assembly, Chattanooga Times Free Press archives
It shouldn't come as a surprise if next year Tennessee and Georgia draft their own versions of the Arizona legislation considered the most restrictive immigration law in the country, several state lawmakers said.
"I pray that we will have the votes to do something meaningful next year that will address the illegal immigration problem," said state Rep. Richard Floyd, R-Chattanooga. "I would like to see more stringent penalties for those who hire the illegal (immigrants), those who rent to them, those who provide haven cities or ministries for them."
In Georgia, Senate Transportation Chairman Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, announced he will co-author legislation that will provide for greater enforcement of federal illegal immigration laws.
"Those who are residing illegally are breaking the law and utilizing resources that should be for those who obtain legal residency," Sen. Mullis said in a news release. "Businesses, local governments and our university system must comply with federal and state illegal immigration laws to relieve wasteful spending and get legal residents and Georgians back to work."
The Arizona law makes it a state crime to be in the country without authorization and allows police to check the papers of people they stop or arrest.
Last week the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Arizona challenging the immigration law, but that's not deterring local lawmakers from supporting stricter laws locally.
"Shame on the Department of Justice and the Obama administration for suing one of our states for doing nothing but protecting their borders, shame on, shame on," said Rep. Floyd. "I hope more states in this country will have the fortitude to pass the same law and let Obama sue the rest of us."
Tennessee lawmakers this year passed bills allowing employers to require workers or applicants to speak English in some cases and to require law officers to check the immigration status of people who are arrested. They also passed a resolution supporting Arizona's law.
GEORGIA LED THE WAY
In 2006, Georgia passed what then was considered to be among the toughest immigration enforcement laws, the Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act.
The law made it tougher for illegal immigrants to access health care, higher education and public benefits. It also required the verification of legal status for those applying for state and local benefits and for those who work for a business doing government work.
Lawmakers this year put more teeth in the bill, D.A. King, president of the Dustin Inman Society, a group opposed to illegal immigration, has said.
Immigration continues to be a wedge issue in politics, according to Elias Feghali, spokesman for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition.
"Immigrants, especially in Tennessee, are a minority. ... A significant percentage of them cannot vote yet, so essentially politicians are unaccountable to them and so it's very easy to scapegoat immigrants," he said. "It's very easy to draft legislation that targets immigrants."
But he added that a lot of the bills his organization considered to be anti-immigrant were defeated. That includes a bill to require English-only driver's license exams that has been introduced annually since 2005.
Ever since Arizona passed the law, immigration reform has returned to the forefront of the debate.
"Arizona made it a more political issue, a nationwide discussion. It led to a lot of activity in the Legislature over the last couple of months," said Tennessee Sen. Andy Berke, D-Chattanooga.
"I don't think the problem is going to be solved at federal level in next few months, and I would expect to see more bills next year in the Legislature," he added.
State Rep. Jim Cobb, R-Spring City, said several lawmakers plan to present a Tennessee House resolution supporting Arizona's law to that state's governor, Jan Brewer.
"(The resolution) didn't have any teeth to it, but it sends a message of our support and endorsement of what Arizona did," he said.
Sen. Berke, who voted for the two bills that passed this session, said he voted against the resolution.
"We certainly need to combat the problem of illegal immigration," he said. "We can do that, however, without racial profiling."
FEDERAL FAILURES
The Arizona law is "an excuse to justify hate and racism," said America Gruner, president of the Coalition of Latino Leaders in Dalton, Ga.
"And now it has become part of the political game for election purposes, since most of the candidates are promoting themselves using this issue," she said.
"We need to recognize that the immigration system as it is now, it's broken and it needs to be fixed, while the values of justice and dignity are respected, as well as basic human rights are honored."
What both sides of the debate agree on is that the federal government has failed to act.
"It's a federal government's responsibility to keep illegal immigrants out, and they apparently don't want to do that and don't want anyone else to keep illegal immigrants out," said retiring Georgia Sen. Don Thomas, R-Dalton.
Tennessee Reps. Cobb and Floyd both said they are not opposed to immigration, but they are against illegal immigration.
"I think that Tennessee welcomes legal immigration, and we don't intend to tolerate people (who are not legal citizens) coming in and taking advantage of our health system, our highways, our roads, our jobs," said Rep. Cobb.
While Sen. Berke agrees that illegal immigration is a problem, he is not sure state laws are the solution.
"Illegal immigration is a true national security issue. The federal government has failed us in dealing with it and they should be the primary source of fixing it," he said.
Continue reading by following these links to related stories:
Article: Bill would require jailers to check immigration status
Article: Bredesen says he didn’t think immigration bill was necessary
Article: Candidates criticize challenge to Arizona immigration law
Article: $500K donated to Arizona to defend law
Article: District 9 Senate candidates share views on immigration
Click here to vote in our daily poll: Is illegal immigration a problem in this area?
Perla Trevizo joined the Chattanooga Times Free Press in 2007 and covers immigration/diversity issues and higher education. She holds a master’s degree in newswire journalism from Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid, Spain, and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Texas. She was selected as an International Reporting Fellow by the International Center for Journalists and in 2009 received an honorable mention for her story “Families Broken Apart” from the Tennessee ...
There's a shop in Ringgold that sells illegals fake drivers licenses.
I'm sure if Ringgold has them, cities in TN surely have them.
This law could send the white folk back to Europe
"The Arizona law makes it a state crime to be in the country without authorization and allows police to check the papers of people they stop or arrest."
It does a WHOLE LOT more than that, Ms Trevizo. I would suggest you read the law itself in its entirety before making such a limited remark and represent it as being the entire law. It isn't.
It punishes traffickers, employers, those who harbor or protect illegal ALIENS, even those who block traffic to hire them. Those ILLEGALS do not rate the title "immigrants" -- immigrants are honorable people who respect both the law and the customs of our country. Illegal ALIENS respect neither...and they deserve nothing in return.
As for those loudmouth groups who seek to give ILLEGAL ALIENS and other law-breakers instant protection...well, the best I can say is they are so full of BS their eyes are brown.
Those same loud-mouths are running scared in Arizona [and soon here in TN/GA] -- because the law will also punish THEM for aiding, harboring, and protecting illegal ALIENS...that's the loud-mouths' REAL agenda. And the punishment won't just be deportation...
NO AMNESTY----CLOSE/SECURE THE BORDERS---ENFORCE OUR IMMIGRATION LAWS---END AUTOMATIC CITIZENSHIP.
Bookmark these GREAT sites.
www.americanpatrol.com
www.numbersusa.com
www.alipac.org
We are all Arizona citizens today.
If Arizona wins, every state in the country wins.
If Arizona loses, we all lose.
Gov Brewer and Russell Pearce said that they will take this the entire way to the Supreme Court. However, so will Obama/Holder if they lose.
Arizona cannot have its Attorney General defend its laws/state----as he is an open borders, illegal supporting, loony left liberal.
Therefore, please donate $25-$50 to Arizona's Legal Defense Fund. Do it for your children/grandchildren.
www.keepazsafe.com
URGENT RED FLAG.
A KEY CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE WILL HAVE HEARING WEDNESDAY ON THE 'ETHICAL IMPERATIVE' TO PASS AN AMNESTY. 25 million Americans who want a full-time job cannot find one. But the leaders of the House immigration subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee is bringing in some big name preachers Wednesday to talk about the ethical need to give permanent work permits to 7-8 million illegal alien workers while refusing to open up the jobs for millions of unemployed Americans. These congressional leaders' misuse of religion to justify their greedy desire for cheap new labor and cheap new voters cries out for an immediate response. , START CALLING AGAIN FIRST THING ON TUESDAY MORNING.
It is so important that these callous Members of Congress know how repulsive their anti-U.S.-worker actions are to the electorate.
Call your Representative at 202-224-3121 and demand their support of the state of Arizona or see the door in coming elections. Get all the answers not lies at NumbersUSA.
Eric Holder inquisitor to President Obama has filed a federal lawsuit, to immobilize Arizona laws that would have promoted in cleaning out drug dealers, skin slavers and illegal aliens by the hundreds of thousands. Americans must stop the rampage and carnage in this border state, that has suddenly been illuminated by the Arizona policing law SB 1070. Governor Brewer has the majority of Americans on her side, whereas the Liberal progressives are trying to turn Arizona into a cesspool just like the Sanctuary State of California. So the resonating question is, if Arizona's law is unconstitutional, then how come they have not sent ICE and federal Marshals with a writ to crush the policies implemented in San Francisco and California as Sanctuary Cities? If this is not a brazen violation of Federal immigration law, then what is? Doesn't it say that aiding and abetting illegal aliens imposes heavy fines and imprisonment? Federal Immigration and Nationality Act Section 8 USC 1324(a)(1)(A)(iv)(b)(iii)
These cities are not the only violators of this "Rule of Law" So how come the federal government is not putting in handcuffs, Mayor Gavin Newson and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other Mayors and Governors across the country? I guess when you have a big pile of Liberal extremist running the show, this law is quite computable with their ideology to run the US into the ground. It should be remembered that the administrations opened up this can of worms, that they should have left well alone? In November and any upcoming election the Tea Party and a giant slice of moderate conservatives, independents and even a few Democrats-Republicans, will be actively engaged in throwing out pro-amnesty politicians. Remember that those politicians in Washington and state level, along with Governors, Mayors and officials must be driven out of office, beginning with pro-amnesty Sen.Reid in the November primary election. Many other states are contemplating another policing law like Arizona's, which will put a huge burden on pro-amnesty, anti-American, Anti-sovereignty open border entities who have sold their political votes to business consortium's and special interest lobbyists.
This is all theater. The people who employ illegal aliens, along with Hispanic opportunist, don't want fugitive status taken away. Both groups know that fugitives from the law are much easier to take advantage of.
It would wipe out billions of dollars in income for the coyotes, false document peddlers, shyster lawyers, and most importantly, professional illegal alien advocates.
The employers have everything just the way they like it too. They educate the illegal aliens on obtaining government handouts, dumping what should be their cost on helpless taxpayers - in Georgia, almost $10,000 per year for schooling each illegal alien offspring, alone.
It is professional wrastling - the politicians are sock puppets - professional actors/liars. It is all posturing for votes - with zero substance.
This announcement by Mullis that he will co-author a bill is nothing more than a cheap press move. It allows him to get his name in the paper and other media outlets while not costing him a dime and not giving his opponents equal oppurtunities to be in the paper. This would be like saying I am going to go deer hunting this year. Who cares right now i can't go until the fall. I can understand smaller papers doing and article on this press release but not this one. How about this quote from the Inman society last year. http://thedustininmansociety.org/blog/?p=3079 "Three Georgia Republican state Senators join GALEO’s Nan Orrock (D), La Raza and the ACLU and some of the Democrat minority on the Senate Public Safety committee in endorsing a repeat of the 1986 amnesty for illegal aliens - Vote “YES DO PASS” on Senate Resolution 570........ Yesterday, state Senators John Crosby (R- Tifton District 13), Johnny Grant (R- Milledgeville District 25) and Jeff Mullis (R- Chickamauga District 53) joined some of the Dems on the committee and voted “YES, Do Pass” on a Resolution introduced by Senator Nan Orrock ( Democrat Senator Freddie Powell Sims voted “NO” ) endorsing “Comprehensive Immigration Reform”"
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