Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee enacted a law on Thursday defining requirements for law enforcement officers within the state to work with federal immigration authorities when they encounter illegal immigrant suspects.
The Republican-led bill passed in the Tennessee state House in March and in the state Senate last week. Mr. Lee signed the bill into law on April 11, and it goes into effect on July 1.
Bill Comes Amid Growing US Immigration Challenges
The Tennessee state legislation comes about amid record-high numbers of illegal immigrant encounters along the U.S. borders in recent years.In January, the Republican-led U.S. House Judiciary Committee estimated federal immigration authorities had proactively released around 3.3 million inadmissible aliens into the United States in the first three years of President Joe Biden’s administration.
What The Tennessee Law Will Do
Tennessee Republican state Sen. Brent Taylor, the bill’s Senate sponsor, insisted this legislation does not require local law enforcement agencies to proactively look for suspected illegal immigrants, but simply requires them to notify federal immigration authorities when they do encounter such illegal immigrant suspects.
“This is not going down and hunting somebody who looks Hispanic, pulling them over and demanding papers,” Mr. Taylor said.
The new legislation would essentially preempt municipalities within the state from declaring themselves as “sanctuary” jurisdictions, a term used to describe local governments that intentionally limit or outright refuse to assist federal immigration authorities, namely U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in finding and detaining illegal immigrations who may be eligible for deportation.
Critics of the new bill have warned that it could make illegal immigrants hesitant to report criminal activity or otherwise avoid interactions with law enforcement officials in the state.
“We rely on members of our community, including immigrants, some of whom are victims, others witnesses, for cooperation and information to further investigations,” Metro Nashville Police Department spokesperson Don Aaron said as the bill advanced through the state House last month. “The concern is this legislation could dissuade cooperation with our officers among some Nashville residents.”
How many fewer illegal immigrants in Tennessee will choose to interact with law enforcement officials in the state remains to be seen. A legislative fiscal analysis for the bill says “most, if not all, law enforcement agencies already communicate with the federal government regarding an individual’s immigration status,” citing information from the Tennessee police and sheriffs associations.
