Anti-immigration Bills Advance Amid Criticism

A state House committee approved three anti-immigration measures Tuesday night, including one which critics say is modeled on a controversial Arizona law.

Murfreesboro Representative Joe Carr got his bills out of the House State and Local Government Committee in a late afternoon session.

One, dubbed an “Arizona copycat law” by the American Civil Liberties Union, came in for special condemnation. It would allow police to question the legal status of anyone they stop. Tennessee ACLU director Hedy Weinberg:

“Bottom line, it betrays American values and equality. It encourages racial profiling.”

Under the proposed law, a law enforcement officer would make an “instant check” by computer or telephone to the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency if they have “reasonable suspicion” that the detainee is an illegal alien.

Representative Carr says it’s not a “stop and frisk” law.

“The only way that law enforcement can make the …determination as to the legal status is in the course of… an otherwise made lawful stop.”

Carr says officers will be trained by the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission, the “POST” Commission, before being allowed to enforce the new law.

The committee also approved a bill requiring employers to use the federal “E-verify” system, to be sure that the name and Social Security number given by a job applicant matches someone in the federal government’s data base. The other approved measure would bar illegal immigrants from receiving government benefits.

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The bills are:
HB 1378 Carr/SB1669 Tracy, the Tennessee Lawful Employment Act (E-verify).

In the House the bill now goes to the Government Operations Committee. In the Senate it has been sent to the Senate Finance Committee.

Business lobbyists have complained that the bill will be difficult to comply with, and the system being used is not a lot better than the verification step they are already using to clock their new hires into the Social Security system.

Carr hadn’t slowed down for the business complaints, but Tuesday night he hinted that the governor might be leaning in the direction of the businesses.

“We are working with the governor’s staff. The governor’s staff has some legitimate concerns that we don’t unnecessarily inhibit economic activity in the state. …I still believe that we’re, at best, in a very lethargic economy, but more probably still in a recession. And we’ve still got over 9 percent unemployment. That’s way too high. So anything we do with regard to any of these three pieces of legislation, we don’t want to create the environment where we’re not business-friendly.”

But Carr stayed by his basic argument, presented all session – illegal immigrants are taking jobs that rightfully should go to Tennesseans.

“We want to stand up for the rights of lawful workers to work in this state, and lawful business who want to employ those lawful workers, and not allow them to be unnecessarily displaced because somebody is an illegal immigrant who happens to work cheaper, and …the employer won’t pay those taxes.”

HB 1379 Carr/SB 1325 Johnson, “Eligibility Verification for Entitlements Act.

In the House it goes to Government Operations. In the Senate it is in the Senate State and Local Government Committee.

HB 1380 Carr/SB 780 Ketron, the Lawful Immigration Enforcement Act.

In the House it goes to the House Finance Committee. In the Senate it is in the Judiciary Committee.

This is the bill most closely related to last year’s Arizona state law that aims at controlling illegal immigration.

The ACLU’s Weinberg says the bill doesn’t spell out what “reasonable suspicion” can allow an officer to hold a citizen for ICE identification.

“We question exactly what criteria will be used. And we can only believe the officer will look at the law enforcement officer will look at the color of the skin of tdhe person, the accent of the person, the sound of his voice, his language skills, to determine whether or not there is reasonable suspicion.”