New Tennessee Illegal Immigrant Law: Arizona On My Mind
Whether nor not we Tennesseans agree with the spate of new laws which have recently gone into effect in Arizona, our state legislators have now added our state to the controversy. Previously, if a person was arrested for an offense, their immigration status has not been researched in depth by our jailers statewide. For example, in Chattanooga the documentation of inmates has been routinely referred to ICE (Immigration Customs Enforcement) for a check on whether or not the person is in the United States legally. As of July 1, 2010, this pattern will become mandatory for all jails throughout our state.
At the end of this legislative session, T.C.A., sec 40-7-123 was enacted. This new law requires all jailers to make a fax or other referral to ICE for any detainee whose documentation does not clearly establish that person's legal right to be in the United States.
§ 40-7-123. When a person is arrested for any offense and is confined, for any period, in the jail of the county or any municipality, a reasonable effort to review documents in the possession of the prisoner shall be made to assess the citizenship status of the person so confined. If the keeper of the jail or other officer cannot determine the lawful status of the prisoner from the documents in the possession of the prisoner or if it is determined that the person is not lawfully present in the United States, pursuant to the federal Immigration and Naturalization Act, compiled in 8 U.S.C. § 1101 et seq., the keeper of the jail or other officer shall notify the United States department of homeland security by facsimile transmission or other appropriate means.
One can only suppose that this new law will be evenly applied to all those detained. However, consider a scenario where a caucasian female who was born in, say, Bartlett is arrested without any identification showing that she is a U.S. citizen. Now think about the same set of facts for a physician born in Brazil who has dark skin.
The constitutional implications of this statute can and, I am sure will be, debated in the years to come. However, the question comes to my mind respecting the training that will be given to a jailer to carry out a "reasonable effort" to investigate such a person. Or, will this be another ill conceived law that results in a lawsuit which gains a life of its own. Most cases that get to the United States Supreme Court take years to arrive in Washington. Will this enforcement statute be any different?
I have found ICE agents to be over worked and under paid. Should we heap another job onto such an already burdened agency? But perhaps most importantly, will this become a safe harbor for abuse by a bored jailer on a hot Saturday night in the delta?
