Thread: TN: Bills on immigrants sure to be difficult

http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/state/artic ... 42,00.html

Bills on immigrants sure to be difficult
State lawmakers already debating merits of proposed measures

By TOM HUMPHREY, tomhumphrey3@aol.com
March 4, 2007


NASHVILLE - Quarreling and confusion surround an effort to require that state driver's license tests be given in English, perhaps providing a prelude of what's to come on a host of bills dealing with illegal immigration.
"I think this will set the tone for how we deal with other bills on illegal immigration," said Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, sponsor of the license testing bill that faces a Senate floor vote Monday night.

If so, the tone may be discordant.

Lawmakers have filed more than 30 bills this session that address some aspect of illegal immigration.

A few appear to have bipartisan support.

Some raise constitutional and jurisdictional questions. Rep. Stacey Campfield, R-Knoxville, for example, is proposing a 25 percent tax on money sent to a foreign country from Tennessee by a person who cannot prove he or she is legally living in the state.


Politics and finger-pointing As originally introduced, Ketron's bill would have flatly declared that driver's license exams can be in English only. Currently the state allows tests to be taken in Japanese, English, Korean and Spanish.

As amended, it now merely "codifies the current practice," Ketron told colleagues last week. In other words, the tests could continue to be given in the four languages, provided the applicant has a document showing he or she is in the country legally.

Gov. Phil Bredesen describes the bill as "kind of senseless, not doing anything." His legislative liaison, Robert Gowan, sent lawmakers an e-mail message opposing the measure.

"I see these things as having a political posturing component to them," Bredesen said Friday.

The governor echoed criticism from Matt Kisber, commissioner of economic and community development, who said the bill "sends the wrong message" to international companies being recruited to invest in Tennessee.

Kisber's comments came as the state lost to Mississippi in an effort to land a new Toyota plant. Kisber said Toyota officials never mentioned the bill, but the consul general of Japan did bring up the subject on another occasion.

Ketron said Kisber was trying to find a "scapegoat" to blame for Tennessee's failure to win the Toyota plant.

House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, like Bredesen a Democrat, said the bill is pointless and Ketron is merely "trying to get his name in the paper."

"They're being irrational about this," countered Republican Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, contending that the bill is needed to make what is now merely "policy" a matter of law.

Ramsey also said that the current practice appears to violate a law enacted in 1984 that declares English the official language of Tennessee. That law says that "all communications and publications" produced by governmental entities in Tennessee "shall be in English."

He also noted that Kisber, a state representative at the time, voted for the 1984 bill and that Naifeh was a co-sponsor.

Despite the criticism, the bill, SB201, is widely expected to pass the Republican-controlled Senate.

"I would hope the House has a lot better sense," said Naifeh, predicting it will die in that chamber, which is controlled by the Democrats.


Lots of bills, lots of controversy


A similar fate - passing one chamber but not the other - may await most if not all of at least 34 other immigrant-related bills pending.

Some of the bills may be subject to legal challenge and others to political challenges.

Rep. Mike Turner, D-Nashville, acknowledges that there may be legal controversy over his proposal to declare it a crime for an illegal immigrant to "receive compensation for performing work in this state."

The immigrant's earnings, or property he or she bought with them, would then be subject to seizure by authorities, just as proceeds from illegal drug sales are now.

Campfield said his bill to tax money sent by someone who cannot prove legal residency is "only taxing people who aren't paying any taxes."

He said he thinks the proposal is legally valid because it is modeled after a law already on the books in Georgia. Or, if it isn't valid yet, he said it will be after he revises it with a pending amendment.

Tim Amos, lobbyist for the Tennessee Bankers Association, said he believes the proposal would run afoul of federal laws and violate international trade agreements.

Amos also said the bill is a bad idea, the type of legislation that tends to cause concern for foreigners considering investments in Tennessee.

At least six bills propose to levy fines on employers who hire illegal immigrants, but critics say federal law currently blocks states from such actions. Current federal law already provides for fines of up to $10,000 for hiring an illegal immigrant.

A few bills have bipartisan sponsorship.

Democrat Turner, for example, is working with Sen. Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville, in sponsoring a bill that would outlaw transporting illegal immigrants into the state. Those caught would be subject to a $1,000 fine for each person transported.

Burchett said the bill is aimed not so much at the immigrants themselves but at those who transport them, charging "outrageous fees" and "stacking people like cordwood" into buses or vans.

Bredesen, asked what, if any, legislation addressing illegal immigration should be approved by the General Assembly this year, said he did not know.

But he offered a general theme:

"Let's put our efforts to stopping illegal immigration and not just making the state known as a place that's not friendly to its visitors."

http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/state/artic ... 72,00.html

Top ingredient in illegal-immigrant bills: punishment
By News Sentinel staff
March 4, 2007


NASHVILLE -- Penalties appear to be the most popular way of dealing with illegal immigration this legislative term.
Proposed punishments range from revocation of business licenses to fines of anywhere from $250 to $50,000 on those who employ illegal immigrants. Some legislators, however, say such proposals may not be enforceable because federal law pre-empts state laws on the subject.

Two bills, one from the Democrats and one from the Republicans, would block illegal immigrants from collecting workers' compensation benefits.

A sampling of some other bills dealing with illegal immigrants:

* HB7333/SB205 would require proof of "lawful presence" in the state prior to receiving any public benefits with government employees required to verify the proof.

* HB409/SB1611 would require proof of citizenship be furnished when registering to vote.

* Three bills carry the title "Tennessee Immigration Compliance Act" and would require law enforcement officers to check the residential status of those arrested for DUI or felonies and would restrict public benefits to illegal immigrants. One with Republican sponsors is HB880/SB1057; a Democrat-sponsored version is HB1016/SB576.

* HB600/SB193 would make it a crime to bring an illegal immigrant into Tennessee, with the punishment set at $1,000 per person.

* HB429/SB931 would revoke state business tax credits or exemptions received by those employing illegal immigrants.