Immigrants in Memphis Fear Arizona Immigration Laws are Coming
Reported by: Jackie Orozco
Email: JOrozco@abc24.com
Published: 3/31 6:05 pm
Updated: 10:29 am

MEMPHIS, TN -- After a set of immigration bills, including an Arizona-style measure, passed a Tennessee House subcommittee, immigrant families in Memphis are living in fear.

Three immigration type bills passed on Wednesday. House Bill 1378 will require Tennessee employers to use the federal "E-Verify" program to prove their employees are here legally. That bill will cost the state an annual $81,100 to fund. House Bill 1379 will affect state programs, like food stamps, TennCare, or unemployment insurance. In order to receive those benefits, applicants will need to prove their citizenship status. That bill carries a price tag of $1.5 million. The third bill, HB 1380, will give power to police to question a person's immigration status after being pulled over for any kind of traffic stop. That bill has a $3-million price tag.

Many undocumented immigrants tell abc24.com they understand they broke the law by crossing the border illegally but say they had no other choice. More than 52-thousand Latinos live in Shelby County. With a growing Latino community in the Mid-South, some that are here illegally are afraid of what's going on in the state house.

One woman says she crossed the border illegally two years ago. “Lorenaâ€