Thread: Tenn. Rep. Joe Carr wants preemptive immigration law

Carr wants preemptive immigration law
August 17th, 2010 11:29 pm

Tennessee Rep. Joe Carr , R-Lascassas, said Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer had one question for him.

The question was "Why?"

"I'm talking to her, and she says, 'Representative Carr, I appreciate you and the delegation being here, but I've got to ask you something.' I said, 'What's that, governor?' She said, 'Why?' I said, 'Excuse me?' She asked, 'Why are you doing this? You are the only state delegation to come to Arizona and visit us, to take the time and effort to do this. Why?'"

Carr said he just came right out with it:

"Governor, Tennesseans were with Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans in 1814. We were at the Alamo in 1836. We got Alvin York in World War I. It's in our blood. When we feel like something is really the right thing to do, we'll fight, which is what we do. It's in our DNA. It's why we're the Volunteer State. We're out here of our own accord. It's out of our own pocket. Because it's the right thing to do.

"She was really humbled by that. But it's the truth."

Carr was recounting this week the trip he and eight other Tennessee legislators made in July to Arizona, where they showed support for Arizona's SB1070, the legislation that made it a statute to enforce immigration law that the federal government would not.

The Tennessee group presented to Brewer HJR1253, the resolution passed by the Tennessee General Assembly to express its support for Arizona. Arizona's law requires immigrants to carry authorization papers and requires law enforcement officers to check the status of those they believe are in the country illegally.

The Arizona law has provoked quite a backlash, including legal action against Arizona by the federal government. Critics have ripped the Arizona law as a sign of bigotry and insisted it would lead to racial profiling, although backers of the law say it has specific safeguards on that count. When Tennessee lawmakers decided to publicly express support for Arizona, the issue became a major dust-up in the state. Many Tennesseans saw it as grandstanding and are still asking why Tennessee felt compelled to dive into Arizona's business.

Carr has taken heat for his stand. He led HJR1253 and, history lessons aside, the Tennessee action still has many people bewildered as to why Tennessee felt the need to wade into the battle in Arizona. Carr is undeterred.

In fact, Carr this week said legislation is being crafted now for Tennessee that would be similar to the law in Arizona. Carr is prepared to carry the legislation, if he is re-elected, which looks like a probability, although he says if others want to step forward they should do so.

Democrat David LaRoche, Carr's opponent in November, appears to have a very different take on that.

LaRoche is a Murfreesboro attorney. His campaign Web site starts right off on issues by saying, "I am committed to working hard on the issues that are most important to my constituents and ignoring national agendas or controversies that only have a distant impact on Rutherford County. The 'bread and butter' issues of Rutherford County deserve my strongest attention."

That's a diplomatic way of saying Carr is way off base. And LaRoche will find many people who agree with him.

But it doesn't diminish Carr's determination.

"Here's the problem," Carr said. "This is the dirty little secret on this issue. The question is this: In the event the federal government refuses to uphold its constitutional authority and obligation, in this case enforcing the border, what then is the responsibility of the state or states that feel the burden of that lack of responsibility on the part of the federal government?

"As an elected official, I swore an oath, just like those elected officials. They swore an oath to uphold their state constitution and the federal Constitution. We have an Obama administration policy -- and to be honest the administration before it -- of not adequately enforcing the law."

Carr went on the trip with Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro; Sen. Jack Johnson, R-Franklin; Rep. Jim Cobb, R-Spring City; Rep. Richard Floyd, R-Chattanooga; Rep. Jimmy Matlock, R-Lenoir City; Rep. Tony Shipley, R-Kingsport; Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver, R-Lancaster; and Rep. Mark White, R-Memphis.

"To my knowledge, all nine members of the delegation who went out there went on their own dime," Carr said. "I wrote a check. I know I did. I paid for my own airfare. Paid for my hotel and amenities. There were nine of us."

Brewer might not know it, but she has been maybe the most popular figure at Tennessee Republican Party events this year. Anytime her name has come up, Brewer gets applause. It is all at once a statement about immigration and an amazing display of passion about something going on on the other side of the country.

But it's not only about Brewer. Carr speaks with reverence about Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce, who wrote the immigration law that passed in April.

"It was great," Carr said of the trip. "It exceeded expectations, for several reasons. We went out there for several reasons. Number one, we went out there to present the resolution with Governor Brewer and Senator Pearce. We talked to his staff about how they went about constructing the language.

"We got to see first hand the magnitude of the problem down there. We didn't get to spend a lot of time away from Phoenix, but we got to see just how difficult the problem is for a state that has over a half-million illegal aliens, costing them anywhere from $2.4 billion to $2.7 billion a year."

Carr said he is well aware that Tennessee's problem is not of that size.

"But if we're not careful, we could experience a problem of similar magnitude. That's why we want to be preemptive in the way we construct our language, to make sure it passes the test of the federal government but at the same time challenging the federal government that it needs to enforce the federal law," Carr said.

The Arizona trip made clear impression on Carr.

"Governor Brewer is a very busy person. She's in demand. I expected to meet her but only briefly. She spent an hour with us," Carr said. "We talked in detail about a variety of things involving the issue. That was educational. I didn't expect the time and attention from Senator Pearce and his staff in discussing at-length how the legislation was constructed and the background involved in doing that.

"Later there was the memorial service for men and women who served to protect our borders who died while doing that. We were out there for 32 hours. It was time well spent."

Nine lawmakers. Flying across the country. Taking up another state's issue. The only state delegation to do so. Doesn't make a lot of sense. Then you look at the Mason Dixon poll conducted in July for the Tennessee Newspaper Network, comprised of the state's largest newspapers, and 72 percent of voters in Tennessee say they would support an immigration law similar to that in Arizona.

www.examiner.com

Added to Homepage:
http://www.alipac.us/article-5572--0-0.html

GO TENNESSEE! GO ARIZONA! GO STATES!

Our 50 states have 800,000 trained, experienced, sworn police officers with vehicles, helicopters, radios, video cameras, weapons, jails, magistrates and courts at their disposal, already bought and paid for.

If each one on average arrested 5 illegal aliens every month, that's 12 million illegal aliens off the streets every quarter. If our states would kist do that, then we'll solve the illegal immigration problem in less than a year, once and for all.

When people claim we can't deport all the illegal aliens presently in the United States, they're wrong, because of course we can, because our states can and should.

Yes Judy, The states could. Then we have states aiding
illegals with drivers licences. Shame on them.

Originally Posted by airdale

Yes Judy, The states could. Then we have states aiding
illegals with drivers licences. Shame on them.

Yes, shame, shame, shame on them, airdale. Time for their citizens to wake up and demand an end to issuing drivers licenses to illegal aliens.