Pressure Increasing on Gov. Bill Haslam Among Critics, Backers of Danctuary Cities Bi
Pressure increasing on Gov. Bill Haslam among critics, backers of sanctuary cities bill
May 10, 2018
Joel Ebert
Carlos Uroza, pastor of Primera Igleslia Metodista Hispana in Nashville, meets with staff members to Gov. Bill Haslam on May 8 in an effort to encourage him to veto a bill related to sanctuary cities. Joel Ebert, USA TODAY NETWORK -
Tennessee
On April 5, Guadalupe Campos got an early morning phone call from one of her mother’s co-workers at a meatpacking factory in East Tennessee.
The co-worker told Campos that immigration officials had descended on the factory.
The 18-year-old immediately went to the plant and was denied access. She turned to a nearby National Guard Armory and got the same result. As immigration officials and family members of those inside the factory people descended on the area, Campos was desperate to find her mother, who left Mexico for the United States about 20 years ago.
“My heart dropped knowing that I could possibly not see my mom anymore,” said Campos, who is the eldest of four children, recalling her immediate reaction to the early morning call.
More: Daughter of detained immigrant worker wants Gov. Haslam to know life 'under threat of deportation'
The uncertainty lasted about eight hours. “It was devastating, not being able to help her in that situation,” said Campos, who was born in the United States.
Campos’ mother was one of 97 immigrants detained by federal immigration officials that day.
Her mother also was one of the 32 immigrants released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that day, according to the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition. The coalition is helping those impacted by the raid. Camlia Herrera, integration director with TIRRC, said many of those released were women or had medical conditions.
In the weeks since, there’s a growing concern that the fear sparked by the raid could spread statewideunless Gov. Bill Haslam vetoes a bill on his desk.
“If HB 2315 were to become law, I know a lot of people would not want to go out,” said Campos. “It’s terrifying for them.”
The legislation bans sanctuary cities in Tennessee and directs local law enforcement officials to comply with ICE requests to hold immigrants for purposes of deportation.
“People in our churches are fearful,” said Carlos Uroza, pastor at Primera Iglesia Metodista Hispana, a United Methodist congregation in Nashville.
This week Uroza and about a dozen clergy and lay people delivered a letter to Haslam to encourage his veto of the bill.
The United Methodist letter was one of many being sent to the governor encouraging him to veto the legislation. Others to write letters include TIRRC, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee.
On Thursday, another letter signed by 550 educators throughout the state was set to be delivered to Haslam.
Critics of the bill aren’t the only ones lobbying the governor. U.S. Rep. Diane Black and state Sen. Mark Green — who is the sponsor of the bill — are encouraging Haslam to sign the measure.
More: Sanctuary city bill critics hope rally, letters prompt Haslam veto
Critics point to issues in other states, saying ramifications from similar legislation should be warning signs for the governor to heed.
Similar legislation in other states
TIRRC co-director Stephanie Teatro talks about the demonstration against deportation held at Carson-Newman Brianna Paciorka, USA TODAY
NETWORK – Tennessee
Tennessee’s sanctuary cities bill was preceded by similar legislation in Arizona and Texas.
In 2010, Arizona passed SB 1070, which essentially required police to determine the immigration status of someone arrested or detained. A legal challenge made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which rejected sections of the law while leaving a portion that allowed law enforcement to investigate a person’s immigration status intact.
After Arizona introduced the bill, several other states saw similar proposals introduced.
Although Tennessee's sanctuary cities bill differs from Arizona's SB 1070, it is similar to one introduced in Texas last year.
Lawmakers in the Lone Star State approved SB 4, which allows local law enforcement officials to question the immigration status of people they detain or arrest. The law also threatens to punish any local officials with jail time or penalities if they don’t cooperate with federal immigration detainers.
Tennessee's bill differs in that it seeks to punish any agency or officials that violate the proposal by halting economic development funds.
In addition to Tennessee, a similar version of the sanctuary cities bill was introduced in the Georgia legislature this year, although it failed to make it through both chambers.
Melissa Keaney, staff attorney for the National Immigration Law Center, said such legislation has received new life in part because of President Donald Trump.
“These laws have been proposed for years, but I think that what we are seeing is an emboldening happening as a result of the Trump administration,” she said. "These types of proposals are...gaining new traction because of just the different climate that we’re currently in."
The climate is one that includes a rising number of illegal immigrant prosecutions, increasing deportations and more threats of withholding federal funds from sanctuary cities.
As recently as this week, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he was "not shedding any tears" over raids like the one in East Tennessee.
More: Attorney General Jeff Sessions rails on 'fuzzy-headed left' and immigration policies in Gatlinburg speech
Naomi Tsu, senior staff attorney for the Southern Poverty Law Center, said anti-sanctuary cities legislation might be spurred because some think the United States isn’t deporting people quickly enough.
"The easy way to require you to do this is to say you have to honor detainers – it’s simple, it’s clean. However, unfortunately for the sponsors, it’s also unconstitutional," she said.
Green, who said he came up with the idea for the bill and worked on it with far-right activist Bobby Patray, disagrees.
“It’s certainly not why we wrote the bill. We just want to protect Tennesseans and we do that by preventing a sanctuary city,” said Green, who has acknowledged there are none in Tennessee. “A sanctuary city creates an opportunity for a concentration of criminals.”
Green said he included the component related to ICE detainers because not mandating local law enforcement to comply with federal requests could lead to a sanctuary city.
“It’s a central aspect to being a sanctuary city – ignoring ICE detainers,” he said.
Constitutional issues
Although the Tennessee legislature overwhelmingly approved the bill, Haslam has previously said he wants to ensure there are no constitutional issues with the measure.
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Gov. Bill Haslam smiles as the American flag waves behind him during the announcement of Belgian bus company Van Hool building a factory in Morristown, Tenn. and creating more than 600 jobs, Thursday, April 12, 2018. (Photo: Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel)
More: With legislature adjourned, attention turns to Gov. Bill Haslam on bill banning sanctuary cities
Like the divergent views on the bill’s origins, there’s a divide on the issue of the proposal’s constitutionality.
Critics of the bill say it runs afoul of the state and federal Constitution. They point to the 4th Amendment, which protects both citizens and non-citizens from unreasonable search and seizures.
At issue is the difference between how ICE detainers are issued. Judicial detainers are issued by judges, who consider evidence before issuing a detainer, said Tsu.
But administrative detainers are issued without a judge's involement. su says that means those detainers do not meet the minimum requirements of probable cause.
Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, said people detained via administrative ICE detainers, however, do get due process.
“They don’t just snap them up and kick them out of the country,” he said.
Green and Keaney disagree on how courts have viewed the constitutionality of ICE detainers.
Ultimately, Tsu concluded, "If constitutionality is a key question, vetoing this bill should be a slam dunk for the governor."
Critics of the bill also note ICE detainers are occasionally issued in error, a point highlighted by Terry Ashe, executive director of the Tennessee Sheriffs' Association, when he spoke in a legislative committee last month.
A recent Los Angeles Times investigation found ICE wrongly identified at least 2,800 American citizens for deportation since 2002.
Boycotts, lawsuits and a chilling effect
Other states with similar measures experienced boycotts and protests.
Last year, the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators, which was scheduled to meet in Austin, relocated its convention to another state. Other groups also boycotted the state including the American Immigration Lawyers Associations, the American Hispanic Lawyers Association and the National Women’s Studies
In 2016, when Haslam approved a bill that allowed counselors to refuse to provide service to patientswho might be gay the state faced several boycotts.
Critics of the sanctuary cities bill also warn there’s the potential for multiple lawsuits.
In a May 4 letter addressed to Haslam, the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee cited a dozen court cases in which local jurisdictions from several states entered settlements totaling $1.2 million related to ICE detainers.
Keaney, the attorney for the National Immigration Law Center, said more than 500 jurisdictions around the country no longer hold individuals based on ICE detainers because of liability concerns.
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Family and friends of undocumented workers arrested in last month's ICE raid at the Southeastern Provision meat-packing plant in Bean Station, Tenn., demonstrate against immigration crackdowns and the Tennessee Legislature's passage of HB2315 at Carson-Newman University in Jefferson City on Friday, May 4, 2018. (Photo: Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel)
In Texas, several cities, including Dallas, Austin, Houston, El Paso, as well as Sheriffs and counties throughout the state joined together and filed a lawsuit to halt the bill from taking effect in September 2017. The case is still pending an appeal in federal court.
There’s also the possibility that those impacted by the bill will shy away from interacting with local police altogether.
Green scoffed at that idea, saying people can provide anonymous tips and those who “roll on somebody” can become eligible to receive legal status.
Campos, however, said there’s fear among community members – evidenced by the 500 children who stayed home from schools in Hamblen County after the East Tennessee raid.
“Police would be working with immigration and if someone were to get a speeding ticket and they ask for their license and registration they could possibly ask if they are a citizen,” she said.
“Many can’t go out to the store because they’re afraid they’re going to get pulled over.”
Mehlman said the legislation was “just good public policy.
“It protects public safety and it also is in accord with federal law, which says sanctuary policies are illegal and that no state or local government can forbid local employees from cooperating with ICE,” he said.
The sanctuary cities bill has still not reached Haslam’s desk. When it does, he has 10 days to sign, veto or allow it to become law without his signature.
https://www.tennessean.com/story/new...ill/589898002/
