http://www.thedailytimes.com/sited/story/html/262446

State Republicans propose solutions on immigration
2006-08-09
by Lesli Bales-Sherrod
of The Daily Times Staff

Illegal immigration is the first issue state Republicans pledge to tackle as part of their ``Tennessee Trust'' campaign.

Sen. Raymond Finney of Maryville was one of seven legislators and two candidates who signed a copy of the ``trust'' at a Knoxville press conference on Tuesday.

``Illegal immigration is a problem because it is illegal,'' Finney said. ``We are a nation of immigrants. We come from many nations and many races. All are welcome. But a country without secure borders is no longer sovereign.''

The state Republican Caucus proposes several solutions to illegal immigration including:

* Training for the Tennessee Highway Patrol pertaining to the detaining and processing of illegal immigrants, and developing a cooperative agreement between the state and federal governments to address immigration issues.

* Requiring proof of citizenship before being allowed to register to vote.

* Issuing driver's licenses only to legal immigrants and Tennessee residents.

* Giving Tennessee driver's license exams in English only.

* Requiring citizenship to receive nonemergency state-funded services.

``These are common-sense, workable solutions,'' Finney said. ``Of all the e-mails I get, illegal immigration is the No. 2 issue on their minds. They want us to secure our borders.''

Lee Johnson of the Halls Republican Club agreed.

``This is a good first step,'' said Johnson, who was one of a couple of citizens at the press conference. ``I'm just a private citizen, and I think it's gotten out of hand. These people are criminals.''

Safety also an issue

Rep. Stacey Campfield of Knoxville called giving Tennessee driver's license exams in English only ``really a safety issue.''

He talked about drivers who do not read English needing to be able to read signs such as ``hidden driveway,'' ``blind curve'' and ``road closed.'' Campfield said not being able to read signs such as these could lead to accidents and, in fact, already have.

Meanwhile, Rep. William Baird of Jacksboro talked about the importance of training the Tennessee Highway Patrol to assist the federal government in enforcing immigration laws.

``We're not interested in setting up raids,'' he said. ``But in the everyday scope of their work, they should be able to handle (illegal immigrants), whereas in the past, they have given them tickets and then turned them loose.''

These and other immigration reform initiatives passed the Republican-controlled Senate in the 104th General Assembly, but were defeated in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives, noted Rep. Harry Brooks of Knoxville.

``We were frustrated with our inability to move them through the House,'' he said. ``But we had some very close votes on the floor, and we are determined to bring these issues back up.''

Other ``Tennessee Trust'' issues will be announced between now and November, Brooks said.

Democratic response

Rep. Randy Rinks of Savannah, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said immigration reform is more a federal issue.

``We heard all last year that Congress was going to do something,'' he said in a telephone interview Tuesday. ``It ought to be done there, but it didn't happen.

``(Republicans) are in the majority (in both houses) there and they have the president there, and it still didn't happen.''

On a state level, Rinks said more federal agents are needed to enforce the immigration laws already in place.

``I think there are only 10 agents in Middle Tennessee,'' he said, noting the state does not have the manpower necessary to respond to all the calls. ``The state's got to have some help.''

Rinks refuted the claim that Democrats killed legislation pertaining to training state troopers to detain and process illegal immigrants.

``We had testimony from a colonel at THP that they were going to do that anyway, but that they could not implement it by June 1,'' he said. ``We gave the department flexibility to do that on their timeline.''

As for driver's licenses, Rinks said the trouble is that ``we've started using it as an ID'' when ``it's just a license that you can do something, like a real estate license shows that you can sell real estate. A driver's license is just a license to drive a car.''

Rinks said he would encourage the Republican Caucus to send Congress a resolution asking them to do something about immigration reform.

``I can get Democrats to vote for that,'' he said