Immigration: State’s limited options
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2007/aug/3 ... d-options/

Americans don’t like to have their hands tied, but that appears to be the case with illegal immigration in Tennessee.

Even though the General Assembly has tried to fight illegal immigration in the last two years, a recent study shows there’s not much the state can do to curb illegal immigration and its costs except urge the federal government to enforce the laws and fund the programs it requires state and local governments to provide.

The report from the state comptroller’s office also concludes that illegal immigrants probably have an overall positive effect on the state’s economy, even though the effect on local economies in the cities where they are heavily concentrated may be negative.

We hope the members of the General Assembly will listen to what’s being said and stop spinning their wheels in attempts to impress their constituents.

State legislators introduced 43 bills in the Legislature last session pertaining to immigration, according to the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition. Of those, only four were approved.

Illegal immigration is a hot-button topic, and legislators are preening before their constituents by giving lip service to the issue.

Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, R-Collierville, criticized the report for downplaying the problems of illegal immigration. “(The report) continues to dumb down the importance of citizenship in this country,â€