Attorney: State is at forefront of anti-immigration legislation


By JOE BROOKS Banner Staff Writer

Published March 21, 2007 10:27 AM EDT

Tennessee is at the forefront of anti-immigration bills, a spokesman told the Ocoee Region Multicultural Services board of directors Tuesday.

Attorney Jessica Baba, from the Tennessee Immigration and Refugee Rights Coalition, said, “There are 42 anti-immigration bills this session,” (in the Tennessee legislature). Some bills would “require car salesmen to check the status of people buying cars.” Real estate agents helping people purchase houses and other “everyday citizens” could become enforcers of anti-immigration laws if some of the bills were passed.

“We have seen a general trend of trying to push the average citizen into enforcing the immigration laws,” she said.

As a result, there has been “a wave of anti-immigration rhetoric” throughout Tennessee.

“The politically popular thing to do involves the anti-immigration laws. In fact, Tennessee is being watched (nationally) because there are so many laws.” Tennessee is at the top of the list for the most laws regarding anti-immigration, Baba said.

Baba noted, “It’s creating a very tense atmosphere” among residents.

“What (Tennessee Immigration and Refugee Rights Coalition) is trying to do is to counter that tension,” she said.

Jerry Bohannon, ORMS vice president for business development, affirmed the Baba’s point by recounting a story related to him by one of the officials of Starplex Scientific. Starplex recently broke ground on a new facility in Cleveland, but the event could have possibly never happened, Bohannon said.

When a Starplex Scientific official entered U.S. customs at the Canadian border, he was told by the U.S. border patrol, if it were up to the patrolman, the official would be sent back to Canada since the man was “taking jobs away from people in Tennessee. In fact, the opposite was the case.”

Bohannon told of his trip to Canada where he met with Starplex Scientific officials and asked them to relocate to Cleveland.

“I’m glad nothing like that happened to me when I went to Canada,” Bohannon said.

Baba said her organization has developed “The Welcoming Tennessee Initiative” which helps people on all levels get involved from all walks of life. The Initiative includes the following principles, according to the brochure provided by Baba:

- “We believe that Tennesseeans remember, honor and value our immigrant roots and embrace the values of family, faith and hard work.

- “We believe that Tennesseans are hospitable and empathetic people, with a shared responsibility to treat all neighbors with respect and decency.

- “We are committed to raising the level of public discourse concerning immigrants and immigration, so that public policies are designed in an environment of mutual respect.

- “We are committed to better understanding the contributions that immigrants make to our state and the effects of immigration on our communities and to challenge common myths and stereotypes.

Along with Baba’s presentation, ORMS President Gary Ray presented remarks, Cleveland City Mayor and ORMS co-chairman Tom Rowland told memebers of the need for a grant writer.

The next meeting of the ORMS board of directors will be Tuesday, April 17, at 2 p.m.

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