TN lawmakers work on TN specific immigration bill

Tennessee lawmakers are taking a harder line on immigration and stepping into a legal fight that has tripped up another state before. House Bill 1704 would make it a state crime for someone to remain in Tennessee after receiving a final federal deportation order. Republican lawmakers backing the bill estimate illegal immigration costs Tennessee taxpayers close to a $1 billion, and also cite violent crimes committed by undocumented immigrants as evidence that tougher enforcement is needed. Immigration enforcement has long been considered a federal responsibility and the Supreme Court has ruled that states cannot create their own immigration crimes and warned against a patchwork of enforcement across the country. Legal experts said Tennessee’s proposal tests those limits and that much of the new bill would rely on the Supreme Court decision being reinterpreted or overturned.