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On Monday, May 7, the Tennessee Senate passed the bill (SB-1968 -
companion House Bill, HB-1827) officially ending the Driving
Certificate program and returning our Driver's License
program to one that only licenses LEGAL residents of
Tennessee.
On May 21, 2007, the above bills were signed into law by
Governor Phil Bredesen and assigned
Public Chapter No. 194. The practice of rewarding illegal aliens
with state issued IDs and driving privileges has now officially ended here in
Tennessee!!!
Also of note is that on May 15, 2007, Governor Bredesen signed
into law
HB0491/SB1604 which authorized the Tennessee Highway Patrol to enter
into a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Homeland Security to
allow training of THP officers in immigration law. This law has been
assigned
Public Chapter No. 165.
| News Analysis:
'Don't hold breath' for THP to get 287(g), officials warn |
By Jared Allen, jallen@nashvillecitypaper.com
May 07, 2007
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The Tennessee Department
of Safety’s jump into the waters of federal immigration law enforcement
won’t be happening anytime soon, some federal officials cautioned last
week.
By a vote of 95 – 1, the State House last Thursday passed the Senate’s
version of a bill to allow the Department of Safety to negotiate a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the federal Department of
Homeland Security to enforce the nation’s immigration laws at the state
level.
Essentially, the bill formally paves the way for the Department of
Safety and the Tennessee Highway Patrol to attain a 287(g) immigration
program that could in many regards mirror the one that has been
operational in Davidson County for three weeks, and which identified 140
illegal immigrants in the first two weeks alone.
As of last week, legislators in both chambers were putting the final
procedural touches on the legislation before sending it to Gov. Phil
Bredesen.
Bredesen spokesman Bob Corney said the governor “doesn’t have any
problems with the bill,” as it only gives formal authorization for the
THP to start negotiating toward an MOU, a process that has already
begun.
“But it also reflects the strong support this has in the General
Assembly,” Corney added.
Despite the local political popularity of allowing a select group of
State troopers to be trained in enforcing federal immigration laws, the
Department of Safety faces an uphill battle on its way to becoming the
next local law enforcement agency to be granted the power and resources
to run immigration checks on foreign-born arrestees.
“Basically, I wouldn’t expect this to happen anytime soon at all,” said
one federal official who requested anonymity because, although up to
speed on the negotiations between state officials and Homeland Security
personnel, was not authorized to comment on them.
For a number of reasons, the Highway Patrol is significantly behind the
curve in terms of pre-287(g) preparations, especially compared to the
Davidson County Sheriff’s Office, the last jurisdiction to be granted
287(g) powers.
For one, Safety Officials, including Commissioner David Mitchell and THP
Colonel Mike Walker, have acknowledged in previous interviews that the
Highway Patrol currently lacks the communications infrastructure
necessary to allow federal officials to securely install immigration
database software and computers.
The Davidson County Sheriff’s Office had the needed “T1 line” Internet
capacity even before it learned about the 287(g) program.
Officials at the Department of Safety were unavailable to comment when
contacted Friday, but their previous statements have indicated that
significant resources would need to be invested in technology upgrades
before any serious discussions about bringing 287(g) to the state’s
police force could really get underway.
In addition, the Department of Safety lacks an adequate training
facility for their personnel to receive the required five-to-seven weeks
of immigration training.
As a nationally accredited correctional facility, the Davidson County
Sheriff’s Office was able to host trainers from Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, which greatly speeded up the completion of the 287(g)
arrival process, both local and federal officials have said.
And, of course, there are the political realities involved in getting
the nation’s largest federal agency to approve the paperwork.
Nashville’s congressional delegation, including U.S. Sen. Lamar
Alexander and Rep. Jim Cooper, put significant time and resources into
getting DHS to budge, approve the application, sign off on the
Memorandum of Understanding, and arrange for federal officials to arrive
in Nashville, install equipment and begin training Sheriff’s Deputies.
“Basically, the Davidson County application process went as smoothly as
anyone could have imagined one of these going,” said the federal
government source.
City Paper sources in Washington D.C. said that, currently, no such
political influence is being wielded on behalf of the Department of
Safety.
EDITOR: RUN AS NEWS ANALYSIS
Source:
The Nashville City Paper
Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Safety,
David Mitchell,
has gone on
record opposing only giving driver testing in English. He has
also opposed the removal of licensing for illegal aliens and stated that
he is not in favor of the THP entering into the 287(g) program!!
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