(The Center Square) – A pair of bills are intended to allow Tennessee to fight illegal immigration in the state.
Senate Bill 2158 will require agencies and law enforcement departments across the state to collect data on the financial effects of illegal immigration in the state. Senate Bill 757 would require local law enforcement to verify the citizenship of a detainee and report the individual to the Department of Safety and Homeland Security if found to be illegally in the country.
The fiscal note on SB 2158 estimates it will cost local governments an additional $7.1 million in the first year and $6.2 million each year after that.
The District Attorneys General Conference will collect and compile the data on the costs related to illegal immigrants in the state who are charged or convicted of a criminal offense. The report will be sent to the governor and both the House and Senate speaker.
Sen. Ferrell Haile, R-Gallatin, said the bills will help the state sue the federal government over the costs of illegal immigration in Tennessee.
“With record numbers of illegal immigrants pouring into our country as a result of failure from the Biden Administration, every state has become a border state,” Haile said. “These bills will help us learn the cost and impact the immigration crisis is having on our state, so we can take steps to fix the issues and protect Tennessee communities.”
SB 757’s fiscal note says there is not a significant cost. It passed the Senate Judiciary Committee and will next go to the full Senate.
Those arrested will need to supply a Social Security card or number, a Tennessee drivers’ license or photo identification, a green card or student visa, a valid passport, United States birth certificate or a certificate of naturalization.
A stipulation was put into the law allowing law enforcement to judge if an individual is a homeless resident of the United States without proper documentation.
