By Todd Hatton/AP
Nashville, TN – The sponsors of a bill that would require Tennessee jailers to determine whether inmates are illegally in the country and report them say it's an easy way to fight illegal immigration in the state. But some sheriffs consider it an unfunded mandate that will open them up to new liabilities. Sheriff Norman Lewis was able to have Montgomery County excluded from the bill. It was one of several counties exempted from the Senate version of the bill.
Republican Senator Dolores Gresham says concerns that the bill could lead to racial profiling and lawsuits are a "red herring."
The version passed by the House didn't exempt as many counties, so the two chambers are now trying to reconcile their differences before the Legislature adjourns this week.