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Tennessee Law Requires Jails To Check Immigrant Status

By AP

Nashville, TN – Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen has signed a measure into law that would require the state's jailers to determine whether inmates are in the country illegally and report them if they are. Bredesen says it would require a verification process similar to what some Tennessee cities are already doing.

Tennessee's chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union urged Bredesen to veto the legislation because it felt the measure would encourage racial profiling. Some sheriffs also opposed the measure because it was unclear where money for the checks would come from.