Immigration Enforcement Bill Brings Lawsuit Threat

Times News: Republican state Rep. Joe Carr introduced a bill Wednesday empowering local law enforcement officers to ask suspects whether they are legally in the country, a proposal that immediately prompted the threat of a lawsuit. A similar measure that formed part of Arizona's toughest-in-the-nation immigration law that passed last year is currently the subject of a federal suit. Carr, from Lascassas, and Senate sponsor Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, would not say specifically how their legislation differed from the enforcement measure in the Arizona bill. They did say they believed their bill would survive a court challenge. That may be put to the test. American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee executive director Hedy Weinberg said afterward that the group would pursue litigation if the bill passed unchanged. "It invites racial profiling, hinders public safety and betrays core American values of equality and fairness," she said. Ketron said in the news conference that "profiling is not acceptable."