Senate passes bill to train troopers to enforce immigration laws

WSMV
April 4, 2006

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers would be trained to enforce federal immigration and customs laws under legislation passed by the state Senate Monday.

Senators voted 23-5 in favor of the bill sponsored by Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville. A companion bill is scheduled to be discussed Tuesday by the state government subcommittee in the House.

It would allow the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to send instructors to Tennessee to train selected officers. The federal government would pay for the training.

"This is designed to supplement our troopers skills, not to supplant," Norris said. "It's meant to provide the information they need in the field when they encounter these sorts of situations."

Sen. Tommy Kilby, D-Wartburg, said the proposal to add responsibilities could be too much for the troubled THP and its state department to handle.

"The Department of Safety has been in a state of confusion for some time ... they have their plate full right now," he said, referring to shake-ups in leadership and practices following reports in the past several months of widespread cronyism and political favoritism at the patrol.

The legislation also comes following the state's decision to stop issuing driving certificates to illegal immigrants.

The state Department of Safety stopped issuing the certificates last month, after federal investigators found rings shuttling in immigrants from other states to get them.

More than a dozen immigration bills have been introduced in the Tennessee General Assembly this session, and some lawmakers have said their constituents consider it a top issue.