Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen (D) signed a bill yesterday that creates provisions similar to, but less harsh than, those of SB 1070, including requiring city and county jails in the state to report any person who may be in violation of immigration laws to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
A decision that follows recent state and local crackdowns on undocumented immigration — particularly Arizona’s SB 1070 and a Nebraska town’s vote to limit job and housing opportunities to undocumented immigrants — Bredesen’s vote for Tennessee’s House bill 670 isn’t surprising.
A Nashville Public Radio article also points out that a recent poll claims most Tennesseans favor laws like the ones House bill 670 puts into place.
“When Tennesseans were asked if they would support a law like Arizona’s, 60 percent said yes,” writes Emily Tseng of Nashville Public Radio. “Then, pollsters asked about a key provision of the law, whether police should be required to check the immigration status of a suspected illegal immigrant they’ve stopped. When Arizona wasn’t mentioned, support jumped to 79 percent.”
