News

NASHVILLE, TN -- July 19, 2010 -- Several Republican legislators are headed to Arizona later this month to deliver a resolution to Governor Jan Brewer showing Tennessee’s support for their new immigration law.  The Republican lawmakers, led by Senator Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro) and Representative Joe Carr (R-Murfreesboro), will also meet with sponsors of the Arizona law and attend an educational seminar which details provisions of the new law.  

Carr and State Senator Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) were lead sponsors of House Joint Resolution 1253, which passed the Tennessee General Assembly earlier this year commending Arizona for their bold move on immigration policies. That resolution became law without the governor’s signature on June 22.  The Arizona act allows law enforcement officials to require citizenship documentation on any citizen that is detained or arrested.  Arizona spends over $2.7 billion every year on illegal immigrants.  The two Murfreesboro legislators are planning to introduce similar legislation in Tennessee next year.

“We have a couple of purposes for this trip,” said Senator Ketron.  “We want to speak with the sponsors of the bill about the some of the details of this new law.  Plus, we want to get a closer look at how the matter is being handled since it was passed into law, including what educational tools are being utilized to help law enforcement implement these measures.

“We also want to show Arizona that Tennessee is in support of their new law,” added Representative Carr.  “The resolution in support of this new law was overwhelmingly passed by the House of Representatives and our State Senate.  Individual states and cities across the country are tired of the inaction by the federal government to do their job in protecting our borders.”

Ketron and Carr said the trip, which may include up to 8 Republican legislators, would not be paid for at government expense.  The lawmakers will leave on August 30 and return on August 31.

###

Reference:  House Joint Resolution 1253