Ariana Maia Sawyer

USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

A Tennessee lawmaker has introduced a bill aimed at banning so-called "sanctuary cities" across the state, threatening to withhold state funding from any city that disobeys.

Sen. Mark Green, R-Clarksville, introduced Senate Bill 155 just one day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order outlining efforts to intensify immigration enforcement in part by punishing cities with sanctuary policies by withholding federal funding.

While sanctuary cities must comply with judicial warrants, they typically do not hold immigrants based solely on a request from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or allow municipal funds or resources to be used to enforce federal immigration laws. These practices are not against federal immigration law.

There is already a law in Tennessee prohibiting local governments or officials from making policies that stop local entities from complying with federal immigration law, but Green said his bill "has teeth."

The proposed bill includes specific reference to sanctuary cities or policies, threatening state funds in cases of noncompliance. There aren't any official sanctuary cities in Tennessee, but Green, who launched a bid for governor in early January, said the measure is proactive.

"I have seen press reports that have suggested that there is this quiet undertone in some cities: Don't enforce the rules," Green said. "This is not an illegal alien hunt."

He said municipalities can't pick and choose which laws to enforce.

Meanwhile, Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, and Rep. James Van Huss, R-Jonesborough, have introduced a bill requiring the mayor and chief law enforcement officer of a municipality to promise "to use all necessary efforts" to help federal immigration authorities or risk losing their allocation of the state sales tax.

Most of the practices Green's bill seeks to outlaw are not against federal law. For instance, police are not required by federal law to inquire about someone's immigration status, although municipalities have the option to enter into such contracts with federal authorities. But Green's law would make even the "informally adopted" practice of not asking to see a person's papers illegal in Tennessee.

Specifically, Green said, if an officer with the Metro Nashville Police Department stops a person for a broken taillight who is wanted by immigration officials, he or she should arrest that person.

"If (Nashville Mayor) Megan Barry says to her cops, 'You don't do that. You let them go,' then we're going to take her funding," Green said.

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Although Nashville is not a sanctuary city, Barry has repeatedly called the city a welcoming place for immigrants and said that Metro police do not share information with immigration officials.

The Metro police outreach program El Protector seeks to make positive connections in immigrant communities in Nashville so that people without legal statuses in the United States are not afraid to call police when they need help or have information about a crime.

Stephanie Teatro, co-executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, called the bill "reckless and unnecessary" and said it shows a lack of trust in local law enforcement to make decisions about how to keep their own communities safe.

"The bill jeopardizes public safety and threatens to take major funding away from whole communities for critical services and infrastructure," she said. "Tennessee doesn't need a copy-and-paste of the division and broken politics of Washington. We need real leadership."

Barry has said she does not think local resources should be used to enforce federal immigration law, potentially making Nashville a target for Green's proposed legislation.

Barry spokesman Sean Braisted said the administration would work with their government relations team to "identify and monitor any legislation that could positively or negatively impact Nashville, and share thoughts, concerns or suggestions with sponsors, committee members and other members of the Tennessee General Assembly as necessary."

The mayor's office declined to comment specifically on Green's sanctuary city bill, sponsored by Rep. Tilman Goins, R-Morristown, in the House.

The bill also targets campus police, many of whom do not share information with immigration officials, but Green said he is reviewing that section for possible changes.

Lipscomb University President Randy Lowry said there's nothing illegal about making an investment in those who are worthy, including students brought into the country illegally as children.

"I think people actually forget that we educate them in our public schools with our tax dollars," he said. "Most of them will become citizens in a normal legal process and go on to become good citizens. We’re not dealing with criminals."

He said it would be difficult to define some of the language in the bill.

"I don’t know what line there is between being gracious and being a sanctuary,” he said. “Again, I would hope we focus on people who create real problems for us and not people who, like our relatives did, are trying to make a better life here.”

Nashville has worked closely in the past with federal immigration officials.

The city took part in the 287(g) program, which was recently revived in one of Trump's executive orders. The voluntary program trains and deputizes local law enforcement to act as immigration officials, allowing them to investigate whether someone is in the country legally. It was under that program that the city faced national criticism for the 2008 shackling of pregnant immigrant Juana Villegas while in labor after she was arrested on a careless driving charge that was later dismissed.

Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall stopped participating in 287(g) in 2012 and recently said he has no interest in renewing the program under a Trump administration.

The sheriff also declined to meet with the president at the White House to talk immigration and other law enforcement issues Tuesday morning.

The sheriff's office does share arrest and booking information with ICE, a mandatory procedure implemented nationwide under the Secure Communities program established by President Barack Obama. Although the program was scrapped by the federal government in 2014 due largely to controversy surrounding Fourth Amendment violations, it has been reinstated by the Trump administration.

Federal immigration authorities also contract with the sheriff's office to house those being held on immigration violations.

Reach Ariana Sawyer at asawyer@tennessean.com and on Twitter @a_maia_sawyer.