Save the date: The American Dream Banquet 2008 On July 10, The Welcoming Tennessee Initiative, an educational program of TIRRC, will honor Founder and Outgoing Director, David Lubell, introduce the new incoming Director, as well as celebrate other individuals who have built bridges and promoted understanding between the immigrant community and native-born Tennesseans. Don't miss your chance to say goodbye to Director, David Lubell, and celebrate the organization's exciting past and future.  Click Here for More ...

Sheriff's Immigration Crackdown Catch More Minor Offenders than Dangerous Criminals A Nashville police officer pulled him over last November, and Aguirre was arrested when he couldn't produce a driver's license. He went from jail to a deportation center to Mexico. All after a minor traffic violation. Aguirre is not alone. In the first year that the Nashville Police and Davidson County Sheriff's departments have participated in a nationwide immigration enforcement program, half of the nearly 3,000 people arrested under that program were caught during routine traffic stops, many of them for driving without a license. And despite local law enforcement's stated goal of concentrating on repeat and violent offenders, that is not the case. A Tennessean arrest analysis shows: Since April 2007, just 19 percent of those arrested were charged with felonies. The rest were charged with misdemeanors.  Click Here for More ...

Emergency Action: Immigration Raids in Chattanooga Vigils to be held across the state- Tuesday, April 29 join us as we stand in solidarity with the workers and families affecte by the inhumane raids in Chattanooga. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids took place at six Pilgrim's Pride poultry processing plants across the country on April 16th, including a devastating raid in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Most detainees from the Chattanooga raid are being held in Chattanooga and Lumpkin, GA. Five female detainees are being held in Nashville at the Harding Detention Facility.  Click Here for More ...

MTSU poll shows increasing support for immigrants in TN A new poll conducted by Middle Tennessee State University indicates that attitudes towards immigrants in TN have softened dramatically over the last year. Fully 47% support starting a temporary worker program for undocumented immigrants (up from 40% in Spring 2007), and 63% would support a path to citizenship (up from 54% a year ago). The percentage of those supporting a path to citizenship climbs to 73% for those making $40,000 or less. 50% of those polled agree that immigrants take jobs that US-born workers do not want. Click Here for More ...

Nashville's 287(g) Program Fails to Achieve Goals April 16th was the one-year anniversary of Nashville's 287(g) program — a federal effort to deputize local government employees to act as immigration officials and help deport "criminal illegal aliens." In one year, the Davidson County sheriff has processed nearly 3,000 immigrants for deportation, almost 20 times more than last year and an astonishing number by all accounts. But who are these 3,000 immigrants, and are they the dangerous criminals the program promised? As it turns out, celebrating the program's sheer volume would be like thanking your doctor for amputating your arm when you only wanted a mole removed. The more is not the merrier. Click Here for More ...

Oklahoma law going to cost $1.8 billion in economic losses A new study estimates that Oklahoma's anti-illegal immigration law will cause $1.8 billion in economic losses as foreign-born workers flee the state. The projection is based on 50,000 workers, both documented and undocumented, leaving Oklahoma, causing a 1.3 percent reduction in the gross state product over the next few years. The Oklahoma Bankers Association said it has no stand on the immigration measure, but commissioned the study after reports from banks about problems incurred by companies that employ immigrant workers. One restaurant that had been making $5,000 payments to a bank each month closed its doors, construction projects have been delayed because of a lack of workers and farm workers have disappeared, banking officials said. Click Here for More ...

Oklahoma feels negative impact of harsh immigration law Some businesses and lawmakers are warning that the economic effects [of Oklahoma law 1804] will hit consumers hard. Republican state Rep. Shane Jett, who opposed 1804, offers a more dire prediction. Without changes, the law "will be the single most destructive economic disaster since the Dust Bowl," he says. Several national and statewide business groups say they are considering their own lawsuit to challenge the law. "You're basically putting employers in the middle of this fight," says Jenna Hamilton of the National Association of Home Builders, one of the groups. "We have extremely low unemployment. … The people in southwest Oklahoma who want to work are working," says Tom Buchanan, a cotton, cattle and wheat farmer in Jackson County. Click Here for More ...

Minor Offenses Dirupt Lives of US Citizens Loud music was Victor Delgado's downfall. And Marcos Herrera was betrayed by a heavy foot on the gas pedal. Delgado is in Mexico now, deported after being stopped and ticketed for playing his car stereo too loudly. And Herrera is fighting to stay in this country after he was stopped by Nashville police for going a few miles over the speed limit. But the tentacles of those arrests have spread, as they almost always do in such cases. Delgado's relatives have fled for fear of also being swept up and deported. And Herrera's wife — an American citizen — faces the prospect of raising a child with no husband and meager sources of support. Click Here for More ...

Action Alerts

Help Prevent Racial Profiling in TN The TN Legislature is considering the Racial Profiling Prevention Act, a bill that would help define and prevent racial profiling in Tennessee. Please contact members of the Senate and House Judiciary committees, and urge them to support this legislation. Click Here for More ...