What You Need to Know About the New Tennessee Immigration Statute

What You Need to Know About the New Tennessee Immigration Statute

No somos una firma de inmigración, pero como parte de nuestro cuidado por nuestra comunidad hispana, nos esforzamos en educar, por eso nos gustaría compartir el nuevo estatuto de inmigración implementado aquí en Tennessee.

Aquí está lo que significa:

La Asamblea General de Tennessee aprobó recientemente una nueva ley relacionada con la inmigración que ha recibido mucha publicidad en las noticias. La ley entrará en vigor el 1 de julio de este año. Según esta nueva ley, las agencias de aplicación de la ley de Tennessee estarán obligadas a comunicarse con los funcionarios federales cuando tengan información sobre el estatus migratorio de una persona. Si un oficial de la ley de Tennessee descubre que una persona no está legalmente en los Estados Unidos, esta nueva ley requerirá que el oficial informe esa información al gobierno federal. En la mayoría de los casos, esto ocurrirá cuando un oficial de policía descubra que una persona es un inmigrante indocumentado después de arrestar a la persona por algún otro delito. Sin embargo, es posible que un oficial de policía pueda descubrir esta información de otras maneras, como durante la investigación de un delito o incluso al hablar con personas en la comunidad.

En muchas partes de Tennessee, esta nueva ley puede no representar un cambio significativo respecto a la ley actual. Bajo la ley anterior, las agencias de aplicación de la ley de Tennessee estaban “autorizadas” a comunicarse con el gobierno federal, pero no estaban obligadas a hacerlo. Una revisión realizada por el Comité de Revisión Fiscal de la Asamblea General de Tennessee encontró que la mayoría de las agencias de aplicación de la ley de Tennessee ya comunican información sobre el estatus migratorio al gobierno federal. En esos lugares, esta nueva ley no cambiará las cosas. Sin embargo, las agencias de aplicación de la ley en algunos condados de Tennessee no siempre comunican información sobre el estatus migratorio a las autoridades federales. Bajo la nueva ley, estarán obligadas a hacerlo.

Esta ley no autoriza a la policía a detener a personas únicamente para preguntar sobre su estatus migratorio. La policía no puede detener a una persona solo para “pedirle sus papeles”. La policía tendría que descubrir el estatus migratorio de alguna otra manera, ya sea durante la investigación de algún otro cargo, o porque un individuo voluntariamente le diga a la policía su estatus migratorio.

Ponce Law recuerda a todos los lectores, ciudadanos y no ciudadanos, que la Constitución de los Estados Unidos otorga a todas las personas en Tennessee ciertos derechos legales. La Quinta Enmienda le protege de ser obligado a incriminarse, independientemente de su estatus migratorio. Cualquier persona que sea arrestada o detenida y cuestionada por la policía tiene el derecho de decir: “Deseo permanecer en silencio, y me gustaría hablar con un abogado inmediatamente.” Puede ser muy importante obtener asesoramiento legal antes de decir cualquier cosa, firmar cualquier cosa o tomar otras decisiones importantes.

La ley se puede encontrar en el Capítulo Público 716 de 2024 (anteriormente HB 2124/SB 2576). Será promulgada como una enmienda al Código Anotado de Tennessee § 7-68-105(a). El texto completo de la nueva ley se puede encontrar aquí: https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/113/pub/pc0716.pdf}

 

 

We are not an immigration firm, but as part of our care for our Hispanic community, we strive to educate, hence, we’d like to share the new immigration statute implemented here in Tennessee.

Here’s What it Means:

The Tennessee General Assembly recently passed a new immigration-related law which has received a lot of publicity in the news.  The law will go into effect on July 1 of this year.  Under this new law, Tennessee law enforcement agencies will be required to communicate with federal officials when they have information about a person’s immigration status. If a Tennessee law enforcement officer finds out that any person is not in the United States legally, this new law will require the officer to report that information to the federal government. In most cases, this will happen when a police officer finds out a person is an undocumented immigrant after arresting the person for some other crime. However, it is possible that a police officer could discover this information in other ways, such as while investigating a crime or even when talking with people in the community.

In many parts of Tennessee, this new law may not be a meaningful change from current law. Under the previous law, Tennessee law enforcement agencies were “authorized” to communicate with the federal government, but they were not required to do so. A review by the Tennessee General Assembly Fiscal Review Committee found that a majority of Tennessee law enforcement agencies already communicate immigration status information to the federal government. In those places, this new law will not change things. However, law enforcement agencies in some Tennessee counties do not always communicate immigration status information to federal authorities. Under the new law, they will be required to do so.

This law does not authorize the police to stop people solely to ask about their immigration status. Police cannot stop a person only to “ask to see their papers.” Police would have to find out immigration status some other way, either during the investigation of some other charge, or because an individual voluntarily tells the police his or her immigration status.

Ponce Law would remind all readers, citizens and non-citizens alike, that the United States Constitution gives all people in Tennessee certain legal rights. The Fifth Amendment protects you from being compelled to incriminate yourself, regardless of your immigration status. Any person who is arrested or detained and questioned by the police has the right to say, “I wish to remain silent, and I would like to talk to a lawyer immediately.” It may be very important to get legal advice before you say anything, sign anything, or make other important decisions.

The law can be found at 2024 Public Chapter 716 (formerly HB 2124/SB 2576). It will be enacted as an amendment to Tennessee Code Annotated § 7-68-105(a). The full text of the new law can be found here: https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/113/pub/pc0716.pdf

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