Gov. Haslam attacks Refugee bill passed Monday in the Senate

February 23, 2016

Collins Parker,

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Gov. Bill Haslam is taking issue with a move by fellow Republicans in the Legislature to order the state attorney to sue the federal government over the refugee resettlement program in Tennessee.

The governor told reporters on Tuesday that he just returned from a National Governors Association meeting in Washington where refugee settlement was a major topic of discussion.

Haslam said that processing can take between 18 months and three years, and that people trying to do harm to Americans aren’t coming into the country under that process.

Under the resolution passed by the Senate on a 27-5 vote on Monday, the Legislature would hire an outside attorney if the attorney general declined to file the lawsuit. Haslam said that move wouldn’t set “a really good trend” for state government.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – The state Senate has passed a resolution directing Tennessee’s attorney general to mount a legal challenge to the federal refugee resettlement program.

The chamber voted 27-5 on Monday to pass the resolution despite Republican Gov. Bill Haslam raising “reservations” last week about the Legislature trying to instruct the attorney general to sue. The governor said he doesn’t consider the refugees to be “stressing our system” in Tennessee.

Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris of Collierville, a main sponsor of the resolution, said he was unaware of the governor’s comments and that the General Assembly will hire its own lawyer if Attorney General Herbert Slatery declines to get involved.

Stephanie Teatro of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition said the resolution sends the message that Tennessee is an “intolerant and unwelcoming state.”

STATEMENT FROM TN ACLU

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Senate today passed a controversial resolution that directs the state attorney general to file a lawsuit against the federal government for allegedly failing to consult with the state on refugee resettlement and mandating appropriation of state revenue. It also authorizes employment of outside counsel to file such a lawsuit should the attorney general refuse to do so.
The measure passed the Senate 27 to 5. It will now be taken up by the House, though it has not yet been placed on the calendar.
The following can be attributed to Hedy Weinberg, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee:
“This resolution is a thinly-veiled attempt to halt refugee resettlement in Tennessee. Closing our doors in the faces of families fleeing violence and terror undercuts who we are as Tennesseans. In addition, the state does not have ‘veto power’ over refugee resettlement. This resolution calls for discriminatory action in violation of the U.S. Constitution. The arguments put forth in this resolution did not work in Texas and they won’t work here.”

STATEMENT FROM THE TN DEMOCRATIC PARTY

Tennessee Democratic Party chair Mary Mancini released the following statement in response to the bill passed by the Tennessee State Senate calling for the Attorney General to sue the federal government over refugees:

“Tennessee Republicans would rather focus on national issues that are already settled instead of helping ordinary people of Tennessee. The time they spend pandering to special interests does nothing to help folks in this state put food on their table or send their kids to college.

And refusing refugees who are in desperate need of place to seek shelter from war and hardship, or kicking them out as Chairman Casada once suggested, is not who we are. It’s shameful.