Tennessee Senate votes to direct AG to sue over refugee settlement

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.”