Why should Gov. Bredesen veto this bill?
Hedy Weinberg: Our concern is that the legislation invites disparate treatment of minority groups and encourages racial profiling. The legislation says that the jailer, the sheriff in charge of the jail, is required to send booking information to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement if they cannot determine the legal status of the arrested person. And so the bottom line is, it requires individuals — and typically that would mean Latinos or people who look foreign or have other ethnic backgrounds — it requires those groups of people to always carry documentation with them just in case they are arrested. CP: Some say those in the country illegally are not entitled to the same civil liberties as citizens. What do you say to that? HW: That’s just, bottom line, not correct. The Bill of Rights applies to everyone residing in this country. The litmus test is not whether you are a citizen. If you’re in this country, you are afforded the same protections anyone else is. I think what’s not u
