Law Enforcement

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on how non-compliance penalties will be enforced or the exact impact of these changes on current practices.

Law Enforcement Communication with Federal Officials

This bill restricts Tennessee law enforcement agencies to communicate only about individuals arrested for criminal offenses and sets penalties for non-compliance.

What This Bill Does

• Limits communication between Tennessee law enforcement and federal officials to individuals who have been arrested for a criminal offense.
• Exempts school resource officers from reporting the immigration status of students they serve.
• Exempts individuals not arrested by law enforcement, including victims or witnesses of crimes, from having their immigration status reported.
• Imposes a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for non-compliance with these rules.

Who It Names or Affects

• Law enforcement agencies in Tennessee
• Federal officials dealing with immigration issues
• School resource officers
• Individuals arrested for criminal offenses

Terms To Know

Civil penalty

A fine or other punishment that a court can order when someone breaks a law.

Immigration status

The legal standing of a person in the United States, such as whether they are allowed to be here and for how long.

Limits and Unknowns

• It is unclear how this change will affect current practices of communication between Tennessee law enforcement and federal officials.
• The effectiveness of the $1,000 penalty in ensuring compliance with the new rules is uncertain.

Official Summary Text

Present law requires all law enforcement agencies and officials, in accordance with federal law, to communicate with the
appro
priate federal official regarding the immigration status of any individual, including reporting knowledge that a particular alien is not lawfully present in the United States or otherwise cooperate with the appropriate federal official in the identificati
o
n, apprehension, detention, or removal of aliens not lawfully present in the United States.

EXEMPTIONS

This bill limits the communication above to communication regarding only those individuals who have been arrested for a criminal offense and exempts t
he following persons from being subject to the present law described above:



A school resource officer with regard to the immigration status of a student of the local education agency to which the school resource officer has been assigned
; and



An individual who has not been arrested by the law enforcement agency or official, including an individual whose contact with a law enforcement agency is due to the individual's status as a victim of or witness to a criminal offense
.

VIOLATIONS

This bill provides
that a law enforcement agency that does not comply with this bill may be subject to
a civil penalty in an amount of no more than $1,00
0. This bill authorizes
the attorney general and reporter
to bring an action to enforce such civil penalty
.

Current Bill Text

SENATE BILL 17
By Gardenhire

HOUSE BILL 1202
By Kumar

HB1202
000083
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AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 5;
Title 6; Title 7; Title 8; Title 40 and Chapter 716 of
the Public Acts of 2024, relative to law
enforcement.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 7-68-105, is amended by deleting
subsection (a) and substituting:
(1) All law enforcement agencies and officials shall, in accordance with 8 U.S.C.
§ 1357(g)(10), communicate with the appropriate federal official regarding the
immigration status of any individual who has been arrested for a criminal offense,
including reporting knowledge that a particular alien is not lawfully present in the United
States or otherwise cooperate with the appropriate federal official in the identification,
apprehension, detention, or removal of aliens not lawfully present in the United States.
(2) Subdivision (a)(1) does not apply to:
(A) A school resource officer with regard to the immigration status of a
student of the local education agency to which the school resource officer has
been assigned; and
(B) An individual who has not been arrested by the law enforcement
agency or official, including an individual whose contact with a law enforcement
agency is due to the individual's status as a victim of or witness to a criminal
offense.
(3) A law enforcement agency that does not comply with the requirements of
subdivision (a)(1) may be subject to a civil penalty in an amount of no more than one

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thousand dollars ($1,000). An action to enforce such civil penalty may be brought by the
attorney general and reporter.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.