Law Enforcement

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on how penalties are enforced beyond stating a civil penalty of up to $1,000.

Changes to Law Enforcement Communication on Immigration Status

This bill restricts Tennessee law enforcement agencies from communicating with federal officials about immigration status except for individuals arrested for criminal offenses and exempts school resource officers and non-arrested individuals.

What This Bill Does

• Limits communication between Tennessee law enforcement and federal officials regarding immigration status to only those individuals who have been arrested for a criminal offense.
• Exempts school resource officers from reporting the immigration status of students they work with.
• 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 on law enforcement agencies that do not comply 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 there and for how long.

Limits and Unknowns

• This bill did not pass during its session.
• It only applies to situations where individuals have been arrested for criminal offenses.
• The bill does not specify what happens if a law enforcement agency is fined but continues to break the rules.

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

HOUSE BILL 1202
By Kumar

SENATE BILL 17
By Gardenhire

SB0017
000083
- 1 -

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

- 2 - 000083

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.