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TN police board scraps jail immigration screenings

January 16, 2012 (1 min read)

"Jailers will no longer interview suspects about their birthplace and citizenship after a state commission, facing pressure from a lawsuit, scrapped immigration rules just two weeks into their implementation.  The Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission voted unanimously on Friday to drop rules that require jail employees to ask newly booked suspects whether they are U.S. citizens and where they were born.  The commission, which creates policies on policing and training for the state, acted partly in response to a lawsuit filed by Nashville immigration attorney Elliott Ozment, who argued that the rules were illegally created in secret instead of discussed in public meetings and didn't seek input from sheriffs throughout the state." - The Tennessean, Jan. 14, 2012.