The measure signed by Republican Bill Lee on Thursday will go into effect on July 1. Immigrant advocates have warned that the law is too vague and confusing and could encourage malicious agents to go after immigrant families.
In Iowa, Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds this week signed into law a law that mirrors some parts of the Texas legislation. Another approach to the bill similar to the one in Texas is advancing in Louisiana. Idaho lawmakers considered a similar measure but adjourned without passing it. In Tennessee, a Republican senator and supporter of the bill said his proposal is intended to be applied when law enforcement authorities, including police departments that run corrections, find out the immigration status of people arrested for some crime crime. “It's not about hunting down someone who looks Hispanic, stopping them and demanding their documents,” Taylor said. But the Tennessee Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights said the law was very general and could grant more authority than Taylor has said. The group criticized Lee's decision to approve the bill.