Opponents to immigration policy share testimonies in Knoxville » Knoxville News Sentinel
Juana Villegas said she was three days’ from giving birth when law enforcement in Middle Tennessee took her into custody to be deported. She was shackled until minutes before she gave birth in a . Villegas was one of about eight women who took the stage Thursday night during a rally at a North Knoxville union hall to protest Immigration and Nationality Act Section 287(g), a federal policy that community groups fear will be adopted by the Knox County Sheriff’s Office. The policy authorizes local law enforcement to enforce federal illegal immigration law. While proponents say the measure enables local law enforcement to get violent illegal immigrants off the street, those gathered Thursday said the measure creates an atmosphere where racial profiling is rampant, individuals arrested on misdemeanors are deported and civil-rights abuses occur.
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