Nashville mayor calls for scrapping anti-sanctuary state law

Nashville Mayor David Briley has directed city attorneys to investigate grounds for challenging Tennessee’s anti-sanctuary-city law.

Briley’s executive order Tuesday spells out how city officials should report any requests they receive to support immigration enforcement operations. The information will be publicly released each year.

The Democratic mayor’s move comes after WSMV-TV reported that Nashville probation officers had provided federal immigration authorities with parolees’ addresses, phone numbers and other information.

The Republican-backed state law threatens to withhold some state funding from local governments if they adopt so-called sanctuary policies that restrict compliance with federal immigration requests. Such policies could include requiring federal officials to obtain a warrant or show probable cause.

Briley faces Democratic Councilman John Cooper in the city’s runoff election next week.