NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — State Attorney General Herbert Slatery says in a legal opinion that federal law prevents Tennessee from refusing entry to Syrian refugees.
In the opinion released Monday, Slatery notes that through the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution, federal law pre-empts any rules the state may put into place regarding refugees.
But Slatery also says the state has every right to communicate to the federal government its preferences and concerns about the refugee resettlement program.
After the terrorist attacks in Paris, Republican Gov. Bill Haslam asked the federal government to place a moratorium on Syrian refugees being placed in the state.
The legal opinion was requested by state Democratic Rep. John Ray Clemmons of Nashville. Clemmons says he wants to head off "unconstitutional legislation" from being drafted in the state General Assembly.