A federal judge on Sept. 23 declined to block Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) traffic stops conducted with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), holding that a stop backed by probable cause does not violate the Fourth Amendment even if the real aim is immigration enforcement.
After a hearing on Sept. 22, U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger denied a preliminary injunction sought by an advocacy group. The group argued the state police force’s tag-team work with federal agents—first in last year’s Operation Flood the Zone in Nashville and now in Memphis—turns highways into what the group described as de facto immigration checkpoints at which Hispanic motorists are allegedly targeted. The case is known as Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition v. Tennessee Highway Patrol….