Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam [governor website] neither signed nor vetoed Tennessee House Bill 2315 [materials] on Monday, allowing the measure banning so-called “sanctuary cities” to become law.

In an interview , the governor discussed the need of the state to move on from this decision and that “at this point in time, this is the best thing for the state.”

The bill requires state and local entities to comply with federal immigration policy banning sanctuary cities. Under the bill, adopting a a sanctuary policy causes the entity to lose state funding until the policy is no longer in place.

The Tennessee chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union expressed [statement] disappointment in the governor’s failure to veto the bill, calling the measure “Mass Deportation Legislation.” The organization said that the measure will cause immigrants to fear every encounter with law enforcement who will be “de facto immigration agents.” The organization believes this will cause a rise of unreported crimes that will be a detriment to the community as a whole since immigrants will be incentivized against aiding law enforcement due to the possibility of being deported.