RELEASE: TIRRC Votes And Faith Leaders Condemn the Tennessee Supermajority's Anti-Immigrant Agenda
TIRRC Votes Press
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
January 15, 2026
TIRRC Votes And Faith Leaders Condemn the Tennessee Supermajority's Anti-Immigrant Agenda
This harmful agenda weakens our communities, and public trust and will cost taxpayers millions while ignoring the real needs of Tennesseans
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — TIRRC VOTES held a press conference today denouncing the Tennessee Supermajority's collaboration with white supremacist Stephen Miller on anti-immigrant legislation that harms all Tennesseans while ignoring real challenges facing working families. You can watch the full press conference here.
“At TIRRC Votes, we believe that whether we’re Black, white, immigrant, or U.S.-born, we all deserve the freedom to move to build a good life for our families with access to the same safety, freedom, and opportunity, “said Lisa Sherman Luna, Executive Director of TIRRC Votes. "Let's talk about who's driving this agenda. Speaker Sexton is a puppet of Stephen Miller, an outsider from DC, who has been promoting white supremacist ideals and priorities since high school. He proudly separated thousands of children from their parents. And our Supermajority is taking marching orders from him, an outsider in DC, instead of listening to what Tennessee families need. Meanwhile, families across the state are struggling with the rising cost of groceries, healthcare, and housing, yet the bills championed by our elected leaders don't even pretend to fix any of these challenges."
Sherman Luna emphasized that the anti-immigrant agenda is also a financial burden for taxpayers, imposing administrative and bureaucratic costs on schools, DMVs, law enforcement, and licensing boards. She noted that immigrants contribute $1.4 billion in combined state and local taxes and that immigrant-led households have $4.2 billion in spending power in Tennessee.
Cesar Bautista, Campaign Director of TIRRC Votes, challenged legislators' claims about legal status: "I heard in the press conference this morning that their desire is to focus on punishing immigrants based on their legal status, but let's be clear: This presidential administration is regularly removing the legal status of millions of immigrants who have built their lives here, starting businesses, raising their families. Just yesterday, the Trump administration said they would refuse to offer visas to immigrants from 75 countries. This is cruel and shows an agenda against anyone who is different."
Rev. Wesley King, Associate Minister at Vine Street Christian Church, called the legislation sinful. "These bills are not just bad policy, they are sinful! How can politicians who claim the Christian faith champion such a harmful and hateful policy agenda?" Rev. King emphasized that "white supremacy has no place in Tennessee and no place in our faith traditions. When our elected leaders collaborate with someone like Stephen Miller, they betray not just their constituents but their Creator."
TIRRC Votes called on all Tennesseans to contact their elected officials, show up at the Capitol, and demand legislators invest in fully funded schools, eliminate the grocery tax, and make healthcare affordable instead of taking "marching orders from Stephen Miller, an outsider in DC, instead of listening to what Tennessee families need."
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TIRRC Votes was launched in 2018 to strengthen and expand our democracy by building power in immigrant and refugee communities and advocating for equitable and inclusive public policy. One of the leading organizations in Tennessee capable of building a new electorate and mobilizing the state's progressive base voters, they are a model for effective, immigrant-led political organizations in the Southeast. Outside of elections, TIRRC Votes is leading the way at the local and state level in policy advocacy, defeating dozens of anti-immigrant and anti-refugee bills each year at the state legislature and casting a new narrative about who gets to be a Tennessean. TIRRC Votes is affiliated with the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC).
