RELEASE: Winter Storm Fern Response Highlights Need for State Policies that Build Inclusive, Resilient Communities—Not More Anti-Immigrant Attacks
TIRRC Press
media@tnimmigrant.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 29, 2026
Contact: media@tnimmigrant.org
Winter Storm Fern Response Highlights Need for State Policies that Build Inclusive, Resilient Communities—Not More Anti-Immigrant Attacks
NASHVILLE—This week, Winter Storm Fern devastated the Southeast, leaving over half of Nashville households without power for days—including nearly 90,000 households still without electricity—and creating a crisis that the city, state, Nashville Electric Service, and community organizations are working nonstop to address.
"Whether we live in Bordeaux or Berry Hill, Napier or Nolensville, we all deserve a roof over our heads, food on our tables, and the confidence that our families will be safe when disaster strikes," said Lisa Sherman Luna, executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC). “Our immigrant community members, our neighbors who work multiple jobs, our elderly residents—they all pay taxes, they all contribute to Tennessee's economy, and they all deserve better than being left in the cold.”
Since Sunday, TIRRC has moved to action, mobilizing an emergency response operation that has sheltered nearly 200 people and provided direct assistance to hundreds more residents left vulnerable in the storm. In order to assess community needs, the organization has made more than 4000 wellness calls to immigrant community members, many of whom are fearful of accessing disaster relief services for fear of encountering immigration enforcement operations. The response highlights both the power of community solidarity and the urgent gaps left by a state government that has consistently sought to divide communities based on race, income, and immigration status in order to advance an increasingly authoritarian agenda.
“The Tennessee State Legislature’s decade-long crusade against immigrant families has led to an atmosphere of fear affecting the response to this week's disaster, making us all less safe,” said Cesar Bautista, the organization’s campaigns director. “When immigrant families are not able to access the services and support that they fund through their tax dollars, it puts more strain on the safety nets designed to help us weather this type of crisis."
While continuing disaster relief efforts, the organization is calling for deeper investment in extreme weather preparedness, equitable recovery from disasters, and building resiliency in our communities to increasing climate disasters.
“As climate change brings more frequent and more intense instances of severe weather, we deserve legislators who focus on real solutions for Tennesseans, not an anti-immigrant agenda that targets our neighbors, breaks up our families, and harms all communities,” said Sherman Luna.
