Over the past year, through sweeping executive orders and quiet administrative action, the president has been transforming our nation's immigration system. He is redefining who gets to be an American and who belongs.
As the president tries to divide our families and communities from D.C., our local communities can cast a different vision of who belongs. But a handful of state legislators have filed bills to turn local police into immigration agents and to drive a wedge between local governments and their residents.
Senator Green (R-Clarksville) has filed two bills that are among the most extreme anti-immigration legislation in the country. SB 2332 would require all of Tennessee's local law enforcement agencies to sign up for Trump's deportation force and would prohibit common-sense local policies that promote community trust and public safety. SB 2333 would prohibit any government agency from accepting consular IDs and any non-state IDs, making it difficult for immigrant parents to enroll their kids in school, access critical services, and verify their identity in routine encounters with law enforcement.
This is the third year in a row that Senator Green has tried to pass his "anti-sanctuary city" bill. We've defeated the bill for the past two years, and we won't let it pass this year.This week, after failing to answer several questions from committee members, the bill was delayed.
Similar "anti-sanctuary city" bills have been filed by other legislators that restate existing state and federal law. This Wednesday we defeated HB2579, introduced by Representative Ragan (R-Oak Ridge) and worked to delay a vote on HB 2552, introduced by Representative Dawn White (R-Murfreesboro), which would make local elected officials felons if they advance policies that violate federal immigration law or remove confederate monuments.
Since our founding, we've defeated more than 150 anti-immigrant bills in the state legislature, protecting the rights and dignity of immigrants and refugees in Tennessee. The threats against immigrant families in this year's legislature are significant, but we won't stop fighting until these hateful bills are defeated.
Stay tuned for updates on these and other harmful bills. We'll need you to take action with us at key moments to ensure these bills don't pass. In the meantime, please consider making a donation to support our powerful advocacy work. With your support, we can continue to defeat harmful legislation that hurts Tennessee's immigrant families.
