Tennessee GOP Passes Immigration Law to Criminalize Elected Officials’ Votes
Melissa Brown, The Tennessean, January 30, 2025
Tennessee Republicans finalized an immigration bill Thursday establishing a new enforcement office exempt from public records law and criminalizing local officials who support sanctuary policies for immigrants.
The GOP supermajority in the General Assembly this week gave swift passage to the immigration enforcement law despite warnings from staff attorneys that the bill is “constitutionally suspect” in its unprecedented effort to curtail elected officials’ voting decisions.
Shortly after the bill’s final passage, the ACLU of Tennessee said in a statement it was preparing to sue the state over the pending law. The bill will soon go to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk.
The legislation will fund a $5 million office within the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, allowing Lee to tap an enforcement director and incentivize local law enforcement entities to enter into a contract program with federal immigration authorities. The bill will also establish a new driver’s license that distinguishes U.S. citizens from legal permanent residents.
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The bill aims to criminalize local officials such as city council members or county commissioners who cast a vote for any local immigration “sanctuary” policy. Tennessee has long banned such policies, which generally limit how much local or state governments are willing to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
“It is illegal under state law to set up sanctuary cities. That statute, as defined now, does not have any teeth in it,” said House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland. “We are not going to allow cities and counties set up a sanctuary city. If they vote to do so, absolutely it will be a felony and they will be removed from office.”
The criminalization clause is an unprecedented step by the Republican legislative supermajority to control the specific votes of local officials. There are protections in both the U.S. Constitution and state Constitution that shield official actions such as votes or speech made during legislative debate.
A single Republican, Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, joined Democrats in voting against the measure, calling it a “dangerous precedent” to charge local officials for casting a vote.
Rep. Joe Towns, D-Memphis, said the supermajority had gone “freaking berserk with power.”
“They’re drunk with power, and they think they can do anything they want to do without anybody saying anything or fighting back,” Towns said.
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