NASHVILLE, Tenn. — State lawmakers are already filing bills on immigration, even before the new administration takes office in January.
And the Tennessee Illegal Immigration Act is already creating controversy.
“It’s ‘we the people’ who make up ‘we the states,’ who we make up ‘we the federal government’, not vice versa,” said Rep. Todd Warner, R-Chapel Hill.
As it is written and filed now the Tennessee Illegal Immigration Act will allow law enforcement to detain and send those who have entered the country illegally to sanctuary cities on the federal government's dime.
Rep. Warner's bill will likely see its time on the House and Senate floor for debate.
Warner said it wouldn't cost more in taxes because the state would withhold money from the gas tax.
“There’s no true way to get a true number of what illegal immigration is costing the state. This bill seems to make Tennessee safer,” said Warner.
In the name of a "safer Tennessee," Warner said only for minor violations could law enforcement would transport those who entered the country illegally to a sanctuary city of their choice.
“This is not for someone who has created or committed a serious crime. I want them to go through the judicial process here in Tennessee,” said Warner.
It's one of the most diverse areas in Middle Tennessee, the Tennessee Immigrant And Refugee Rights Coalition fears the bill would change the landscape here by breaking up families.
“What we’re seeing from this piece of legislation is it does nothing for public safety,” said Luis Mata with TIRRC.
Those at TIRRC are already anticipating many anti-immigration policies in the legislature this session.
They, too, are in favor of improved safety and security in the state. But they question if that's really the intent of this bill.
“It opens the door for forceful removal of people who have had the criminal legal process resolved,” said Mata.
He warned passage of this bill could mean chipping away at the constitutional rights of all Tennesseans.
The bill would only allow transportation to a sanctuary city 700 miles away.
That would prohibit transportation to sanctuary cities in the Northeast and the West Coast.
