(The Center Square) – The Tennessee Senate voted 26-7 on Wednesday to pass a bill that would create a new division targeting illegal immigration that would also penalize elected officials who support sanctuary cities.
Sen. Todd Gardenhire was the only Republican voting “no.” He joined Democrats in questioning why the bill created a Class E felony when sanctuary cities were already illegal in the state.
An amendment to remove the provision of the bill was reintroduced during a Senate floor debate by Sen. London Lamar, D-Memphis.
“I don’t think we need additional penalties on people who are elected by the people to be able to take stances on particular issues,” Lamar said. “I know there is Supreme Court precedence and state court precedence that had reiterated protections for local elected officials to be able to take stances. I will say if you keep this in the bill, then this bill will more than likely go straight to court.”
The amendment was rejected.
The Senate also defeated an amendment by Sen. Heidi Campbell, D-Nashville, that would have prohibited law enforcement from arresting people living in or entering the country illegally in churches and schools.
“It’s incredibly stressful for all of the students in our state to be disrupted on a regular basis by ICE agents coming in whether it is at their school or at their church or any public place that’s supposed to be safe,” Campbell said.
The bill creates a Centralized Immigration Enforcement Division to act as a liaison with the Trump administration on immigration. The bill also establishes a grant program for law enforcement agencies that participate in a federal immigration program that allows them to perform some immigration duties.
Rep. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, who presented the bill, said even states that are not border states need to play a part in arresting people living in or entering the country illegally.
“For decades, states have yielded to the federal government to solve this problem only to see the problem worsen because the federal government has simply become inept at solving it,” Watson said. “Over the past five years, states have become more and more aggressive and more and more engaged in this debate and in offering solutions to a problem that everyone recognizes but no one wants to fix.”
The special session is expected to wrap up today with votes in both chambers on school choice. The vote in the House of Representatives was halted Wednesday when lawmakers asked to remove protestors who were disrupting the proceedings.