Image Credit: TN General Assembly
The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
A bill creating the offenses of human smuggling, harboring or hiding, and assisting another in harboring or hiding illegal immigrants that are known to have illegally entered or remained in the country cleared its final hurdle to becoming law when the Tennessee House passed the measure 73-22 on its final day in session for this year.
HB0322 creates strong penalties for the new crime of “human smuggling”, defined as transporting, encouraging, or inducing an individual to either illegally enter the state or to remain in Tennessee through the act of “concealing, harboring, or shielding.” It also empowers the Attorney General to better combat human trafficking in the state.
The legislation designates it a Class E Felony if someone knowingly moves or hides illegal immigrants and smuggling a child under the age of 13 would be considered “aggravated human smuggling”, carrying a Class A Felony. It further cracks down on those hiding illegal immigrants by making it a Class A Misdemeanor to hide or help hide illegal individuals from authorities.
After being placed behind the budget earlier this month, a death sentence for many pieces of legislation, the bill was revived and heard by the House on Tuesday, April 22, where sponsor Rep. Chris Todd (R-Madison County-District 73) introduced the measure and conformed it to the already-passed Senate companion, SB0392.
“We had over 25,000 unaccompanied children shipped into our state alone, and 300,000 around the country. These children went to folks unknown. Many of them still are unaccounted for, we don’t know what happened to them. This is such a tragedy to happen under our noses in our states and we, as legislators, didn’t make that decision. We did not determine this could happen, this was done by the previous administration federally with no notice to us, no permission granted, and again, no accountability. Many of these are being trafficked right now, for unimaginable things. I believe it is our duty to protect these victims, to protect the innocent, and this is a tool to do that,” Todd declared.
Contentions came from both Representatives and observers as Speaker Cameron Sexton reprimanded several Reps. who yelled out of turn throughout the discussion and had to threaten sections of the gallery with removal as they were loudly hissing in protest during Rep. Todd’s explanation of the bill.
Several Democrats asked questions about illegal immigrants married to American citizens and priests offering sanctuary in churches, wondering if those spouses or churches would be charged with harboring, despite Rep. Todd’s restating the bill’s definitions of both “smuggling” and “harboring” numerous times.
After Democrats continually ignored Todd’s request for clarification of their questions, Todd finally quipped, “Mr. Speaker I would appreciate your opinion on whether I’m speaking in tongues or not. I’ve asked the same question, I believe in English, three times to address the member’s concerns and I’ve not gotten a straight answer yet, just bloviating.”
Democrat John Ray Clemmons attempted to invoke the empathy of Christians by stating, “The church I was raised in, the church which most of you attend or you were raised in, taught the Word of God and the teachings of Jesus Christ to help your neighbor, to assist those who need assistance. I mean, the entire Bible is chock full, Old Testament, New Testament, help someone who needs helping. Your church does this, takes in anyone, gives them assistance, gives them food, gives them shelter, they’re vulnerable, and your church will be held liable under this bill. I continue to be amazed how fast Christianity is thrown out the window in the name of politics. This is atrocious.”
Todd rebutted, “Members, there were just now four minutes of your life wasted because the member did not read the very first line where the offense is defined,” referring to the section that specifically states the offense is created if the person smuggles for the purpose of commercial advantage or private financial gain.
The question was called, moving the body to a vote, and HB0322 was passed 73-22 along party lines with all Democrats voting “No.”
As the bill has now passed both chambers of the General Assembly, it awaits the Governor’s signature as the legislative session concludes. The new law is set to take effect July 1, 2025, and will apply to an offense committed on or after that date.
About the Author: Adelia Kirchner is a Tennessee resident and reporter for the Tennessee Conservative. Currently the host of Subtle Rampage Podcast, she has also worked for the South Dakota State Legislature and interned for Senator Bill Hagerty’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee. Adelia is The Tennessee Conservative’s on-site reporter for the Tennessee General Assembly. You can reach Adelia at adelia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
