Image Credit: Canva & ACLU-TN
The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –
The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee (ACLU-TN) is representing 7 Metro Nashville Council members in a lawsuit against state lawmakers over a new immigration law that makes it illegal for local officials to vote in favor of forming a sanctuary city.
Back in January during Tennessee’s special session on education, disaster relief, public safety and illegal immigration, state lawmakers passed SB6002/HB6001, an omnibus illegal immigration bill that:
- Creates a new Centralized Immigration Enforcement Division within the Department of Safety and Homeland Security in Tennessee.
- Establishes a grant program to promote the enforcement of federal immigration laws.
- Requires the Department of Safety to issue lawful permanent residents temporary driver’s licenses instead of standard ones for the purposes of aiding in voter eligibility determination.
- Places a Class E felony on local elected officials who adopt sanctuary city policies, requiring removal of an elected official upon conviction. The charge is punishable with up to 6 years in prison and a $3,000 fine.
SB6002/HB6001 was sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin-District 27) and House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland-District 44).
ACLU-TN’s lawsuit which focuses primarily on the bill section regarding felony consequences for local officials, was filed on Tuesday, June 24th, in the Davidson County Chancery Court of the 20th Judicial District of Tennessee.
In an official press release, ACLU-TN claims that the new immigration law “violates the First Amendment rights of locally elected officials voting in favor of policies supporting immigrants” and that the law is “an unprecedented effort to criminalize legislative speech, debate and deliberation.”
“In enacting this law, Tennessee went beyond every other state in the nation by imposing felony criminal liability, including the possibility of 1 to 6 years of imprisonment, for local officials who adopt, enact or even vote for policies that conflict with the state’s mandated views on immigration enforcement,” the press release reads. “By making it a class E felony for local officials to vote in favor of vaguely defined ‘sanctuary policies,’ the state is effectively punishing officials for doing their jobs and responding to the needs of their constituents.”
Legal Director for ACLU-TN Stella Yarbrough said she views the new law as “an extreme, unconstitutional attack on the legislative process and democracy as a whole.”
According to a state law passed in 2019, sanctuary cities are prohibited to exist within state lines. Arguments in favor of this year’s immigration law reflect that stance.
“Voting to establish a sanctuary city is just that — we’re not going to have that in the state of Tennessee,” Rep. Lamberth said in January.
Delishia Porterfield, one of the metro council members involved in the lawsuit, argues that she has the First Amendment right to debate, deliberate and vote on the issues before her.
“As an elected official, I have a First Amendment right to debate, deliberate, and vote on issues that are important to my constituents without the government telling me what my viewpoints should be when I get ready to take my vote,” Porterfield said. “This is an unprecedented effort to criminalize legislative speech, debate, and deliberation, and then an example of state overreach and abuse of power.”
Rep. Lamberth responded to the lawsuit on his social media saying, “The ultra liberals on the Metro Council are so obsessed with illegal immigrants, they are suing for the ability to vote for sanctuary city policies like other liberal states allow. We do NOT allow and NEVER will allow sanctuary cities in this great state.”
The plaintiffs in this lawsuit include Nashville Metro Council members Clay Capp, Brenda Gadd, Delishia D. Porterfield, Sandra Sepulveda, Zulfat Suara, Terry Vo and Ginny Welsch.
This lawsuit comes only four days after the filing of a different lawsuit against the state challenging the constitutionality of another new state law that creates the crime of human smuggling in an attempt to address illegal immigration and human trafficking in Tennessee.
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. You can reach Adelia at adelia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
