House Committee Advances Legislation Requiring Tennessee Law Enforcement To Report Illegal Aliens To Feds

Image Credit: capitol.tn.gov

The Tennessee Conservative Staff –

The House State Government Committee voted Wednesday to pass a bill that would require law enforcement agencies to report illegal aliens to the federal government.

House Bill 2124, sponsored by Representative Rusty Grills (R-Newbern-District 71), changes existing law to require that communication with federal officials, rather than just authorizing it.

The committee heard testimony from Tennessee resident Ashley Warbington who stated that she opposed the bill and argued that deportation would disrupt the labor force and affect revenues, that the bill paved the way for federal overreach and threatened state sovereignty, and that families would be broken apart.

Several Democrat legislators also expressed opposition to the bill, stating that there were already processes that allowed law enforcement agencies to do this and questioning whether it was right to dictate that local departments take on federal responsibilities.

After some discussion, there was a call for question, and Chairman Kelly Keisling (R-Byrdstown-District 38) called for a voice vote.

Ayes prevailed, and the bill was passed on to the House Calendar and Rules Committee. Only Representative Jesse Chism (D-Memphis-District 85) requested to be recorded as voting against the bill.

The companion Senate bill 2576 (SB2576) is scheduled to be heard by the Senate State and Local Government Committee on March 12.

To voice your support or opposition to this legislation, contact the members of that committee using the contact information below prior to that date.

Senate State & Local Government Committee

Richard Briggs (R) – sen.richard.briggs@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1766

Ed Jackson (R) – sen.ed.jackson@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1810

Sara Kyle (D) – sen.sara.kyle@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4167

Adam Lowe (R) – sen.adam.lowe@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1946

Mark Pody (R) – sen.mark.pody@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2421

John Stevens (R) – sen.john.stevens@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4576

Page Walley (R) – sen.page.walley@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2368

Ken Yager (R) – sen.ken.yager@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1449

Jeff Yarbro (D) – sen.jeff.yarbro@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3291

sen.richard.briggs@capitol.tn.gov, sen.ed.jackson@capitol.tn.gov, sen.sara.kyle@capitol.tn.gov, sen.adam.lowe@capitol.tn.gov, sen.mark.pody@capitol.tn.gov, sen.john.stevens@capitol.tn.gov, sen.page.walley@capitol.tn.gov, sen.ken.yager@capitol.tn.gov, sen.jeff.yarbro@capitol.tn.gov