Lawsuit Filed Against New Human Smuggling Law in Tennessee to Address Illegal Immigration & Human Trafficking

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The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –

The Southeastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has filed suit alongside two individuals against the State of Tennessee challenging the constitutionality of a new Tennessee law that creates the crime 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.

The lawsuit was filed on Friday, June 20^th, in the federal district court for the Middle District of Tennessee by the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP) at Georgetown Law, the American Immigration Council, and the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC).

According to a June 23^rd press release, the Southeastern Synod is the lead plaintiff and the two individuals involved in the lawsuit include a local landlord and a Tennessee resident who currently resides with their son-in-law who might be in the country illegally.

The Southeastern Synod represents Lutheran congregations across Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee and is one of 65 existing synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

The legislation in question, SB0392/HB0322, was signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) on Friday, May 9^th. The law has been scheduled to go into effect on July 1^st of this year.

Sponsored by state Sen. Brent Taylor (R-Memphis-District 31) and state Rep. Chris Todd (R-Madison County-District 73) at the time of its passage, SB0392/HB0322 defined the crime of “human smuggling” 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.”

According to the bill sponsors this new law does three main things:

• Gives the Attorney General (AG) more tools to combat human trafficking. If the AG suspects that a business or individual is involved in human trafficking, they can obtain a court order to stop the activity, shut the business down completely, or appoint a receiver for the business.
• Creates a new crime of “human smuggling” for when somebody knowingly moves or hides illegal immigrants. This would be a Class E Felony. Smuggling a child under 13-years of age would be “aggravated human smuggling” which would be a Class A Felony.
• Cracks down on hiding illegal immigrants by making it a Class A Misdemeanor to hide or help hide illegal individuals from authorities for commercial purposes.

The new law is not retroactive, meaning it will only apply to offenses committed on its effective date of July 1^st. 

In an interview with The Tennessee Conservative back in April, bill sponsor Sen. Taylor explained that the legislation is designed to criminalize the activity leading up to human trafficking.

“From the time someone crosses the southern border, to the time they actually engage in human trafficking, we’re trying to criminalize some of those activities so that we can catch these perpetrators and liberate their victims before they become victims of human trafficking,” said Sen. Taylor.

The newly filed lawsuit alleges that SB0392/HB0322:

• Violates the U.S. Constitution by allowing the state government of Tennessee to regulate immigration. This is a power reserved for the federal government; otherwise, if each state created and enforced its own immigration laws, the result would be a chaotic patchwork of conflicting rules, making it nearly impossible for law enforcement, businesses, and immigrants to navigate across state lines.
• Is too vague for Tennesseans to understand which conduct will be criminalized, introducing the specter of felony charges and decades-long prison terms for actions that may be entirely humanitarian in nature. 

“This law is not just harmful, it’s unconstitutional,” ICAP senior counsel, Elizabeth Cruikshank, said. “Immigration enforcement is a responsibility of the federal government, not something that states can pick up and weaponize however they choose. When individual states start creating their own immigration rules and penalties, it creates confusion, fear, and chaos, not just for immigrants, but for families, employers, and communities across the state. That’s why courts have consistently held that immigration policy must be uniform, and why laws like Tennessee’s cannot stand.”

American Immigration Council senior litigation attorney Suchi Mathur even went as far as saying that the law is not about public safety, but about fear and xenophobia.

“It has already made communities across the state less secure and will cause immeasurable harm once it goes into effect. Criminalizing things like sharing a home or welcoming churchgoers does not make people safe,” said Mathur.

“S.B. 392 does nothing to improve the lives of Tennesseans or protect public safety, and instead attempts to pit neighbors against each other,” TIRRC Senior Director of Legal Strategy Spring Miller stated. “This law forces religious organizations to choose between following their values or falling in line. It forces family members—spouses, siblings, even parents—to fear that simply living under the same roof as a loved one without legal status could land them behind bars. This isn’t just unintended consequences of a bad policy. This is using the law to inflict cruelty and control.”

However, according to Sen. Taylor, as long as nonprofits and individuals are not harboring or hiding illegal individuals for personal financial gain or for commercial advantage, then this legislation does not apply to them.

“The way we’re doing it, we’re actually giving the attorney general some more tools in his toolkit to go after businesses and nonprofits and people who would engage in human smuggling,” said Sen. Taylor. “But then the other thing we’re doing is we’re telling nonprofits that as long as you are abiding by the law we’ll leave you alone and you can help these people that come across the border if that’s your misguided mission, but the moment you engage in human smuggling or, through another bill that I had passed, if you are trying to help people get long-term housing in a community, then you could be civilly responsible for that.”

“The moment somebody is attempting to smuggle people and conceal them from law enforcement and border patrol agents, the moment you do that for personal financial gain or for commercial advantage, then you’re gonna be guilty of this crime and you should have to pay the penalty for that,” he continued. “It’s just a way to send a message to people who will exploit these illegal aliens for personal gain and commercial advantage, that we’re gonna be watching and we’re gonna penalize you if you do.”

The plaintiffs in this lawsuit are seeking an immediate injunction to block enforcement of SB0392/HB0322 while their case continues.

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.