Legislation Authorizing Local Law Enforcement To Enforce Federal Immigration Laws In TN Heads To Committees

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The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –

Legislation that would give local law enforcement the authority to enforce federal law and arrest anyone transporting, harboring or facilitating the transport of illegal aliens into Tennessee will be heard by both House and Senate Committees next week.

The House bill sponsor, Representative Dennis Powers, told the Tennessee Conservative, “We have had flights arriving in the middle of the night in Knoxville and Chattanooga and then transporting those illegal aliens throughout our state and we have seen illegal aliens housed in the former Temple University in Chattanooga.  We do not know who these people are or where they are going.  We cannot arrest the illegals because that is the job of the federal government (which they are not doing), but we can arrest those who are transporting them, whether it be a van driver or a pilot landing in our state under Title 8 U.S.C. $ 1324 (a). That is what my bill is about, plus it also develops training on how to enforce the federal law regarding transporting illegal aliens into our state.  The intent of this bill is to be a deterrent to anyone who wants to bring illegal aliens into our state and our hope is that Congress will one day address the issue of illegals coming into our state and enforce the current federal laws.”

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The House Bill (HB2222), sponsored by Representative Dennis Powers (R-Jacksboro-District 36), was passed by the State Government Committee and was sent on to the Calendar and Rules Committee for scheduling for the House floor.  However, it has been redirected to the Criminal Justice Committee, set to be heard on April 6th.

The Senate Bill (SB2264), sponsored by Senator Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains-District 8), was first placed on the State and Local Government Committee calendar for March 15th but action has been deferred multiple times.  It now lands on the calendar to be heard on April 5th.

If you support this legislation, contact the Republican members of both committees (who hold the supermajority vote) prior to their meetings next week.  Contact information for the Republicans on both committees can be found below.

House Criminal Justice Committee 

Michael Curcio (R) (chair) – rep.michael.curcio@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3513

Jerry Sexton (R) (vice-chair) – rep.jerry.sexton@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2534

Scotty Campbell (R)  – rep.scotty.campbell@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2050

Clay Doggett (R)  – rep.clay.doggett@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7476

Andrew Farmer (R) – rep.andrew.farmer@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4419

Bruce Griffey (R)  – rep.bruce.griffey@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6804

David Hawk (R) – rep.david.hawk@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7482

Dan Howell (R) – rep.dan.howell@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7799

Bud Hulsey (R) – rep.bud.hulsey@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2886

William Lamberth (R) – rep.william.lamberth@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1980

Debra Moody (R) – rep.debra.moody@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3774

Lowell Russell (R) – rep.lowell.russell@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3736

Paul Sherrell (R) – rep.paul.sherrell@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1963

Senate State and Local Government Committee

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

Todd Gardenhire (R)(1st Vice-Chair) – sen.todd.gardenhire@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6682

Page Walley (R)(2nd Vice-Chair) – sen.page-walley@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2368

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

Brian Kelsey (R)– sen.brian.kelsey@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3036

Bill Powers (R)– sen.bill.powers@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2374

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

*Note from The Tennessee Conservative. All above contact information has been checked against the General Assembly website. Some of our subscribers have related to us that their emails are being blocked by the capitol server. If this happens to you, try a different email provider or place a phone call to the legislators.

About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative  ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career.  Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others.  He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History.  Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com