Image Credit: Tennessee General Assembly
The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
Day three of the Extraordinary Session in the General Assembly saw the illegal immigration omnibus bill, SB6002/HB6001, clear the Senate after two more committee sessions and come closer to passage in the House after a rambunctious committee hearing.
In the Senate, the State and Local Government committee was first on the calendar for SB6002 where Sen. Bo Watson (R-Dist.11-Hixon) once again took the floor to present the bill and its traveling amendment.
After a couple of non-controversial clarifying questions about the language defining “temporary license”, the committee voted 6-3 in favor of recommending the bill. Members voting “Aye” were Chairman Richard Briggs, Tom Hatcher, Ed Jackson, Adam Lowe, Kerry Roberts, and Page Walley.
The “No” votes came from Republican Todd Gardenhire and Democrats Charlane Oliver and Jeff Yarbro.
Gardenhire announced his vote would remain “No” based on the controversial objections he has to the portion of the bill that places felony-level consequences onto elected officials who promote or practice sanctuary city policies.
The legislation then landed in the Finance, Ways and Means committee to sign off on the required funding to implement the bill. Senator Watson presented Finance Amendment #1 which proposed two changes to the language of the bill:
1) Modifies the $5 million grant program (down from approximately $20 million, per the Tennessee Lookout) to ensure local law enforcement agencies can receive grant funds if they directly enter into a 287(g) agreement with the federal government.
2) Extends the confidentiality protections for law enforcement records already held by the Department of Safety to also apply to documents maintained by the newly established Immigration Enforcement Division.
Finance Amendment #1 passed by a voice vote, and the roll call vote was taken for the bill as amended. The final vote was 9-2 in favor of passage. Members voting “Aye” were Ferrell Haile, Joey Hensley, Jack Johnson, Bill Powers, Paul Rose, John Stevens, Page Walley, Bo Watson, and Ken Yager. The two “No” votes were from Democrats London Lamar and Jeff Yarbro.
SB6002 reached the full Senate floor in the afternoon for third and final consideration. Two amendments clarifying language were passed via voice votes while three others proposed by Democrats once again attempting to strip the felony charges against elected officials or restrain immigration enforcement from areas like schools or churches were tabled or rejected.
Most opposition to the bill came from Democrats, who made claims the bill would be “unconstitutional” or violate civil rights and promote “racial profiling” or discrimination.
Republican Todd Gardenhire was the only Republican to speak in opposition to the bill, again commenting on his dislike of the felony consequences for elected officials impeding immigration enforcement.
All other Republicans who spoke did so overwhelmingly in support of the bill, and Sen. Bo Watson closed with an impassioned speech, commenting, “We realize that when President Trump was elected, and when he began enforcing what he said he was going to do, that it would require coordination and cooperation and collaboration with the states. There is no other way to do it. The federal government doesn’t have the capacity to do it alone, the federal government doesn’t have the will to do it alone. And those of us who have been watching this play out over the past 12 months have seen a clear indicator from states like Tennessee, Texas, Florida, Arizona that we are willing to step up and collaborate, coordinate, and cooperate with our federal partners, that’s what this bill does.”
The final vote was 26-7 in favor, passing along party lines with exception of Sen. Gardenhire, who was the only Republican voting against the bill.
In the House, HB6001 spent the morning in a contentious, nearly two and a half hour meeting of the House Immigration Committee of Extraordinary Session. Two amendments, one adjusting some clerical language and the other mirroring Finance Amendment #1 from the Senate, were passed by voice vote before discussion began on the bill as a whole.
Public testimony consisted of only two individuals speaking against the bill. Chairman Chris Todd had to reprimand members of the public who attempted to comment from the audience, mostly in opposition to the bill or in defense of illegal aliens. “The public will refrain from comments, or you will be removed… This is not a participatory sport. Please. No more warnings,” Todd stated.
Democrat Representative Justin Jones was also chastised by Todd as he attempted to interrupt comments by Rep. Jason Zachary, and according to reporting from News Channel 5 and video record of the meeting, at least four audience members were removed for boisterous behavior, including snapping their fingers at Representatives, vocalizing, and even loudly singing, all in objection to the bill or immigration enforcement efforts in general.
Many questions were directed to the Department of Safety regarding logistical implementations and enforcement, and several Democrats also proposed amendments that hinged on emotional pleas against deporting “undocumented” persons, separating families, or removing criminal liabilities for local officials who obstruct immigration proceedings, all of which were tabled.
Due to a glitch in the recording system, voting for final action on the bill was conducted by roll call. The bill passed the committee in a vote of 15-6 in favor.
Members voting “Aye” were Reps. Todd, Fritts, Reneau, Warner, Barrett, Zachary, Bulso, Carringer, Darby, Doggett, Eldridge, Hurt, Lynn, Reedy, and Stevens. Members voting “No” were Democrat Reps. Johnson, Jones, Dixie, Hakeem, McKenzie, and Brooks.
HB6001 is scheduled for a full House vote on Thursday, Jan. 30, results of which will be reported by The Tennessee Conservative.
Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
One Response
Sure seems like the Dems and RINO(s) always vote Anti-American.