Credit for all photos: Adelia Kirchner / The Tennessee Conservative
The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –
Two illegal immigration bills moved through the House committee process on Tuesday despite the efforts of protesters.
Bill Allowing School Districts to Unenroll and Refuse to Enroll Illegal Students
A bill giving Tennessee public school districts the option to unenroll or refuse enrollment of a student if it cannot be proven that the student is in the state and country lawfully, passed in the House K-12 Education Subcommittee by a 5-3 vote on Tuesday morning as the cries of illegal immigration protestors flooded the hallway outside of the committee hearing room.
Groups of people with the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), the Metropolitan Nashville Education Association (MNEA), and the Tennessee Education Association (TEA) filled most of the committee room seats and formed a large, vocal crowd in the hall.
Shelby County Schools also brought approximately 65 students to Nashville on Tuesday and several of the group chaperones participated in the crowd’s chants like “Let kids learn!”, “Shame on you!” and “You’re a liar!”
House Bill 793 (HB0793), sponsored by Rep. William Lamberth (R-Portland-District 44), as introduced “authorizes LEAs and public charter schools to refuse to enroll students who are unlawfully present in the United States.”
Republican Representatives Gino Bulso, Kirk Haston, Aron Maberry, Lee Reeves, and William Slater voted in favor of HB0793.
Democrat Representatives Yusuf Hakeem and Sam McKenzie were joined by Republican Representative Mark White in voting against the legislation.
The intent of this legislation seems to be for it to get challenged in court and potentially lead to the overturning of Plyler V. Doe (1982), a decision which ruled that states cannot deny undocumented children a free public education.
“It is similar to my TRUMP Act, which—like the facts in Plyler— requires payment of tuition,” Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood-District 61) told Tennessee Conservative News. “That bill seeks to overturn Plyler v. Doe.”
“This is literally a one-sentence bill that says, notwithstanding another law to the contrary, an LEA or public charter school may enroll, or refuse to enroll, a student who is unlawfully present in the United States,” Rep. Lamberth stated in subcommittee. “Every district in this state right now primarily asks for three things when a child enrolls in school. Birth certificate, proof of residency, proof of immunizations.”
Rep. Lamberth noted that currently, school districts can only enforce two out of those three requirements.
“This gives an option to the local districts to require that proof of citizenship, just as they require proof of residency or immunizations,” he said.
Four individuals testified in opposition of the legislation.
William Mendoza, a special education teaching assistant in Knox County stated that “Education is a right no matter one’s education background” and referenced the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Plyer V. Doe.
“Last week Senator Watson shared his reasons for bringing this bill forward. One of his arguments was the increase of funding for ESL classes,” said Mendoza. “Well, I’m a proud born and raised Tennessean and I was in ESL.”
A sixth-grader from Gresham Middle School in Knoxville, Tennessee, also provided a public testimony, beginning with his daily prayer and continuing on to share his passion for dancing and drawing, his dreams of one day owning a restaurant or becoming a scientist.
“I’m a kid. I love to use my imagination. I am the son of immigrant parents that have shown me to respect and value everyone. Just like me and all the kids in this country, we have the right to dream and make those dreams come true. The right to an education should not be taken away from us because of our immigration status.”
“This is an issue that has faced our country for decades now. Hopefully someday we’ll get past it,” Rep. White noted.
HB0793 will proceed with a positive recommendation to the full House Education Committee.
A woman associated with the TEA shouted at Rep. Scott Cepicky as he left the committee room saying, “Why do you hate brown children?” Allegedly the same woman and other individuals were involved in the harassment of other General Assembly members and their legislative staff, even following one into the bathroom. State troopers were called to alleviate the situation.
The corresponding Senate Bill 836 (SB0836), sponsored by Sen. Bo Watson (R-Hixson-District 11), passed by a 5-4 vote in the Senate Education Committee last week and continues to move through the Senate committee process.
Bill Preventing Illegal Immigrants and Convicted Felons From Registering to Vote in Tennessee
House Bill 69 (HB0069), also sponsored by Rep. Lamberth, passed in the House Elections and Campaign Finance Subcommittee by a 6-1 vote.
This legislation intends to establish “major safeguards to strengthen election integrity in Tennessee” and does three main things:
- Requires the Secretary of State to work with local and state election officials to create a secure electronic portal for county election administrators to verify U.S. citizenship and voter eligibility by January of 2025.
- Requires the coordinator of elections, in collaboration with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, to create a similar portal to verify whether someone is ineligible to vote because of a felony conviction by January of 2025.
- Requires a visual distinction, such as a color or font on the face of a photo identification license, to differentiate the class designation for the purpose of voting.
Republican Representatives Rush Bricken, Dan Howell, Tom Leatherwood, Jerome Moon, Tim Rudd, and Dave Wright all voted in favor of HB0069.
The only subcommittee member voting against the legislation was Democrat Jason Powell.
HB0069 will now move on to the House State and Local Government Committee with a positive recommendation.
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. Adelia is The Tennessee Conservative’s on-site reporter for the Tennessee General Assembly. You can reach Adelia at adelia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
3 Responses
Strange how all these ‘teachers’ will get paid and students will get excused absences to lobby, yell, disrupt and near riot INSIDE the state legislature disrupting business as ususal, but even more strangely, there is no whining from our leaders about these bad actors. This truly sounds more like an “INSURRECTION” and the J6 peaceful protest. And further, if Tennessee’s politicians were as evil as the Biden Administration and it’s Dept. of Justice, all these folks would have been JAILED WITHOUT DUE PROCESS, just like the J6 citizens were and still are, despite full presidential pardons. But, then again the LEGACY media is AWOL…no so strange!
AMEN!!
Good!