Tennessee Attorney General Responds To Lawsuit Over New Immigration Law

Image Credit: Tennessee Attorney General / Facebook & Canva

Tennessee Conservative News [By Olivia Lupia] –

On Tuesday, the Tennessee Attorney General’s office filed a brief opposing an injunction of the new law set to take effect July 1 which criminalizes illegal aliens with final deportation orders who remain in the state.

Part of the immigration package created in tandem with the Trump administration this year, HB1704 creates a Class A misdemeanor for any illegal with a final removal order who has exhausted all other legal recourse available to them and refuses to leave the state within 90 days of when their final order was issued. Class A misdemeanors carry a sentence of up to one year in jail and a maximum fine of $2,500.

But a lawsuit filed by the ACLU at the beginning of the month on behalf of two illegal aliens who have resided in Tennessee for decades claims the law is a violation of the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution as a usurpation by the state of federal immigration enforcement powers.

The suit is seeking class action status to represent “hundreds if not thousands of non-citizens…subject to arrest, detention and prosecution,” and plaintiffs are requesting both a preliminary and permanent restraining order stopping state officials from enforcing the law. 

“The state’s overreach here is unlawful and inhumane, creating fear and upending lives for families, neighbors, and communities across Tennessee,” read a statement by a staff attorney with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project.

Part of the suit’s arguments draw on complexities within the U.S. immigration system which provide that certain noncitizens with removal orders can still remain in the country through other remedies including humanitarian relief, legal protections as crime victims, protection under the Convention Against Torture, and DACA recipients.

In response, the Tennessee Attorney General’s (AG) Office contends that the newly enacted “Removal-Order Compliance Act (ROCA)” only “targets individuals who are knowingly violating federal law, and those who are intentionally evading federal immigration enforcement supervision. It narrowly applies to immigrants who intentionally stay in Tennessee over 90 days after receiving a final removal order from the federal government. That conduct is already illegal under federal law.”

The AG states that the plaintiffs do not have standing as neither can demonstrate that they will be impacted by this new law and therefore cannot claim need of an “extraordinary and drastic remedy” of a preliminary injunction.

“Plaintiffs’ challenge fails across the board,” the brief says. “Plaintiffs’ lawsuit arises from a theoretical future Tennessee prosecution, not one that is certainly impending. Article III prohibits adjudicating such hypothetical claim.” 

It also states that “federal law affirmatively invites State participation in many enforcement related fields” and supports this claim with a detailed background on existing federal and state framework for enforcing compliance with removal orders and a history of state participation in immigration enforcement.

And, in addition to disqualification of the suit due to Tennessee’s sovereign immunity, the state says that plaintiffs fail to establish the four factors necessary to be granted standing in consideration of the preliminary injunction: they are likely to succeed in establishing jurisdiction and win on merit, they will suffer irreparable harm, the balance of equities favors them, and an injunction is in the public interest. 

“Plaintiffs fail to show entitlement to any injunction, and certainly not a class-wide facial injunction,” the brief concludes. The state asks for both injunctions to be denied for the plethora of reasons described within the brief. 

With both the suit and the state’s response filed, it will now depend on the court to deny the request for injunction or allow the petition to continue, which could signal favor for potential future challenges to other immigration-related laws in the state. 

About the Author: 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.