Image Credit: capitol.tn.gov
The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –
Legislation that would allow Tennessee courts to enhance criminal penalties up to life in prison without parole for illegal immigrants convicted of violent crimes passed in the House of Representatives on Wednesday by a 70-22 vote.
The Senate version of this legislation, SB2770, received 27-4 passage on the Senate floor last week, just one day after its companion bill, HB1872, was taken off notice in the House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee.
This week HB1872, sponsored by Rep. Monty Fritts (R-Kingston-District 32), was placed back on the House calendar.
As Rep. Fritts explained during the April 24th House proceedings, SB2770/HB1872 does four basic things:
• Enhances the penalty for illegal immigrants who commit a violent crime in Tennessee
• Enhances the penalty for an illegal immigrant who commits a crime in Tennessee while in possession of a deadly weapon up to life in prison without parole
• Enhances the penalty for any adult who commits a felony violent crime on a K-12 school campus in Tennessee
• Allows a magistrate or judge setting bail and bond to take an individual’s residency status into consideration
On the House floor Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis-District 86) called the bill “xenophobic, anti-immigrant legislation” and brought an amendment that was “not timely filed.”
By a 73-22 vote, the House chose not to consider Rep. Pearson’s amendment.
In further discussion of SB2770/HB1872, Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville-District 55) questioned the bill sponsor on what he deemed the “discriminatory” nature of the legislation.
“Now the question is, why do you want to spend more taxpayer dollars to discriminate against one population versus another when they committed the exact same crime?” asked Rep. Clemmons
“You don’t want to treat let’s say a white man who commits the exact same crime, you don’t want to punish them as harshly?” the Democrat lawmaker continued. “What’s less heinous about the crime because a white man committed it versus an undocumented immigrant?”
Rep. Fritts responded to this line of questioning by telling Rep. Clemmons that he seemed to have some sort of racial bias.
“I have personally seen folks of every possible skin color that are coming across that border illegally,” said Rep. Fritts. “Your reference to a ‘white man’ indicates certainly to me that you have some racial bias which I certainly do not understand.”
Rep. Clemmons then called for a point of order against Rep. Fritts for speaking inappropriately and “calling him a racist.”
There was objection and Rep. Fritts was not ruled out of order.
SB2770 ultimately passed in the House by a 70-22 vote and will apply to criminal acts committed on or after July 1st, 2024.
Voting in favor of this legislation were Republican Representatives Alexander, Barrett, Baum, Boyd, Bulso, Burkhart, Butler, Capley, Carr, Carringer, Cepicky, Cochran, Crawford, Darby, Davis, Doggett, Eldridge, Faison, Farmer, Fritts, Gant, Garrett, Gillespie, Grills, Hale, Haston, Hawk, Hazlewood, Helton-Haynes, Hicks T., Hill, Holsclaw, Howell, Hulsey, Hurt, Johnson C., Keisling, Kumar, Lafferty, Lamberth, Leatherwood, Littleton, Lynn, Marsh, Martin B., Martin G., McCalmon, Moody, Moon, Powers, Ragan, Raper, Reedy, Richey, Rudd, Rudder, Russell, Sherrell, Slater, Sparks, Stevens, Terry, Todd, Vaughan, Vital, Warner, White, Williams, Wright, and Zachary.
No House Republicans voted against this legislation.
Voted against the legislation were House Democrats Behn, Camper, Chism, Clemmons, Dixie, Glynn, Hakeem, Hardaway, Hemmer, Jernigan, Johnson G, Jones, Love, McKenzie, Miller, Mitchell, Parkinson, Pearson, Powell, Shaw, Thompson, and Towns.
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.
2 Responses
Regarding violent illegal Bill. Credit should be given for pressure put on our elective officials by The Tennessee Conservative, and all of us who sent them emails. Score a victory for the sane side.
We don’t want to support illegal invaders for the rest of their lives. How about deporting them to Antarctica? They can’t just walk over the border again, at least. Or, how about we stop them at our border?