Image: Sen. Richard Briggs, a Knoxville Republican Image Credit: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout
***Note from The Tennessee Conservative – this article posted here for informational purposes only. Per The Tennessee Lookout’s republishing guidelines, this article has been edited for style and length.
By Sam Stockard [Tennessee Lookout -CC BY-NC-ND 4.0] –
Tennessee Republicans’ White House-backed immigration slate is a far cry from drawing unanimous support.
Count Sen. Richard Briggs of Knoxville among those who don’t consider them “anti-immigration” as much as “anti-foreign.”
Briggs is halfway on board with the package formed in cooperation with Trump deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, sponsoring one of Republicans’ “Immigration 2026” bills requiring state and local governments to verify a person’s citizenship before hiring.
He also voted for a bill in the Senate that would allow truckers’ out-of-state commercial driver’s licenses to be confiscated if they can’t read or write English well enough.
Briggs fired off an email to Republican senators after receiving a letter from the Japanese consul-general questioning a separate English-only driver’s license testing bill.
In the letter, Briggs said he’s spoken with Japanese, Korean and British executives, Canadian diplomats, the CEO of Cirrus Aircraft and representatives of Oak Ridge’s expanding nuclear industry.
“In frank conversations, they related their surprise and discouragement that a state with a longstanding international reputation as business friendly and personally welcoming to foreign investments has so suddenly reversed course with [a] series of bills which chills the atmosphere toward foreigners,” Briggs wrote.
Briggs’ letter says senators should consider the consequences of “overly aggressive and even unnecessary laws” that feed the perception that Tennessee “offers an unpleasant environment for recruitment of scientific non-citizen legal residents in the nuclear industry or for foreign companies considering investment, expansion, or relocation to Tennessee.”
The initial letter from Consul-General Watanabe Shinji points out Japanese investment in the state exceeds $21 billion, supporting 60,000 jobs in 21 facilities, mainly because of Tennessee’s strong investment environment. About 4,000 Japanese nationals live in the state, many of them families of managers and engineers who move here temporarily for work.
Shinji wrote that the ability to take the driver’s license test in Japanese allows company representatives and their families to get their licenses, start work immediately and handle other basic freedoms such as going to the grocery store and school.
“But I am concerned that the changes proposed in SB1889/HB1708, restricting the license’s functionality and lessening the benefits enjoyed by so many, could be perceived negatively by Japanese investors. And that future investments might suffer,” Shinji’s letter says.
The Senate version of the bill passed the Transportation Committee recently with an amendment allowing people to take the driver’s license test in their native language and obtain a three-year unrestricted license. When they reapply, they must take the exam in English.
The House version of the bill, sponsored by Republican Rep. Kip Capley, is to be taken up in the finance subcommittee on a calendar dedicated only to driver’s licenses. It allows an 18-month unrestricted license before a person must take the test again in English, meaning the bills don’t mesh.
Senate Transportation Chairperson Becky Massey called the first version of the bill, which didn’t allow any time for foreign residents to work on their language skills, unacceptable. She isn’t “gung ho,” either, about the bill’s newest form because it could make things harder for people who come here legally. But she voted for it after working toward the three-year provision.
Lt. Gov. Randy McNally defended the measure Thursday, pointing out that people who don’t speak English can take the driver’s test in their own language and prove their skills on the driving portion of the exam.
The bill’s defenders argue that it’s needed to make sure motorists know how to read American road signs.
Briggs said that makes no sense because, presumably, the state will be licensing people to drive for three years without English skills.
He believes the legislation hurts relationships with foreign companies that have been bringing jobs and benefits to Tennessee for decades. He pointed toward Nissan Stadium as one example.
One Response
Why are these RINO clowns always America last? Why are they always making sure foreign entities are cared for, at the expense of American citizens? When will Briggs be primaried once and for all?