Image Credit: Gino Bulso TN State Representative / Facebook & Canva
The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
Tennessee State Representative Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood-District 61) is planning an unprecedented approach to fighting illegal immigration in Tennessee. While the specifics are still being researched and prepared, Bulso outlined his plan for The Tennessee Conservative in an exclusive interview.
Bulso is developing what he calls an “omnibus immigration act”, which would enable several pieces of legislation to pass through as one bill, all aimed at demagnetizing Tennessee to illegal aliens.
This rather unconventional strategy could help alleviate the burden of trying to pass individual pieces of legislation which could all potentially be assigned to and then killed in different committees, and he feels this method could ease the way to passage.
He is also attempting this new approach as each Representative is limited to the introduction of 15 bills per session, and Bulso has plenty of other ideas for this year.
Gino envisions his bill to have a four-pronged approach, each tackling a new element or building on existing laws to secure Tennessee.
1) In order to better understand the correlation between crime and illegal immigration, and inspired by Tennessee’s Laken Riley Act, he will propose what he believes to be “kind of [an] obvious” idea. This component will require law enforcement to report to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) the nature of the crime and immigration status of anyone arrested. TBI would then provide an annual report to the General Assembly with statistics on crimes in Tennessee committed by illegals, which then becomes public knowledge.
The current law, HB2124 only requires law enforcement to report the individual to ICE, who then operates under federal guidelines. Bulso thinks his angle will provide better accountability to the public by “opening their eyes to how big of a problem this is”.
2) The second attempt to demagnetize the state would require banks to “verify the immigration status of anyone who seeks to send money abroad or outside the United States.” Bulso believes this will discourage illegals from staying in Tennessee as they would be unable to send funds “back home”. He “can’t think of any way the federal government could invalidate that statute. I think it’s something within our control, the banking, that Tennessee will be able to do.
3) The third component will be based on a bill Bulso previously sponsored which amended the state codes to define the term “sex” to mean biological gender so judges cannot claim any Tennessee laws contemplate gender identity. The term “Tennessee resident” is also used throughout the codes, and this portion of the bill would aim to define the term “resident” to “exclude anyone who is in the state illegally, just so we have another barrier of anyone looking for or receiving any type of benefits.”
4) The final part will attempt to confront illegal aliens in Tennessee who may be receiving state-funded benefits. Gino states, “Sometimes when you have laws on the books they’re just violated, sometimes intentionally and sometimes not, sometimes just through lack of care or negligence. And I do wonder whether there are some illegal aliens in Tennessee that are getting state-funded benefits just because when they apply for them, nobody really checks to see whether they’re here legally or not.”
He will propose that all state agencies and social service providers be required to verify immigration status before providing funding or benefits including education, healthcare, and social services. He believes this will ensure that tax dollars are not going out “unwittingly”.
While Tennessee laws do technically prohibit all but certain types of non-citizens from receiving state benefits, Gino believes this portion of the legislation will cut illegal access off completely. “As far as I’m aware there is no law in place that requires any of these administrative departments with our state to verify immigration status. And they can just take what’s put on paper as true and then proceed accordingly.”
Bulso thinks this package will find broad support in the House and is planning to approach a Senate sponsor with careful consideration, particularly anticipating in which committee the bill will land.
In contemplating potential opposition to the bill, Gino is “thinking in terms of addressing the opposition from within, which is our fiscal review committee. One way they have of killing really good pieces of legislation is by attaching a fiscal note to it. And so, I have to do this in a way that we avoid any type of fiscal note attached to it because then it gets placed behind the budget and then that’s where most bills go to die.”
Bulso believes public support of the bill will also be key in its success. “The public is so far with us on this that I don’t think we’ll have any trouble keeping the Republican base in line to get this moving quickly in both Houses. So, I think if we can overcome the fiscal review hurdle, we’ll be pretty golden. I think folks are ready for it.”
He hopes to have his immigration bill filed shortly after the November election, and The Tennessee Conservative will continue to monitor and report on its progress.
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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.
7 Responses
All common sense proposals. My company has to do I-9 and E-Verify checks on potential employees, why doesn’t government have to do this to permit taxpayer funded benefits to a person including education.
Once again, Gino Bulso is on the mark with an effective set of bills for the state legislature to consider that are above reproach Constitutionally as much as they effective and just plain common sense.
For sure. That’s the reason it probably want.
With the FBI moving into the state, you can probably kiss the TBI doing anything to help. They will be run by the FBI. All of his proposals make too much common sense. We all know that is how our system works with the leaders we have now.
Every so often, not often enough, there comes a public servant that almost immediately grabs the attention of conservatives because he is simply outstanding in every way. Gino Bulso, my Representative, is just such an officeholder. Hopefully, all Tennessee conservatives will soon have the opportunity to support Gino for higher office in the not to distant future.
I like what he is saying. Sure wish we had more like him.
If it’s Senate companion bill makes it through lucifer’s RINOs Senate Judiciary Committee…