NILC and TIRRC: New Tennessee Law Does Not Pass Constitutional Muster

NASHVILLE — Tennessee governor Bill Haslam has signed SB 1260, an anti-immigrant measure that effectively criminalizes someone for being in the U.S. without authorization if that person has been convicted of any state offense, including minor misdemeanors. Such legislation has been proposed in the state several times before, but this is the first time such legislation has been enacted.

“All of us, regardless of where we were born, should expect to be treated equally and fairly, whether we’re in Nashville or New York,” said Melissa Keaney, staff attorney with the National Immigration Law Center. “Tennessee’s elected officials have enacted an indefensible piece of legislation, and we will work with our partners in the state to prevent it from infringing upon the constitutionally protected rights of all Tennesseans. Governor Haslam, we will not be afraid to challenge these harmful policies in court.”

“Without making a case for how this bill keeps communities safe or advances justice, the legislature has once again singled out a group of Tennesseans for differential treatment, undermining our values of fairness and due process,” said Stephanie Teatro, the co–executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC). ”From banning refugees to criminalizing all undocumented immigrants, it has become abundantly clear that elected officials in Tennessee will copy and paste the Trump administration’s failing policies rather than finding real solutions to real problems facing Tennessee communities.”

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Trump Administration Appeals to Supreme Court in Muslim Ban Case

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Justice late last night requested that the Supreme Court consider the government’s appeal from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling in International Refugee Assistance Project v. Trump and allow the Muslim ban to go into effect in the meantime. The American Civil Liberties Union and National Immigration Law Center represent the plaintiffs in this case.

Karen Tumlin, legal director of the National Immigration Law Center, said: “Again and again, our nation’s courts have found that President Trump’s Muslim ban is unconstitutional. We will continue to defend our plaintiffs’ right to live free from fear of discriminatory treatment by the federal government.”

Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, had this reaction: “There is no reason to disturb the Fourth Circuit’s ruling, which was supported by an overwhelming majority of the judges on the full court, is consistent with rulings from other courts across the nation, and enforces a fundamental principle that protects all of us from government condemnation of our religious beliefs.”

For more information on the case, visit www.nilc.org/irap-v-trump/.

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