Chris Alto, Author at Tennessee Star - Page 2 of 6

Sponsor of 2001 Bill That Allowed Illegals to Get Drivers Licenses in Tennessee Claimed It Was Only for ‘A Properly Documented Immigrant,’

June 10, 2018July 23, 2018 Chris Alto

Diane Black

Tennessee Jobs Now, a SuperPAC that supports Randy Boyd in the Tennessee Governor’s race, has been running a television commercial that hits Diane Black for a 2001 vote as a member of the Tennessee General Assembly that resulted in illegal aliens being able to get driver licenses. Black does not deny that she voted for the bill, SB1266, nor does she deny that the result of the bill was that it allowed illegal aliens to obtain drivers licenses in Tennessee. She has subsequently explained that the result that illegal aliens were able to obtain drivers licenses in Tennessee after the law was passed was “an unintended consequence of a bill that was supposed to allow legal immigrants to get licenses.” A cursory reading of SB1266, as it was passed by the Tennessee General Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Sundquist, does not give the impression its purpose was to allow illegal aliens to obtain drivers licenses. Indeed, the words “illegal,” “alien,” “immigrant,” “documented immigrant,” and “undocumented immigrant” appear nowhere in the law: SB1266, An Act to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 55-50-321, relative to information required to be submitted to obtain a driver license Section 1: Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 55-50-321(c)(1), is amended by…

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Karl Dean and Former Maryland Gov. Who Endorsed Him Are Both Into ‘Big Chicken’ Industry

June 6, 2018June 6, 2018 Chris Alto

Martin O'Malley and Karl Dean

Former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley, who also served two terms as mayor of Baltimore, has endorsed Karl Dean in the Democratic primary for Tennessee’s next governor, as The Tennessee Star reported on Monday. The possibility has been floated that O’Malley will campaign in Tennessee on behalf of Dean. O’Malley, like Dean, is into the “big chicken industry” which in Maryland is considered to anchor the state’s agri-business: The 300 million chickens produced in the state rank ninth nationally, and the nearly $1 billion in sales they account for makes up 41 percent of Maryland farm cash receipts. On top of that, much of the nearly $300 million in corn sold here is linked to chicken farming, as feed. The chicken business is credited with employing about 7,000 people in the state. Dean is the Democrat’s gubernatorial “big chicken” cheerleader in Tennessee, who spent time hobnobbing with Tyson Foods CEO Tom Hayes at the Tyson Foods ground-breaking ceremony in Humboldt last week. Anne Davis, Dean’s lawyer wife left her position as managing attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center which has opposed chicken slaughterhouses just in time to avoid potential conflicts of interest for Dean should he become governor. O’Malley like Dean, has focused on…

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Off the Record: Tyson Foods Recycles a Smidge of Tennessee Taxpayer Money as Payback to Gibson County

June 2, 2018June 2, 2018 Chris Alto

OFF THE RECORD

Tyson CEO and President Tom Hayes was the BMOC (big man on campus) at the Humboldt plant ground-breaking on Wednesday when he promised a $500,000 kickback grant to Gibson County. But it’s not really a no-strings unconditional gift, nor is it really money from Tyson Foods’ pocket, is it Tom? First, the ever paternalistic Tyson leadership that has come to rescue Welcoming Witherspoon – who is now out of favor with his Democrat party – has not agreed to just let Gibson Countians decide on their own how to spend their new found wealth. Nooooo. A steering committee “of community leaders and Tyson Foodsteam members” will decide how to spend the money. Any chance the “community leaders” will be same ones that worked the deal that could possibly “fowl” some of the already threatened nearby waterways? The same leaders like Welcoming Witherspoon who has said that, like Randy Boyd, he welcomes Muslims and immigrants to come work in Gibson County: Randy, like me, isn’t afraid of a Muslim coming to the county and maybe seeking a job, or a legal immigrant coming to the county. He’s not afraid of that; neither am I. If somebody wants to come here legally, and seek employment and…

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Karl Dean’s Lawyer-Wife’s Environmental Organization Opposed Chicken Slaughterhouses Which He Supports

June 2, 2018June 2, 2018 Chris Alto

Karl Deal, Ann Davis

Anne Davis, wife of Democrat gubernatorial candidate Karl Dean, left her position as the managing attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) to help her husband run for governor. Davis, who helped establish the Nashville office in 2012, left her position in 2017, just in time to avoid potential conflicts of interest for Dean should he become governor. The SELC’s regional work challenging the environmental impact of chicken slaughterhouses and processing plants places Dean at best, in an awkward position running for a state-wide office in Tennessee where a fifth Tyson Foods operation is being launched and another is expanding. While Dean was hobnobbing with Tyson Foods CEO and President Tom Hayes at the plant’s ground-breaking ceremony in Humboldt on Wednesday, his Democrat opponent, Rep. Craig Fitzhugh, was busy pointing out the project’s flaws to Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery. Fitzhugh is seeking answers to the concerns raised by constituents in his rural county who are likely to be impacted by the Humboldt plant and the estimated 600 new chicken houses that will supply the chickens to be slaughtered and processed. In addition to the Tennessee office which Anne Davis recently left, the SELC staffs offices in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia…

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Democrat Gubernatorial Candidates Craig Fitzhugh and Karl Dean Square Off Over Tyson Foods

June 1, 2018June 1, 2018 Chris Alto

Karl Dean, Craig Fitzhugh

While Democrat gubernatorial candidate Karl Dean was cheering “big meat’s” newest location at the Tyson Foods ground-breaking ceremony in Humboldt on Wednesday, his opponent State Rep. Craig Fitzhugh (D-Ripley), was busy trying to address concerns of his constituents in adjacent rural counties that may be negatively effected by Tyson’s new operation. Dean proudly noted on his campaign’s Facebook page that he was hobnobbing with Tyson Foods CEO Tom Hayes at Wednesday’s event in Humboldt: But on Wednesday, Fitzhugh, the Tennessee House Minority Leader, was busy pointing out the project’s flaws to Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery. In a letter obtained by The Tennessee Star (embedded below) dated May 30, 2018, signed by Fitzhugh, to Attorney General Herbert Slatery, Fitzhugh has asked for a “legal opinion with regard to the interpretation of state statutes concerning the authority of counties to regulate concentrated animal feeding operations [CAFOs].” The Tennessee Department of Agriculture defines a CAFO as “large-scale animal production facilities where many animals are raised or maintained, where feed is brought to the animals, and where wastes accumulate in a small area.” Tyson Foods utilizes a vertically-integrated operation meaning they control every aspect of poultry production from growing the chicks to distributing the end product.…

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Tyson Foods Tied to Same Big-Business-Cheap-Labor Lobby Favored by Boyd, Dean, and Bredesen

June 1, 2018May 31, 2018 Chris Alto

Boyd Dean and Bredesen

The Partnership for a New American Economy (renamed to New American Economy (NAE)), views giant commercial operations like Tyson Foods as connective tissue between NAE’s drive to increase cheap labor pools through immigration and the revival of economically depressed rural communities: Sturms found that when towns embraced immigrants, dying communities were brought back to life, the wheels of commerce began to turn again, and everybody felt the rewards. This is true for small towns across the state, including Columbus Junction, Storm Lake, Denison and West Liberty, the first Iowa town with a majority-Latino population. NAE also justifies its push for increased legal and illegal immigration in part by featuring stories about immigrants like the Karen Burmese working in chicken processing plants and insisting that they are doing the jobs that Americans won’t do. Burmese immigrants generally arrive in the U.S. through the refugee resettlement program which the NAE supports along with amnesty for illegal aliens as part of its 15 key economic issues. Democrat gubernatorial candidate Karl Dean, like his Republican counterpart Randy Boyd, is also a named member of the big-business-cheap-labor Partnership for a New American Economy (PNAE) lobby. Shortly after the announcement was made by Gibson County Mayor Tom Witherspoon that Tyson Foods…

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Off the Record: A Number One ‘Hit’ About La Raza Randy

May 29, 2018August 13, 2020 Chris Alto

First it was “The Ballad of La Raza Randy,” a lyrical stroll through Boyd’s “conexion” to the leadership of the National Council of La Raza which earned him his nickname not long after he decided he wanted to “spend whatever it takes” to get elected. Hint – it had something to do with his quarter of a million dollar donation to the Nashville organization whose founder and director has been the chairman of the board of the National Council of La Raza when Boyd decided to turn on the greenies – that is, the paper stuff, not the dog breath freshener. Granted, he’s tied to plenty establishment type issues and groups like Common Core, Jeb! and the big-business-cheap-labor lobbyists. But the alliteration with La Raza? Just sirens out to creative conservatives in Tennessee to bring it on! And sure enough, the newest, catchiest tribute to La Raza Randy, was recently posted on YouTube. Boyd’s been trying to convince voters that he actually really does support Trump. He’s even running ads where he says, with a straight face, that he and President Trump “have a lot in common.” Pay close attention when you get to minute 1:26 – it could be…

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Randy Boyd Defends Joining the College Promise Advisory Board

May 25, 2018July 17, 2018 Chris Alto

During a campaign stop in Memphis on April 25th, Republican gubernatorial candidate Randy Boyd defended voluntarily joining the College Promise Advisory Board, which was tied at the time of his joining to then-President Obama. When he’s asked the question about his participation with this board, he insists that “President Obama didn’t appoint me to anything” and “we’re [the Board] not promoting tuition for illegals.” Two things are not true about that. First of all, President Obama didn’t appoint me to anything I created the Tennessee Promise and then there’s a group of other people who said you know other states would like to do this too. Would you be willing to join us? It’s a non-profit organization. Not anything President Obama has anything to do with. They asked if I would join the board and let other states know about our program. And frankly, I’m proud of Tennessee and I want us to be first but I don’t mind sharing with Indiana. I’ve met with people in Indiana, in Oregon, with people in multiple states that are also interested in doing what we’ve done and want to do the same thing in their states. But it’s a non-profit and President Obama…

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OFF THE RECORD: Moonbeam’s Husband Bruce Hangs the Barry Albatross Around Briley’s Neck

May 24, 2018May 23, 2018 Chris Alto

Bruce Barry, Vanderbilt professor and cuckold of felon former Mayor Moonbeam Megan Barry, tried helping David Briley’s no-energy campaign for mayor with a column in the Nashville Scene on Tuesday. If elected, Briley will continue Moonbeam’s, big government, progressive policies and insider dealings administration. In that typical long-winded way ultra-liberal elitists pontificate, Barry-the-Briley-surrogate launched an irrelevant attack on Nashville mayoral candidate Carol Swain wherein Bruce tries to prove that Swain misused a single word and he can see that needle in the haystack. What we do know about Bruce the Goose is that he was good for at least two years of turning the other cheek while Moonbeam traveled internationally with her bodyguard and did those early morning cemetery meditation sessions with the same bodyguard. But during that entire time Moonbeam never ever once misused a single word. She just didn’t mean most of them. Even when she was lying to everyone around her – except of course not to her staff who arranged her travel and approved the bodyguard expenses on behalf of Chief Anderson. But according to Bruce, Carol Swain misused a single word – a red flag that Bruce warns is a red flag that Ph.D. Swain is incompetent.…

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Haslam Signs Bill That Makes it Harder for Illegal Aliens to Conceal Immigration Status

May 23, 2018May 22, 2018 Chris Alto

Bill Haslam

Unlike the anti-sanctuary cities bill, Governor Haslam signed into law a bill sponsored by Sen. Mark Green and Rep. William Lamberth which prohibits municipalities from creating their own local identity card programs and the use of any local identity card to be accepted as proof of “citizenship, immigration status or residency.” This bill, the very last one passed by the General Assembly before adjourning “sine die” meaning until the new two year session beginning in January 2019, was passed by reconciling the House and Senate passed versions of the bill. The Senate passed the conference committee version by a 25-3 vote and the House passed it 69-9-1. Local identity card programs have become a popular program in sanctuary cities to help illegal aliens appear as if they are lawfully present. In other cities the cards have also helped illegal aliens avoid arrest and possible deportation during traffic stops. During Nashville’s last mayoral race, all of the candidates including Megan Barry endorsed creating a local identification card program that would include illegal aliens. The bill version Lamberth passed out of committee included a specific reference to prohibiting the use of the matricula consular card being accepted as an identification document because as Lamberth…

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Haslam Passes Sanctuary City Bill Without Signing; Boyd, Who Claims He’s Against Sanctuary Cities, Wouldn’t Ask Him to Sign

May 21, 2018May 30, 2018 Chris Alto

Randy Boyd and Bill Haslam

Governor Haslam announced today that instead of signing or vetoing the anti-sanctuary city bill he will allow it to become law without his signature: I could sign it but that would mean that I agree that we have an issue around sanctuary cities. In that regard, intentionally or not, the Governor has acknowledged last year’s attempt by the Metro Nashville Council to institutionalize its sanctuary city status. An ordinance proposed last year by Metro Councilmen Bob Mendes and Colby Sledge (who is married to TIRRC’s co-director), was headed to a final vote before being withdrawn due to pressure from state legislators and the public. The bill, drafted with TIRRC’s assistance, would have made Nashville the most liberal non-deportation zone in the U.S., magnetizing Davidson County for criminal illegal aliens. Specifically, the Mendes/Sledge proposal would have prohibited Metro Nashville employees from inquiring into anyone’s immigration status. Had it passed, the bill would have effectively enabled illegal aliens to access public benefits they would otherwise be barred from using. Additionally, the ordinance would not have violated the state’s 2009 anti-santuary city law, but would violate the new anti-sanctuary city law which expands the definition of what constitutes a sanctuary city policy: “Sanctuary policy” means…

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Nashville’s City Council, School Board and Mayoral Candidate Erica Gilmore Want All Tennesseans to Keep Paying for Nashville’s Illegal Aliens

May 20, 2018May 19, 2018 Chris Alto

Erica Gilmore

Predictably, Nashville’s Metro Council, school board and mayoral candidate Erica Gilmore want Governor Haslam to veto HB2315, the anti-sanctuary city legislation sitting on his desk. Nashville’s leadership wants the Governor to protect criminal illegal aliens. But Nashville’s advocacy for illegal aliens goes further, wanting all Tennessee taxpayers to continue sharing the fiscal burden for the 33,000 illegal aliens estimated to be living, working and going to school in Davidson County. Part of Nashville’s gripe is that they believe the state should give them more public money to pay for more services like English Language Learner (ELL) instruction and translators for the 15,000 or so students in their schools that need these services. Davidson County is reputed to have the highest concentration of students in the state, who need to learn the English. As it is, in FY 2017, state and local governments in Tennessee spent $122.3 million dollars to fund ELL services for all non-English speaking legal and illegal alien students enrolled in Tennessee’s public schools. It is estimated that across the state, approximately 135,000 illegal aliens including the 33,000 in Davidson County, cost Tennessee taxpayers $793 million dollars in 2017. This cost estimate does not include remittance money sent by…

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Diane Black: ‘Uncouple Tennessee’ From Illegal Immigration

May 19, 2018May 19, 2018 Chris Alto

In a straightforward statement today, GOP gubernatorial candidate Rep. Diane Black (R-TN) said “we need to uncouple illegal immigration and Tennessee”: The recent arrest of illegal aliens working at the Bean Station slaughterhouse is a red flag that Tennessee has been allowed to become a magnet for illegal aliens despite an E-verify law which I voted for when I was in the state Senate. The attempt by a city government last year to skirt our current sanctuary city law, which I also voted for, is another flag that we need to uncouple illegal immigration and Tennessee. Our current sanctuary city law needs strengthening and the Green-Reedy bill is sound public policy that should be signed into law. Black has zeroed in on the fact that Tennessee is offering what illegal aliens are looking for – the ability to live, work and go to school in communities where officials who have promised to uphold the law, simply look the other way. With pressure from well funded organizations that advocate for illegal immigration and Republican legislators softening to demands for state benefits like in-state college tuition for illegal alien students, a proposal publicly backed by Governor Haslam, Tennessee looks like a very “welcoming…

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TIRRC Using Reckless Disinformation Campaign on Sanctuary Bill to Create Hysteria in Immigrant Communities

May 19, 2018May 18, 2018 Chris Alto

Renata Soto of TIRRC exaggerates HB2315 provisions

The TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) is using a reckless and manipulative disinformation campaign filled with untruths about the anti-sanctuary city bill creating cruel and needless hysteria among legal immigrants and illegal alien communities in Tennessee. The Soros-funded TIRRC is employing a predictable tactic of the open-borders left – distort the facts until they are unrecognizable, the bury the truth under scripted political propaganda. Exactly what TIRRC and their fellow travelers have been doing with the Green-Reedy anti-sanctuary city bill. Almost immediately after the Tennessee General Assembly passed HB2315 by a 64-23 vote in the House and 25-5 in the Senate, TIRRC labeled it a “mass deportation bill.” To date, TIRRC has never admitted that the sanctuary policies and practices addressed in the Green-Reedy bill pose unnecessary risks to public safety and are dangerous because they return criminal illegal aliens to Tennessee communities. Another important fact about sanctuary policies – they apply to individuals who are already in local custody because they committed a crime. Only then does ICE get involved. The April raid at the Southeastern Provision slaughterhouse in Bean Station is not related to the sanctuary city bill. That of course, has not stopped TIRRC from trying…

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Potential Haslam Veto of Sanctuary Bill Hurts Boyd But ‘Could Ignite’ Harwell’s Campaign

May 18, 2018May 18, 2018 Chris Alto

Randy Boyd and Bill Haslam

Open borders and leftist groups are demanding Governor Haslam veto the sanctuary city bill. Proponents of the bill who don’t want criminal illegal aliens released into their communities, want the bill to become law – with or without the Governor’s signature. Putting HB2315 into state law helps Haslam make good on his own campaign promises. As to a potential Haslam veto, Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill says it hurts Boyd but could be just the antidote for Harwell’s anemic campaign: A veto of the anti-sanctuary city bill by Governor Haslam could create a backlash against Randy Boyd due to his close political and personal relationship with him. But the downside to Boyd would be small in comparison to the benefit to Speaker Beth Harwell who could immediately lead a highly visible and popular legislative effort to overturn the veto which would almost certainly be successful. A veto would be the best campaign contribution that Haslam could give her, and it could ignite her struggling campaign. If Governor Haslam doesn’t veto or sign the bill by Tuesday, May 22nd, it will become law without his signature.

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Off the Record: State Rep. Ron Gant – Really? All You Got Was a Plane Ride?

May 18, 2018May 18, 2018 Chris Alto

Freshman State Rep. Ron Gant (R-Rossville), who ran as a conservative, took a plane ride with Bill, and less than two weeks later, endorses self-described political moderate and never-Trumper Randy Boyd! Hey Ron – did you -um- forget that Fayette County elected Trump by over 71% of the vote and McNairy by 80+%? Do you have any idea what Randy meant when he said: The idea of putting my name on anything [for Trump] is anathema to me. Hey Ron – did you forget that Randy has tied himself to the guy who had to drop out of the race because even with all his money and political connections, he was a BIG flop? Yup, we’re talking about Jeb! – the guy Randy went to bat for as a delegate, and whose man-crush never waned, inviting Jeb! to fundraise for him in a state that LOVED Trump in the primary and in the general. Hey Ron – ever hear of “Tennessee Thrives” and see what they’re all about? Did Bill give you THE “talk”? You know the one where he tells you that Randy’s a really good guy who loves dogs and running and you know, “La Raza” doesn’t really…

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Fayette County Republican Party Adopts Resolution Supporting Green-Reedy Anti-Sanctuary City Bill

May 17, 2018May 16, 2018 Chris Alto

The Fayette County Republican Party is the first county political organization to adopt a Resolution supporting the Green-Reedy Anti-Sanctuary City bill. They have transmitted their resolution to Governor Haslam’s office with the following message: “As fellow Republicans, we respectfully ask that you please sign the bill that overwhelmingly passed in both the House and Senate. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration.” Resolution of the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Fayette County, Tennessee Supporting Federal Immigration Laws in Tennessee Whereas every person of alien nationality who has not complied fully with the immigration statutes and regulations of the United States is not a legal resident of the State of Tennessee or any other jurisdiction, and, Whereas every such person illegally present in Tennessee is in conscious violation of the law, defiantly putting their own convenience and benefit above the rights of the People of the United States to make, enforce, and abide by the laws we choose, specifically defining whom we choose to allow to join in our national community, and, Whereas every member of the General Assembly, the Executive Branch, and the Judicial branch of the State of Tennessee, has sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United…

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Local Christian Group Asks Jewish Community Center to Cancel Christian-Hating SPLC Event

May 16, 2018May 15, 2018 Chris Alto

“Catholics for Charity in Truth” whose members are parishoners of St. Henry’s Catholic Church located within walking distance of the Gordon Jewish Community Center, is asking the Center’s board to cancel the May 23rd event featuring Joseph Levin, co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). Levin’s talk is titled, Then and Now: Hate in the Mainstream. A letter signed by members of “Catholics for Charity in Truth” lays out in detail many of the biased attacks leveled at pro-family Christian groups and asked that “[r]espectfully, in consonance with basic civility, please cancel the speaking engagement of Southern Poverty Law Center co-founder Joseph J. Levin, Jr.” May 10, 2018 Board of Directors Gordon Jewish Community Center 801 Percy Warner Boulevard Nashville, TN 37205 Dear Board of Directors: Re: Southern Poverty Law Center As Catholics, in unison with many voices, we respectfully request that you cancel the speaking engagement of Southern Poverty Law Center co-founder, Joseph J. Levin Jr., at the Gordon Jewish Community Center of May 23, 2018. The Southern Poverty Law Center silences Christian voices in the public square through reprehensibly vilifying pro-family Christian groups as akin to the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis. The Southern Poverty Law Center smears…

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Tennessee Forced to Deal With Ethnic Gangs So Federal Refugee Resettlement Contractors Can Profit

May 16, 2018May 30, 2018 Chris Alto

Refugee resettlement in Tennessee has brought sizable fiscal rewards for the federal contractors operating in Tennessee but along with helping to establish what former mayor Karl Dean celebrated as “growing enclaves of immigrants” has come Kurdish and Somali gangs from refugee groups brought to the state. In 2007, the New York Times reported that police described the Kurdish gang members as “increasingly vicious and brazen.” That same year former Shelbyville Times-Gazette reporter Brian Mosely, a Tennessee Press Association awardee, wrote about drug dealing and gang problems associated with Somalis that had settled in Bedford County. Gang experts warn that gangs made up of people that come from war-torn countries pose a “unique problem” because they are desensitized to violence and dismissive of authority. Just weeks ago, Nashville’s first Kurdish refugee turned Metro police officer, investigated by the TBI and discovered to have lied about his connections with the Kurdish Pride Gang, was charged with 57 counts of official misconduct. In April, four Somali men including Salim Hussein from Nashville, drove to Concord, New Hampshire to violently confront other Somalis at a wedding party there. Hussein was charged reckless conduct with a firearm and reportedly remains in jail. Police have suggested that the four…

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Randy Boyd’s Quarter-Million Dollar Beneficiary Wants Criminal Illegal Aliens to Stay in Tennessee

May 13, 2018May 12, 2018 Chris Alto

Randy and Mrs Bord, Gov Haslam, Renata Soto

Nashville-based National Council of La Raza affiliate partner, Conexion Americas, the beneficiary of a $250,000 donation from Randy Boyd and his wife Jenny, wants Governor Haslam to veto the anti-sanctuary city bill so that criminal illegal aliens can return to Tennessee communities instead of being handed off to federal immigration authorities. The founder and director of Boyd’s quarter-million dollar beneficiary, has put out a call to ask the Governor to veto the legislation. In 2015, the year before Boyd made his $250,000 donation, Renata Soto, co- founder and executive director of Conexion Americas, who had served for three years as vice-president of the National Council of La Raza Board, was elected to president of La Raza’s board, a position she still occupies. In July 2017, the George Soros-funded National Council of LaRaza changed its name to UnidosUS. Boyd’s support for Soto’s organization which serves legal immigrants and illegal aliens and Soto’s leadership with La Raza, has earned Boyd the nickname “La Raza Randy.” During an early radio interview, Boyd inferred that he is okay with illegal aliens using the Conexion Americas culinary incubator renamed “Conexion Americas Mesa Komal Kitchen & The Randy and Jenny Boyd Culinary Incubator” after his donation, to…

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Tennessee Does Have Sanctuary Cities and Needs the New Law to Stop Them, FAIR Says

May 11, 2018May 10, 2018 Chris Alto

Knoxville Memphis Nashville

A new report issued by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), documents that Knoxville, Memphis and Nashville have been able to effectively operate as sanctuary cities by putting in place practices that skirt Tennessee’s 2009 law because it only prohibits written policies or ordinances. Comments made by Shelby County Commissioner Mark Billingsley during the May 7th Commission meeting suggested that Shelby County was operating as a sanctuary city. FAIR’s report identifies 564 jurisdictions that qualify for sanctuary status because in one way or another they have taken steps to “protect illegal aliens or obstruct efforts by the federal government to enforce immigration laws.” Dan Stein, President of FAIR credits “radical groups, posing as ‘immigrants’ rights’ organizations” for pushing policies that put protecting illegal aliens over the safety of American citizens and legal immigrants: ‘There is no rational justification for protecting deportable criminals. Yet, under pressure from radical groups, posing as ‘immigrants’ rights’ organizations, 564 jurisdictions have decided that protecting foreign criminals is more important than the safety of their local communities,’ charged Dan Stein, president of FAIR. ‘Countless Americans have been needlessly victimized, and some have lost their lives, because local sanctuary policies prevented the perpetrators from being identified as deportable aliens, or prevented…

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GOP Gubernatorial Candidates Boyd and Lee Tied to Organizations That Say Let Illegal Immigrants Stay

May 11, 2018May 11, 2018 Chris Alto

Boyd and Lee

Opponents of sanctuary city policies understand that these measures which shield criminal illegal aliens increase the risks to public safety. All GOP gubernatorial candidates eventually issued statements opposing sanctuary city policies. What is not addressed, however, in the debate over sanctuary city policies, is the negative impact from illegal immigration on the wages of American workers. Ironically, the two GOP gubernatorial candidates that have highlighted their business successes in their campaigns, are each tied to an organization that promotes the alleged economic benefits from illegal immigration for Tennessee. Randy Boyd is a named member of the Partnership for a New American Economy (PNAE), a coalition led by business leaders and chambers of commerce which formed to convince the public and policymakers that comprehensive immigration reform like the 2013 “Gang of Eight” amnesty bill would help grow the economy and create jobs for Americans. Included in PNAE’s “15 key economic issues of immigration reform in America” are: Supporting legal status for the 11.4 million undocumented immigrants which PNAE says pay taxes and do the jobs American citizens won’t do, and despite being in the country illegally, “even start their own businesses.” In a 2014 Wall Street Journal oped, PNAE co-founder Rupert Murdoch said that illegal immigrants…

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Soros Funded Southern Poverty Law Center Challenging Governor Haslam on Anti-Sanctuary City Legislation

May 10, 2018May 15, 2018 Chris Alto

The Soros funded Southern Poverty Law Center has issued a legal throw-down to Governor Haslam challenging his campaign promises to “do everything within my authority to be sure that Tennessee does not attract illegal activity.” Working with the TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), another Soros funded amnesty-for-lawbreaker advocacy organization, the SPLC has promised to provide legal representation to illegal aliens arrested in the Bean Station workplace raid who are in detention and facing possible deportation. TIRRC and its allies want to stop federal immigration authorities from detaining and/or deporting criminal illegal aliens and instead, have them released from ICE detention and returned to Tennessee communities. Shortly after the election of President Trump, TIRRC issued a public call to all Tennessee communities to refuse cooperation with ICE. In other words, TIRRC wants Tennessee to operate as a sanctuary state. Approximately half of the 100 workers taken into custody in the Bean Station raid are in detention and 10 of them face federal charges for evading prior orders of removal. The FY2016 DOJ Executive Office for Immigration Review data for illegal aliens who were never detained, immigration court hearings held in absentia, meaning when the illegal alien fails to show up to court, increased…

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SPLC Hates Trump and Christians But Still Gets Invited By Nashville Jewish Community Relations Committee to Speak Later This Month

May 9, 2018May 8, 2018 Chris Alto

The Nashville Jewish Federation’s Community Relations Committee (CRC) has invited Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) co-founder Joseph Levin (pictured) to speak at a community event on May 23rd. The CRC’s Director would not provide a written description of Levin’s talk advertised as Then and Now: Hate in the Mainstream, but based on Levin’s previous presentations, it is reasonable to expect that he will continue to target President Trump conservative groups and other Tennessee-based organizations. Levin didn’t wait long after the 2016 election to start marketing a new narrative for SPLC alleged hate-based fundraising. Having attacked the religious underpinnings of Christian conservative organizations like The Family Research Council, Focus on the Family and The Alliance Defending Freedom, to name a few, and distorted protected political speech of other conservative groups so as to grow the hate lists, Levin realized that combining the election of Trump and the rage of Clinton losers could be the next cash cow for the SPLC. Speaking at a church near New York City, Levin blamed the election of Trump and the President himself for the re-emergence of white nationalist groups and demonstrations like the one in Charlottesville, Virginia last year. True to form, Levin perpetuated the false narrative that…

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Trained By Tennessee Socialist Organization, TIRRC is Begging Gov. Haslam to Veto Anti-Sanctuary City Bill

May 8, 2018May 9, 2018 Chris Alto

Tennessee Star

The innocuous sounding Highlander Research and Education Center located in Jefferson County, Tennessee, is dedicated to creating radical activists that will change the social, economic and political order of the South. Beginning in 2007, the Center provided critical training to leaders and members from the TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), which is now using that training to try and convince Governor Haslam to veto the anti-sanctuary city bill passed by the Tennessee General Assembly. Under the guise of championing “social justice,” Highlander provided Justice School for TIRRC‘s leaders and members beginning in 2007, with “sessions combin[ing] nuts-and-bolts training on organizing and leadership skills with broader discussions of social, political, and economic issues related to immigration and the immigrant rights movement.” The following year, TIRRC was named “Advocacy Affiliate of the Year” by the National Council of La Raza. TIRRC lists the Highlander Center among its coalition members. The formerly named Highlander Folk School was co-founded in 1932, by Tennessee socialists and anti-capitalists Myles Horton and Don West who modeled the school after socialist training centers they had visited in Denmark. The school was established in Monteagle, Tennessee but was shut down by the state for alleged violations of it’s charter. The school…

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Education Policy Director From La Raza Affiliate Conexion Americas Running for Nashville School Board

May 7, 2018July 17, 2018 Chris Alto

Gini Pupo-Walker, senior director of education policy and strategic growth for Conexion Americas, an affiliate of UnidosUS (formerly known as the National Council of La Raza), is on the August 4th ballot to represent District 8 on the Nashville School Board. Pupo-Walker’s campaign biography emphasizes her commitment to Latino and immigrant families and students, including starting the Metro Nashville school district’s first Spanish Heritage classes while she was teaching Spanish at John Overton High School. When Metro Nashville Public Schools announced that Arabic was being added as a foreign language in several schools, it was explained that foreign language heritage classes are “for native speakers to deepen their knowledge of the language and learn to read and write in” their native language. Pupo-Walker’s former school now employs translators and interpreters as part of its staff, and a student enrollment estimated to be 66% minority enrollment 29% of which are listed as Hispanic. Forty-nine percent of the student body tested either below basic or basic in English proficiency. Before joining the staff at Conexion Americas, Pupo-Walker served on the organization’s board whose founder and director Renata Soto, has a long-standing relationship with UnidosUS. Not only is Soto’s Nashville organization a named affiliate of…

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Nashville’s Jewish Federation Community Relations Committee Sponsors SPLC Talk on Hate Speech

May 5, 2018May 5, 2018 Chris Alto

The Community Relations Committee (CRC) of the Nashville Jewish Federation has invited Joseph Levin, Jr., co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) to speak at an event titled “Then and Now: Hate in the Mainstream.” The May 23rd event is free and open to the entire community. The Jewish Federation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee exists “to promote the general welfare, viability and cohesiveness of the Jewish community of Nashville and Middle Tennessee and to ensure the continuity of the Jewish people locally, in Israel and around the world.” The CRC is a committee that operates under the umbrella of the Jewish Federation and shares similar goals related to advocacy for “Israel and World Jewry,” Additionally, the CRC described as the “central public affairs arm of the Federation” says part of its mission is “stand[ing] up for social justice.” In July 2017, Imam AhmedulHadi Sharif at the Islamic Center of Tennessee, preached against Zionist oppressors who he calls “the number one terrorists in the world,” directing hatred against Jews who believe that Israel is the Jewish homeland. Since the Imam’s sermon intersects with the missions of both the Jewish Federation and the CRC, The Tennessee Star contacted Mark Freedman, the Executive Director of the…

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Iowa and Texas Anti-Sanctuary City Laws Are Strong Precedent for Haslam to Sign New Tennessee Legislation

May 4, 2018May 3, 2018 Chris Alto

Bill Haslam

Governor Bill Haslam should look to Texas, Iowa and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to support signing Tennessee’s new anti-sanctuary city legislation which passed 64-23 in the House and 25-5 in the Senate. The Texas sanctuary city law signed last year, is the strictest in the country and more extensive than the Tennessee bill. In March, a unanimous three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals allowed all but one part of the Texas law to go into effect. Most importantly for Governor Haslam’s consideration, the provisions in the Texas law requiring local law enforcement to comply with ICE detainers, was upheld by the court. The only part of the Texas law blocked by the court was prohibiting public officials from endorsing sanctuary city policies, a provision not included in the Tennessee bill. The Texas law includes criminal penalties for refusing to comply with an ICE detainer request. Tennessee’s bill does not include any criminal sanctions. In ruling to uphold the Texas law on compliance with ICE detainer requests, the Court effectively dismissed the same Fourth Amendment arguments being put forth by the TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) against the Tennessee bill. Citing to an earlier…

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Memphis Democrat Tami Sawyer Uses Elite and Expensive Education to Push Radical Socialist Platform

May 4, 2018May 4, 2018 Chris Alto

Tami Sawyer, winner of the Democratic primary to represent District 7 on the Shelby County Commission, is not only a leader in the Black Lives Matter movement and a #TakeEmDown901 statue destroyer, she is also a graduate of St. Mary’s Episcopal elite and expensive all-girls private school in Memphis. Tuition at the private school for the 2018 school year starts at $16,300 for kindergarten and increases to $21,660 for the senior year in high school. The base cost does not include fees for snacks, technology, facilities and some textbooks. After graduating from St. Mary’s in 2000, Sawyer continued her elite private school education at the private, historically black Hampton University, with tuition, board and fees totaling over $36,000 a year for 2018. Sawyer left Hampton University after two years, finished up her degree at University of Memphis and moved to Washington, D.C. to attend the historically black Howard University Law School. The cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses to attend Howard Law School in 2014 was $60,240. There is no indication that Sawyer completed her law degree and no listing was found under her name in the public attorney directory maintained by the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility. Sawyer describes…

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Sponsor of Anti-Sanctuary City Bill Rep. Jay Reedy Asks Newspaper to Correct ‘Incomplete and Misleading’ Information in Articles About His Bill

May 3, 2018May 2, 2018 Chris Alto

State Rep Jay Reedy

Rep. Jay Reedy, sponsor of the anti-sanctuary city legislation passed by overwhelming majorities in both chambers of the Tennessee General Assembly, has asked The Tennessean’s editor to correct “incomplete and misleading information” in two of the newspaper’s articles written about his bill. In support of his request, Reedy cited to the Principles of Ethical Conduct for Newsrooms posted on the paper’s website: WE ARE COMMITTED TO: I. Seeking and reporting the truth in a truthful way We will be honest in the way we gather, report and present news – with relevancy, persistence, context, thoroughness, balance, and fairness in mind. We will seek to gain understanding of the communities, individuals and issues we cover to provide an informed account of activities. We will hold factual information in editorials and other opinion pieces to the same standards of accuracy as news stories. We will treat information from unofficial sources, which may include social media, with skepticism and will seek to corroborate information. When considering news content created outside of the Network, we will factor the credibility of the source and weigh the value and accuracy of information provided. Specifically, Reedy’s letter points to two stories which omitted a key fact leaving readers to…

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Black Lives Matter Leader and Statue Destroyer Wins Democratic Primary for Shelby County Commissioner Seat

May 3, 2018May 3, 2018 Chris Alto

Tami Sawyer, a leader in the Memphis Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and organizer of the #TakeEmDown901 activists that resulted in removing Confederate statues in the city, won the Democratic primary to represent District 7 on the Shelby County Commission Tuesday, WREG reported. Sawyer won with 50 percent of the vote, followed by Stephanie Greenwood, who won 36 percent of the vote. Eric Dunn finished in third place with 14 percent of the vote. She will face Republican Samuel Goff, who was unopposed in his primary, in the August general election. During the August 2017 Confederate statue protest during which protestors surrounded police cars, seven people were arrested. According to Sawyer, BLM posted bail for them. The BLM movement was launched by co-founders Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, a black Florida teenager. In no short order, BLM became known for protests involving property destruction and violence, oftentimes directed at police. All three of BLM’s co-founders have been connected in some way with one or more of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization’s (FRSO) groups. FRSO, one of the four largest radical Left organizations in the…

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Shelby County Commissioner Billingsley Suggests County Already Operating As a Sanctuary City

May 2, 2018May 1, 2018 Chris Alto

Waiting until only eight of the Shelby County Commissioners were still present to conduct business on Monday, Shelby County Commissioner Mark Billingsley introduced a resolution urging Governor Haslam to veto the anti-sanctuary city bill that was passed with overwhelming majorities in both chambers of the Tennessee General Assembly. In discussing his reasons for bringing the resolution, Billingsley said that Shelby County’s law enforcement was “not prepared for this” referring to the legislation determining the state’s policy about cooperation with federal immigration authorities and compliance with federal law. Billingsley’s comment is strongly suggestive that Shelby County law enforcement is currently releasing criminal illegal aliens into the community instead of transferring custody to ICE, a practice that if confirmed, would constitute a violation of the new anti-sanctuary law and potentially make the county ineligible for economic and community development grants from the state. Mauricio Calvo, director of Latino Memphis, spoke in favor of Billingsley’s resolution even though the reasons he cited are unsupported by federal court precedent and the experience in other states that have passed even stricter anti-sanctuary city and anti-illegal immigration measures. Seven commissioners passed the resolution while Commission Chairman Heidi Shafer did not vote citing a lack of information available to…

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Gibson County Democrat Party Saves Turncoat Mayor From Potential Violation of State Voting Law

May 1, 2018April 30, 2018 Chris Alto

Last week The Tennessee Star reported that the Williamson County Election Commission has referred materials related to an investigation into a report that seemed to show at least two Democrats – both of whom are currently running for elected office – voted in the Republican primary to the District Attorney for further investigation and possible prosecution. Gibson County Mayor Tom Witherspoon, twice elected as a Democrat on the party’s ticket, was included on GOP gubernatorial candidate Randy Boyd’s July 2017 list of county mayor endorsements. Witherspoon credited Randy Boyd for helping “Gibson County stay in the race to land the Tyson Foods plant” and suggested that his vote for Boyd was payback for that assistance saying, “[t]hat man kept his word with me and I’ll keep my word with him.” Witherspoon’s endorsement of Boyd was followed with his confirmation on Facebook that he would he would vote for Boyd in the Republican primary election because he “votes people, not parties.” Shortly thereafter, Witherspoon filed his petition to run for a third time as a Democrat candidate for mayor. Nine days after Witherspoon filed his petition to run for re-election as a Democrat, Keith Cunningham, chair of the Gibson County Democratic Party announced that he would…

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Leftist Diversity Agenda Drove Hiring of Kurdish Refugee Dismissed from Nashville Police Force for Gang Affiliation

April 27, 2018April 26, 2018 Chris Alto

Jiyayi Suleyman, a Kurdish refugee resettled in Nashville as a young child with his parents and siblings in 1991, was dismissed from the Metro Nashville Police force after it was discovered that “he lied on his application about who he was” and about his involvement with the Kurdish Pride Gang. Suleyman became a Metro Nashville police officer in 2012. His sister Remziya Suleyman, also made her mark in Nashville. Trained by the TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), she organized opposition to a 2011 anti-terrorism bill but failed to stop it from being passed into law. Her efforts did, however, result in establishing the American Muslim Advisory Council with assistance from the Haslam administration. Former Nashville mayor Karl Dean made elevating “new Americans” a priority during his term. Early on he established the New Americans Advisory Council with participation from Conexion Americas and TIRRC. The MyCity Academy program designed to politically empower refugees and immigrants followed. In 2014, Dean established the Mayor’s Office of New Americans and the Parent Ambassador Program whose volunteers would serve as advisors to Metro schools. Without hesitation Dean praised the self-segregation in “growing enclaves” of new Americans that keep them separated from assimilating into and adapting…

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Tennessee General Assembly Passes Immigration Bills That Help Governor Fulfill Campaign Promises to Voters

April 26, 2018 Chris Alto

Gov. Bill Haslam in 2010 & 2018

Running right up to the last hours of the 110th Tennessee General Assembly, legislators passed two related immigration bills by wide margins that help the Governor fulfill campaign promises he made during his first run for office. In 2009, gubernatorial candidate Bill Haslam told voters that if elected, his top priority was to “mak[e] Tennessee the No.1 state in the Southeast for high quality jobs” and that he would work to protect the “values we all hold dear.” Deterring illegal immigration in Tennessee was a featured part of Haslam’s plan to deliver on these campaign promises: The Green-Reedy anti-sanctuary city bill passed yesterday in the Senate 23 – 5 and in the House 64 – 23, provides clear guidelines for cooperation by state and local law enforcement with federal immigration authorities in identifying and removing criminal aliens which Haslam said he supported during his campaign. Months before he was elected as governor in 2010, Haslam endorsed the action of a newly Republican majority legislature which passed a bill requiring jailers to contact federal immigration authorities once it was determined that an illegal alien had been arrested. The Green-Lamberth bill, also passed yesterday by a wide vote margin, prohibits local jurisdictions from creating…

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State Sen. Todd Gardenhire Says ‘It’s Not the White Parents That Show Up to Be with the Kids, It’s Not the African American Parents That Show Up with the Kids’

April 26, 2018April 26, 2018 Chris Alto

During Tuesday’s debate on SB2333 sponsored by State Sen. Mark Green (R-Clarksville) that would prohibit local jurisdictions from creating their own identity card programs, State Sen. Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga) offered an amendment addressing parent access to schools. The local identity cards, also called municipal IDs, have been made available to illegal aliens in other states to help them access certain public services and appear as if they are lawfully present, While explaining his amendment, Gardenhire, who annually sponsors a bill to award in-state tuition to illegal alien students, disparaged “White and African American” parents who, he said, don’t “show up” to be involved with their children’s schools: In my district we have an enormous amount of Latino students. Let’s just get right down to the chase of it. We have an enormous amount of Latino students and these parents want to be involved. They’re involved more than any other segment of the population are. And if we exclude them because they can’t show some ID and get into the building and participate, we’re doing the students and the teachers and the principals a disservice. You can watch and hear Gardenhire make these comments at the 5:41:57 mark of this video of the debate…

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Tennessee General Assembly Passes Aggressive Anti-Sanctuary City Bill

April 26, 2018April 25, 2018 Chris Alto

State Sen Mark Green w State Rep Jay Reedy

Repeated efforts by House members to derail the anti-sanctuary city bill were unable to stop it from passing on a 64 – 23 vote. Bill sponsor Rep. Jay Reedy carefully explained that sanctuary policies are intended to obstruct cooperation with federal immigration authorities and that these policies protect people who have been arrested for committing a crime under Tennessee law and are then discovered to also be wanted by ICE. Reedy’s explanation did not stop Rep. Patsy Hazlewood from trying to persuade her colleagues not to support the bill. Hazlewood will have a Democrat challenger in the general election. Democrats in both the House and Senate spoke to wanting stronger laws to stop illegal aliens from working in Tennessee. Caucus Chairman Rep. Mike Stewart introduced an amendment that would criminalize employing illegal aliens and make it a Class E felony. In 2011, however, the U.S. Supreme Court held that states could only impose sanctions on employers through measures like revoking business licenses. Rep. Reedy invited Stewart to work with him next session on strengthening the state’s E-verify statute. Sen. Mark Green passed the Senate companion bill SB 2332, with a solid 23 -5 vote. “We’ve seen time and again that…

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Vocal House Democrats & Certain Republicans Voted to Stop Sanctuary Cities in 2009, But Now They Are For Them

April 25, 2018April 25, 2018 Chris Alto

State Rep Charles Sargent

Some of the most vocal House Democrats and Republicans trying to kill this session’s anti-sanctuary city bill sponsored by State Rep. Jay Reedy (R-Erin) had, in 2009, voted “yes” to pass a bill that prohibited establishing sanctuary cities in Tennessee. The 2009 bill passed the House with a 80 yes votes. Among the most aggressive efforts to sideline Reedy’s bill this year that closes a loophole in the 2009 law, has come from State Rep. Charles Sargent (R-Franklin) who voted yes on the 2009 bill. Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) appointed Sargent to serve as chairman of the powerful House Finance Committee, a position he has held throughout Harwell’s tenure as Speaker. Even though Sargent added his name as a co-sponsor on Reedy’s bill, he used his position as chairman to try and kill Reedy’s bill in the House Finance Committee. Sargent voted yes on a motion to send the bill to a study by the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) which he then gaveled through on a voice vote despite loud and overwhelming opposition from the no votes. Sargent again voted against a motion to reconsider the bill which passed the committee followed by a majority vote to…

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Retiring House Members Throw Curveball at Harwell’s Bid for Governor

April 24, 2018April 24, 2018 Chris Alto

In an unexpected turn during the House Finance Committee yesterday, two long-time supporters of Speaker Beth Harwell, voted against the anti-sanctuary city bill which 67 members of her Republican caucus is co-sponsoring. Finance Committee Chairman Rep. Charles Sargent (R-Franklin) and Rep. Steve McDaniel (R-Parkers Crossroads), both listed as co-sponsors of the bill, voted to effectively kill the bill by sending it to a summer study by the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. Both Sargent and McDaniel are retiring from the Tennessee House of Representatives and are not on the ballot in 2018. The motion was made by Rep. Patsy Hazlewood (R-Signal Mountain), who does not support the measure. Harwell is listed as a co-sponsor of the bill. After being elected by the Republican caucus as Speaker, Harwell appointed Sargent to serve as chairman of the powerful House Finance Committee, a position he has held throughout Harwell’s tenure as Speaker. McDaniel has also held choice committee assignments under Harwell’s leadership and was the House member she appointed to lead the Ad Hoc Select Committee that put in motion the eventual ouster of former representative Jeremy Durham for alleged sexual conduct at the legislature. Tennessee currently has a narrowly tailored law prohibiting…

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Leftist Legislators and TIRRC Want Criminal Aliens in Tennessee Shielded From Deportation

April 19, 2018April 18, 2018 Chris Alto

Jason Powell

Leftist legislators and the TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) have doggedly tried to stop the anti-sanctuary city bill from moving forward in the legislative process. To date, however, amendments designed to gut or undermine the bill’s objectives have been defeated and misleading arguments offered by opponents have been rejected. Local jurisdictions that declare themselves as “sanctuary cities” do not cooperate with federal immigration officials and instead, put protecting criminal aliens from deportation over and above the interests and welfare of citizens and legally admitted immigrants. The bill sponsored by Sen. Mark Green and Rep. Jay Reedy has continued to add co-sponsors in the Senate along with sixty-six House members that have added their names in support. During the last House State Government Committee, Rep. Jason Powell (D-Nashville) introduced an amendment authored by Nathan Ridley, the lawyer-lobbyist that represents TIRRC. Powell deferred to Ridley and TIRRC’s policy director Lisa Sherman-Nikolaus to explain the amendment to committee members. After considerable debate about Powell’s amendment mostly between Ridley and Reps. Willam Lamberth (R-Cottontown) and Bud Hulsey (R-Kingsport), both of whom have prior law enforcement experience, Lamberth summed it up: [Powell’s] amendment appears to gut this bill and will provide for local governments…

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Diane Black and State Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver Urge Appeal of 10th Amendment Lawsuit Against Federal Refugee Resettlement Program

April 16, 2018April 16, 2018 Chris Alto

Diane Black & Terri Lynn Weaver

One year after Tennessee filed suit in federal court challenging the commandeering of state revenue by the federal government to fund its refugee resettlement program, Judge Stanley Thomas Anderson, ignored plaintiffs’ request for a hearing and dismissed the case. The court’s decision did not reach the substantive Tenth Amendment issue ruling instead that the state lacked legal standing to sue. Anderson was appointed to the court by George W. Bush in 2008 and became Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee in 2017. GOP Gubernatorial Diane Black and State Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver, a named plaintiff in the suit have said unequivocally that Tennessee should appeal the court’s ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The Thomas More Law Center (TMLC), a non-profit public interest law firm filed the lawsuit on behalf of Tennessee and the legislature at no cost to the state or taxpayers. Mr. Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the TMLC has already indicated that the court’s decision “is filled with appealable issues” and that his firm is prepared to continue its representation pro bono and appeal the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary:…

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State Rep. William Lamberth Passes Bill That Prohibits Use of Consular Cards for Identification in Tennessee

April 16, 2018April 15, 2018 Chris Alto

State Rep William Lamberth

Passing his bill with a vote of 72-23 and one abstention, Rep William Lamberth (R-Cottontown) offered a compelling argument that consular cards were not designed nor intended to be used in this country for identification purposes by people legally in this country and his bill would prevent Tennessee from following the example of other states that have chosen to accept consular cards as a valid form of identification: I humbly think our citizens should be safer and in a better position than any other state in the union. Lamberth, a former Sumner County prosecutor, explained that some states have chosen to accept consular cards as a valid form of identification even though the cards were not designed or intended for that purpose. During hearings on Lamberth’s bill in the House State Government Committee, a representative from the TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), confirmed that consular cards issued by foreign consulate offices, are used by foreign governments to locate its nationals who are in the U.S. and in some instances, collect taxes from them. In their testimony opposing Lamberth’s bill, the co-Directors of TIRRC admitted that immigrants who primarily rely on consular cards are “people who do not have immigration…

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