A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit seeking to block Tennessee’s human smuggling law after finding the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate a credible threat of prosecution, while declining to rule on the law’s constitutionality.
U.S. District Judge William L. Campbell Jr. dismissed the lawsuit last week without prejudice after concluding the plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-17-118, which took effect July 1, 2025.
The Southeastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church filed the lawsuit, arguing the law was unconstitutional because it conflicted with federal immigration authority, was unconstitutionally vague and, according to the Synod, violated First Amendment protections involving religious exercise and association.
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti defended the law.
Tennessee successfully defended its human smuggling law from a challenge in federal court.
The plaintiffs asked the court to block the law before it was enforced. The court found they had not shown a credible threat of prosecution, so the case was dismissed.
➡️ Read more:… pic.twitter.com/RwIIMKMaDr
— TN Attorney General (@AGTennessee) October 2, 2026
“Courts exist to resolve actual legal disputes, not as backstop legislatures for people to air their political grievances,” Skrmetti said in a statement. “This is America, we all have the right to disagree about government policies and the plaintiffs can absolutely criticize any law they don’t like. But from day one, this case was a policy disagreement dressed up as a lawsuit and that’s just not how our judiciary works.”
The law makes it a Class E felony for a person, for the purpose of commercial advantage or private financial gain, to knowingly transport an individual while intending to conceal the person from law enforcement or federal immigration officials, while knowing the individual illegally entered or remained in the U.S.
The law also prohibits intentionally concealing, harboring, or shielding from detection an individual the person knows illegally entered or remained in the country. Aggravated human smuggling, involving a person younger than 13, is a Class A felony.
The statute exempts attorneys from providing bona fide legal advice and people providing health care services or assistance.
In his ruling, Campbell, a Trump appointee, noted that the plaintiffs’ interpretation of the law was “at least arguable” and expressed “serious misgivings” about portions of the state’s interpretation of the statute.
However, he found the plaintiffs failed to establish a sufficiently credible threat that Tennessee prosecutors would enforce the law against them.
The court dismissed the case for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction without determining whether Tennessee’s human smuggling law is constitutional, leaving open the possibility of a future challenge by plaintiffs who can establish standing.
– – –
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
