A Tennessee state lawmaker told “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday that one-third of the criminal court cases in Williamson County are now related to illegal immigrants, claiming a county judge warned state lawmakers must consider increasing the number of jails and prisons due to an uptick in crime.
State Representative Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill) divulged the purported number of criminal cases related to illegal immigrants after he was asked about his legislation that would require law enforcement agencies to detain anyone found to be in the country illegally for the maximum amount of time legally allowed, and then transport the illegal immigrants to sanctuary cities for release if they are not retrieved for deportation by federal agencies.
Warner told the Fox News hosts, “We want them out of Tennessee. Previous General Assemblies have banned sanctuary cities here in Tennessee, and we want to send them somewhere where they’re more welcome than Tennessee.”
He then revealed one-third of criminal cases in Williamson County, part of his district, involve illegal immigrants.
“I recently met with the Williamson County delegation, and judges from Williamson County, here in southern Middle Tennessee, and a judge last week told a group of about five of us… either build more jails, build more prisons, or remove the immigrants from this state,” said Warner.
He added, “It’s bad enough in that county, Williamson County, he said over one-third of criminal court cases were due to illegal aliens.”
The Tennessee Star contacted the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office to confirm the figure offered by Warner, but did not receive an immediate response.
Additionally, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) did not respond to an inquiry from The Star that sought to determine if the state agency is aware of increased activity from Tren de Aragua, the Venezuelan prison gang that TBI recently warned is active in all of Tennessee’s major cities.
Warner also told the outlet that state officials receive minimal support from the federal government when it comes to confronting illegal immigration.
“The only thing that we can see here in the state is the failed, Biden administration immigration policies,” said Warner. Crime is on the rise across the state, as you’re aware… The fentanyl deaths in Metro Nashville Davidson County, I think, are near 800 for the year. It’s a serious problem across Tennessee and across the country.”
Noting his legislation was filed before the recent presidential election, Warner added that Tennessee lawmakers are excited about the prospect of working with President-elect Donald Trump and Tom Homan, the former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), who Trump announced will serve as his administration’s “border czar.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
