State Representative Justin Jones (D-Nashville) admitted on the floor of the Tennessee House of Representatives on Thursday that he walked “across the border” with an illegal alien named Javier after visiting a migrant caravan camp in Mexico last week.
Jones made the admission while speaking in opposition to a bill, HB 2124, on the floor of the House of Representatives on Thursday.
“To my colleagues here: let’s go to the border together and let’s go meet some of these folks,” Jones said on the House floor. “Let’s meet people like Javier, who walked through the Darien Gap coming from Venezuela, who I walked with across the border, and who was a local government official who was calling out corruption in his government and is now fleeing for his life.”
State Representative Jody Barrett (R-Dickson) shared Jones’ controversial remarks on X, asking, “Did a member of the Tennessee General Assembly just admit on the House floor to aiding and abetting an illegal immigrant in violating federal law?”
Did a member of the Tennessee General Assembly just admit on the House floor to aiding and abetting an illegal immigrant in violating federal law? @RepMarkGreen @DHSgov @GregAbbott_TX @SenTedCruz pic.twitter.com/0RVTx0Zcnm
— Jody Barrett – State Representative (TN69) (@Jodyforstaterep) March 14, 2024
The basic statutory maximum term of imprisonment for aiding and abetting an illegal immigrant is five years, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
HB 2124, the bill Jones was speaking against, would require law enforcement agencies to communicate with federal officials regarding the immigration status of any individual and cooperate with federal officials in the identification, apprehension, detention, or removal of aliens not lawfully present in the U.S.
The bill passed the House by a 74-22 vote.
While lawmakers were debating the bill, State Representative Monty Fritts (R-Kingston) took aim at Jones for traveling to Mexico and meeting with migrants seeking illegal entry into the U.S., saying the job of state lawmakers is to uphold their oath to defend the people of Tennessee, not the rest of the world.
Well said, @MontyFrittsTN32. This is exactly why Chicago Democrats are suing their own city – they cannot take care of their own citizens. It’s why thousands of traditionally left-leaning demographics are abandoning their support for the Biden administration. Our duty is to our… pic.twitter.com/F7el9jMbMO
— TN House Republicans (@tnhousegop) March 14, 2024
“I think we need to refocus on our oath. Our oath is to our constitution, to the people of Tennessee, and to the people of these United States – not the world. We have no obligation under our oath to defend the people of the entire world. Our oath is to the Tennesseans. It is not to travel to foreign camps and seek the publicity of those who hate this country. The oath that we are asked, that we are commanded, that we must upkeep is to the people of this state,” Fritts said.
– – –
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
To clarify, he is a co-conspirator in the commission of a human trafficking felony crime.
So when will they arrest him and charge him with a felony crime?? Of that’s right he is another hands off elected official.
This is because when you threw him out you then backed down and broke TN procedure by 1. allowing him back in the House and 2. allowing him to run in the replacement election. Both was against TN process for handling this type of situation. So now this trouble maker thinks he can do whatever he wants and nothing will happen to him. HE JUST BROKE FEDERAL LAW by aiding illegals into our country. GET RID OF THIS GUY. He is everything America is not. He came to TN to cause trouble and he has done nothing but cause trouble since he came here.
This man, no this thug, has no respect for the law. This stunt was executed for no other purpose than publicity. Given his disdain for the law, the Tennessee Assembly needs to revisit expelling him again. Perhaps the voters in his district will finally get the point they can keep sending him to Nashville, but they’ll go unrepresented as his focus is on himself, on national exposure. He has no compunction leaving his district unrepresented..
Ask a Lib who wants the illegals > “How many live with you?” The answer is always “None.” They never take any personal responsibility.
Jones will continue to disrupt and be trouble. Hope we can just get rid of him somehow.
Just add another felony to the list that Justine should be charged with stretching back several years now.
What more do you need? Jones thinks he is absolutely and completely above the law. Trained Berkeley Marxist street thug. He’s not in elective office to fix problems, he’s there to completely tear down and destroy our system of Constitutional government and replace it with a totalitarian Communist regime.
I agree.
he admitted to a crime
arrest him
We should expect nothing less from this idiot or any other criminal serving in our government or Venezuela’s. These people are what criminals from his district want. Free stuff no personal responsibility or any accountability.
Justin Jones is a sh$$ stirring Communist who only wants attention by doing the things he does!