Search Results for: sanctuary city nashville

David Briley Issues Executive Order Preventing Nashville from Helping ICE

Chris Butler

  NASHVILLE — Nashville Mayor David Briley announced at a press conference Tuesday that the city will not assist the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, as long as it can legally help it. At the press conference, Briley also took issue with HB 2315, a state law that prohibits state and local governmental entities and officials from adopting sanctuary city policies. “Frankly, HB2315 is un-American. It’s reminiscent of the general warrants that resulted in the American Revolution. HB2315 delegates the power to arrest to unnamed bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., and it is a law that should be rescinded, repealed, and challenged in our state,” Briley said. “Additionally, today I am also calling on the Metro Legal Director to explore any and all legal challenges to HB2315 that would result in it being declared unconstitutional.” Briley said that once the law is overturned “we will take immediate action.” Among those actions: • Unless they are issued with a valid and properly issued warrant, no Metro agency or Metro employee or agent will give ICE or CBP access to a person being detained by or in the custody of that agent or agency. No Metro…

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Briley One-Ups Cooper in Attacks on ICE as Nashville Mayoral Run Off Election Approaches

Jason M. Reynolds

  The choice in the Nashville mayoral race is between incumbent Mayor David Briley, who is soft on immigration — and Metro Councilman John Cooper, who is soft on immigration. Michael Patrick Leahy on Tuesday’s Tennessee Star Report weighed in on the mayoral debate: “So, the very, very, very, bad Mayor – David Briley – debated with the very, very bad Metro Council at large candidate for Mayor, John Cooper. And purportedly they were discussing issues. Except they really weren’t. They talked platitudes.” The report is broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am. Briley tweeted, “This week, @WSMV reported on Metro probation officers sharing Nashville residents’ personal information with ICE agents. Today, I’m ordering the Metro Auditor to conduct a full investigation of the department involved and these deeply troubling reports.” This week, @WSMV reported on Metro probation officers sharing Nashville residents’ personal information with ICE agents. Today, I'm ordering the Metro Auditor to conduct a full investigation of the department involved and these deeply troubling reports. pic.twitter.com/JKqGWCcCR6 — Judge David Briley (@DavidBriley) August 29, 2019 One comment summed up the Nashville mayor’s responsibility — to protect the public: “If they are on…

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TIRRC Manifesto Calls on Nashville to Spend Taxpayer Money on Illegal Aliens

Chris Butler

  The Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) put out a new manifesto last month describing how they want Metro Nashville officials to treat illegal immigrants, and it demands taxpayers subsidize new programs to protect them from deportation. This document, titled, Beyond Welcoming: A Platform for Immigrant Inclusion for the Next Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County, also disparages ICE agents as persecutors who set out to destroy immigrant families. You can download the full document here. The TIRRC document focused on community organizing activities to put political pressure on state and local officials. “Each week in Nashville, ICE is terrorizing immigrant neighborhoods and ripping residents away from their families and communities,” according to the document. (Page 3) “As the federal government ramps up immigration enforcement, the state legislature has continued their efforts to make life harder for immigrant and refugee communities.” (Page 3) The document calls on Nashville officials to embrace pro-immigrant policies and “help turn the tide in this country.” (Page 3) Among only some of the document’s policy suggestions for Nashville leaders: • Nashville should not help ICE deport illegal immigrants. (Page 4) • The Davidson County jail must stop renting bed space to ICE. (Page 7)  •…

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Metro Nashville Candidates Say ‘Yes’ to Sanctuary Cities and ‘No’ to ICE

Chris Butler

  NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Metro Nashville Council At-Large candidate Gicola Lane told a crowd of more than 1,000 people Monday she wants city officials to stop working with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Members of the crowd gave thunderous applause. Later in the evening, Nashville mayoral candidate Julia Clark-Johnson said she wants to turn Nashville into a sanctuary city. “The state of California has been successful into changing a lot of their cities into sanctuary cities,” Clark-Johnson said, suggesting Nashville follow that state’s example. Gicola and Clark-Johnson made these comments at Nashville’s Plaza Mariachi along Nolensville Pike this week for a forum devoted to immigrant rights Several other At-Large and mayoral candidates joined them on stage. The Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition sponsored the event, as did the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, the American Muslim Advisory Council, and Conexion Americas. The forum was in question-and-answer format, with members of those groups asking, among other things, what the Metro Nashville government can do to disentangle itself from ICE and stop future deportations. At-Large candidate Bob Mendes, already on the Metro Council, said he will continue to do his part, especially with U.S. Republican President Donald Trump in office.…

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Live From Sunland Park, New Mexico, OANN’s Neil McCabe Tells The Tennessee Star Report the We Build the Wall Team Is ‘Going Back to City Hall Today’

Julie Carr

  On Wednesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Gill and Leahy talked to One America News Network’s Neil McCabe, a regular guest on the show, live from Sunland Park, New Mexico. McCabe is at the border reporting on the recent cease and desist order from  Mayor Javier Perea which was hand delivered yesterday to the We Build the Wall crew by local police. Leahy asked McCabe to give Tennessee Star Report listeners the latest news on the efforts of the We Build The Wall team, which has put up about three-fourths of a mile of 18 foot high fencing on the southern border between New Mexico and Mexico in just five days, with another one-fourth of a mile left to close the gap between two existing 20 mile segments of existing border wall. Leahy: Neil what’s going on this morning down in Sunland Park? Bring us up to speed. There was a cease and desist order yesterday afternoon. What’s happened since then. You are on the ground in Sunland Park, New Mexico and the sun is about to…

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Nashville Pro-Illegal Immigration Activist Lawyers Lose Deportation Case

Chris Alto

On April 7, 2017, Nashville pro-illegal immigration activist lawyers Elliot Ozment, J. Gerard Stranch, IV, Tricia Herzfeld and Anthony Orlandi, sued Metro Nashville, Davidson County and its Sheriff Daron Hall, on behalf of Saudi national Abdullah Abriq, a student visa overstayer, and the “hundred and likely thousands of immigrants” subject to detainer requests issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The open borders lawyers attempted to use Abriq’s lawsuit opposing his deportation to also challenge the deportation of illegal aliens who are arrested and subsequently held in the Metro jail on a request from ICE to detain the criminal for transfer to ICE custody pending removal proceedings. This time around however, it is score one for the rule of law and zero for the four lawyers trying to protect illegal aliens. Abriq was identified in the lawsuit as a “foreign national who immigrated to the United States under an F-1 student visa.” The F-1 visa is a type of non-immigrant visa that allows a person to be educated in the U.S. if they meet certain conditions. Absent an extension, the student must leave the country once the term or conditions of the visa expire. Visa overstayers are considered unlawfully present…

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Immigrant Voting Base Was Top Priority For Karl Dean When He Was Mayor of Nashville

Chris Alto
Karl Dean

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Karl Dean placed a high priority on meeting the needs of “new Americans” during his two terms as mayor of Nashville. Speaking forcefully against an English-first proposal to launching programs like “MyCity Academy” and “Pathway for New Americans,” Dean looked for ways to politically capture the support of the immigrant constituency and solidify Nashville’s blue vote. In 2009, Nashville Councilman Eric Crafton proposed an amendment to Nashville’s charter which would have declared English to be the official language of Nashville and Davidson County and which would have limited the use of languages other than English in conducting the city’s business: English is the official language of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee. Official actions which bind or commit the government shall be taken only in the English language, and all official government communications and publications shall be in English. No person shall have a right to government services in any other language. All meetings of the Metro Council, Boards, and Commissions of the Metropolitan Government shall be conducted in English. The Metro Council may make specific exceptions to protect public health and safety. Nothing in this measure shall be interpreted to conflict with federal or…

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SEIU Endorses La Raza Affiliate Conexion Americas’ Education Policy Director For Nashville School Board

Chris Alto
Gini Pupo-Walker

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 205 has endorsed Gini Pupo-Walker for the Metro Nashville School Board: ‘Gini has extensive experience in the school system and outside of it and will bring great leadership and professionalism to the board,’ said SEIU member Lilldeus Russell, a paraprofessional in MNPS. ‘She has consistently been an advocate for equity in our schools and we need more voices like that on the board.’ Pupo-Walker serves as the Education Policy Director for Nashville-based Conexion Americas, an affiliate of UnidosUS (formerly known as the National Council of La Raza). Conexion’s founder and co-director, Renata Soto, has had a long-standing leadership role with UnidosUS serving first as vice-chair of the board in 2012, until she was elected as chairman in 2015 when the organization was still named La Raza. She remains listed as Chairman for the 2017-2018 slate. In 2016, Conexion Americas launched the Tennessee Educational Equity Coalition (TEEC) which Pupo-Walker leads, tying GOP gubernatorial candidate Randy Boyd even closer to Soto and her Nashville organization. Boyd’s own education non-profit Complete Tennessee is listed as a State Partner on the TEEC website and Conexion’s Renata Soto serves on the Complete Tennessee Board. Mauricio Calvo, executive director of Latino Memphis serves on Boyd’s Complete Tennessee…

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Nashville Organizations and Metro Government Lawyers Defend Illegal Aliens

Chris Alto

Nashville Community Defense/Defensa Comunitaria Nashville uses the tagline “here to stay.” The group is led by Cathy Carrillo who organizes and leads protests against deporting criminal illegal aliens while Metro’s lawyers in the Public Defender’s office provide legal services for “non-citizen defendants.” According to Elizabeth Lopez, a graduate of Vanderbilt University and a spokesman for Nashville-based Workers Dignity which is funded by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, Workers Dignity helped spin-off Carillo’s group. Last year Lopez and Carrillo spoke as representatives of Workers Dignity at the TN Alliance for Progress conference on a panel titled “Resisting Deportation: Immigration Policy and Organizing.” Workers Dignity organized in 2010, to advocate for the workplace rights of legal immigrants and illegal aliens. Protesting “wage theft” from low wage immigrant hotel cleaners, the group has expanded the campaign to include construction workers and are bootstrapping their menu of demands to the explosive growth currently being experienced in Nashville. Listed among the TN Immigrant & Refugee Right’s (TIRRC) coalition members, Workers Dignity hired a full-time organizer to head up a Neighborhood Defense Committee, the project launched by the TIRRC to shield criminal and non-criminal illegal aliens and obstruct enforcement of immigration law by U.S. authorities. A 2017 meeting notice for Carrillo’s Nashville Community Defense group explained…

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GOP Senate Nominee in PA Blasts Democrat Bob Casey Over Celebration of Philadelphia’s Sanctuary City Status

John Bryant
Lou Barletta, Bob Casey

Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA), who is running for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania blasted both the mayor of Philadelphia and his own opponent, Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), over a viral video of the mayor dancing as Philadelphia joined the ranks of sanctuary cities which give safe harbor to illegal immigrants, including those with criminal records, thanks to a decision handed down by a federal district judge. Needless to say, I think @janeslusser and @PhillyMayor are pretty excited about today’s ruling affirming Philadelphia as a Sanctuary City. pic.twitter.com/gdnnjZT9ps — Steve Preston (@StevePrest) June 6, 2018 “That’s really a sad video to watch,” Barletta told Stuart Varney on Fox Business Network, “Especially for me.” “I don’t think the families of the victims in Philadelphia who were victims of illegal immigrants… I don’t think they’re dancing,” Barletta said. Barletta went on to cite the family of a child allegedly raped by an illegal immigrant in Philadelphia, saying he “is challenging Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) in November, and that he and Casey — the son of a former Pennsylvania governor — are “on opposite ends” of the sanctuary city and illegal immigration issue.” “That’s going to be a big issue in this election,” Barletta said.…

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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

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

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

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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Mayoral Candidate Erica Gilmore Calls on Governor Haslam to Veto the Anti-Sanctuary City Bill Awaiting His Signature

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Mayoral candidate and Councilwoman-at-Large Erica Gilmore held a press conference prior to Tuesday evening’s Metro Council meeting to announce her opposition to the Green-Reedy Bill, also known as the ‘anti-sanctuary cities bill.’ During the event, Gilmore unveiled a resolution she said she will introduce at the bi-weekly meeting, calling on fellow council members to join her in opposing the recently passed measure, and ask Governor Haslam to veto it. In a media advisory sent to The Tennessee Star, Gilmore’s campaign wrote: Councilwoman Gilmore’s resolution (co-sponsored by Councilmembers Davis and Mendes) calls HB2315 harmful to public safety, and an “unfunded mandate,” with the potential “to increase racial profiling.” She will introduce RS 2018-(as yet un-numbered) at tonight’s Metro Council meeting for first reading. The Councilwoman’s resolution would unite the Metro Council with MNPD Chief Anderson and the MNPS Board in calling for a veto of HB2315. Gilmore was a leading proponent of the sanctuary city bill the Metro Council was passed on a second reading in June before an uprising by the Tennessee General Assembly persuaded its sponsors to drop it before a third and final reading. Gilmore’s press conference clearly aligns her on the far left among the leading candidates in the May 24 special…

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Spokesman Says Randy Boyd ‘Fully Expects the Anti-Sanctuary City Legislation to Become Law’

Tennessee Star Staff

A spokesman for the Randy Boyd campaign told The Tennessee Star on Friday afternoon that Boyd “fully expects the anti-sanctuary city legislation passed this session to become law, and as Governor he will work to enforce that law.” Here is the full statement provided to The Star by Chip Saltsman, spokesman for the Randy Boyd campaign: Randy Boyd has made it clear and will continue to make it clear that he is absolutely opposed to cities or counties in Tennessee becoming sanctuaries for illegal aliens. He fully expects the anti-sanctuary city legislation passed by the legislature this session to become law, and as Governor he will work to enforce that law. As The Tennessee Star reported earlier on Friday, “The anti-sanctuary city legislation sponsored by State Sen. Mark Green (R-Clarksville) and State Rep. Jay Reedy (R-Erin) and passed overwhelmingly by the Tennessee General Assembly has been signed by Speaker of the House Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) and on Thursday was formally transmitted to the office of Gov. Haslam,” adding: The governor arrived back in Nashville this morning from an overseas trip, so the ten day clock in which he must either veto the bill–testing…

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Randy Boyd Is Silent As Far Left and Big Business Interests Push Gov. Haslam to Veto Anti-Sanctuary City Bill

Chris Alto
Randy Boyd and Bill Haslam

The anti-sanctuary city legislation sponsored by State Sen. Mark Green (R-Clarksville) and State Rep. Jay Reedy (R-Erin) and passed overwhelmingly by the Tennessee General Assembly has been signed by Speaker of the House Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) and on Thursday was formally transmitted to the office of Gov. Haslam. The governor arrived back in Nashville this morning from an overseas trip, so the ten day clock in which he must either veto the bill–testing Speaker Harwell’s resolve to call a special session of the General Assembly to override the veto–sign it, or allow it to become law by returning it to the General Assembly unsigned, has begun ticking. He also has the option of returning it unsigned before the ten days expire and allow it to become law. Gubernatorial candidate Randy Boyd, a member of Haslam’s administration until he resigned to run for governor, is the only one of four candidates for the GOP nomination who has not yet taken a position on whether Gov. Haslam should sign the bill. This silence is in stark contrast to his recent television advertisements, in which he has portrayed himself as a strong opponent of illegal immigration…

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

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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State Senator Mark Green Posts Petition to Urge Governor Haslam Not to Veto Anti-Sanctuary Cities Bill

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Governor Bill Haslam and State Senator Mark Green

State Senator Mark Green (R-Clarksville) launched a petition Friday to urge outgoing Governor Bill Haslam not to veto his anti-sanctuary cities bill. The bill is widely supported by both Tennesseans and legislators, passing the Senate 27-5 and the House 64-23 – and under Tennessee statue, a bill may pass into law without the Governor’s signature after a period of 10 days (excluding Sundays). “Enforcing our laws and protecting our citizens should not be controversial. I’m asking all Tennesseans to stand with me and call on our Governor to sign this bill that protects our citizens,” noted Senator Green in a statement. SB 2332 adds teeth to existing sanctuary cities laws by prohibiting local governments that enact sanctuary cities from receiving future economic development grants from the state. It also expands the definition of an illegal sanctuary city policy to verbal directives and other means, not just written policies. The bill appears to be serving as a kind of litmus test for many candidates as they seek to earn the support of Republican primary voters, the overwhelming majority of whom soundly reject so-called sanctuary city policies. As The Tennessee Star reported, Rep. Diane Black was the first candidate to urge Governor Haslam – who she hopes to…

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

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

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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Diane Black Calls on Gov. Haslam to Sign Anti-Sanctuary City Bill

Tennessee Star Staff
Diane Black Would Veto in-state tuition benefits for illegal immigrant students

On Wednesday, Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-06), a candidate for the Republican nomination for governor, called on Gov. Bill Haslam to sign the anti-sanctuary city bill (SB 2332/HB2315) passed by the Tennessee General Assembly last month. “The voters of Tennessee want our leaders in Nashville to get tough on illegal immigration,” Black said in a statement released by her campaign. “Sanctuary cities have no place in our state, and Governor Haslam should sign the anti-sanctuary cities legislation passed by the General Assembly – the duly elected representatives of the people of Tennessee. It is a common-sense bill that supports law enforcement and prohibits local governments from rewarding illegal immigration. It needs to become a common-sense law,” Black concluded. The statement by the Black campaign continued: While Tennessee already has a law making sanctuary cities illegal, that law defines sanctuary cities as cities with written sanctuary policies. SB 2332/HB 2315 would expand that law to apply to cities who don’t necessarily make a written policy, but don’t cooperate with the federal government’s immigration enforcement. Each of the four Republican candidates for governor have different positions on the issue. Speaker of the House Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) voted for and supported the bill in…

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Tennessee General Assembly Passes Aggressive Anti-Sanctuary City Bill

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

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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Anti-Sanctuary City Legislators Hold Their Ground in Committee to Move Strong Bill Toward Full House for Vote

Chris Alto
State Rep Jay Reedy

After an hour of debate rehashing Rep. Jay Reedy’s anti-sanctuary city bill, including more testimony in opposition from the TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) and procedural moves by Democrat Jason Powell to “gut” the bill, 6 of the 7 Republican members of the House State Government Committee voted “yes,” sending HB2315 toward a vote by the full House. The Committee’s three Democrats voted no and Chairman Bob Ramsey, a Republican, passed. Rep. Jason Powell (D-Nashville), offered an amendment which TIRRC’s lawyer explained to committee members. Thorough questioning by Reps. Bud Hulsey and William Lamberth, however, revealed that the amendment was intended to neuter key parts of the bill. Anti-sanctuary city Reps. Daniel, Hulsey, Lamberth, Littleton and Rudd, held their ground to vote down Powell’s amendment; all five are named co-sponsors of the bill. Chairman Bob Ramsey voted “yes” with the Democrats and Republican Bill Sanderson passed. Sanderson then offered his own amendment that would have weakened the strong state policy Reedy’s bill would establish to combat shielding illegal aliens who have committed crimes unrelated to their immigration status, from possible deportation. The same five anti-sanctuary city legislators again held their ground and voted against Sanderson’s amendment. This time,…

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State Senator Mark Green Bringing Strong Anti-Sanctuary City Bill To a Floor Vote on Wednesday

Chris Alto

On Wednesday, April 11th, the Tennessee State Senate will consider updating and closing loopholes in the state’s law prohibiting sanctuary cities. Sponsored by Sen. Mark Green, SB2332 will make it harder to shield criminal illegal aliens in Tennessee. In June 2017, the Metro Nashville Council was working to pass an ordinance that would have made Nashville the most liberal sanctuary city in the country. The ordinance, drafted with help from the TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), proposed instituting a practice of “don’t ask so you don’t have to know or tell” which would prohibit Davidson County and Nashville employees, including law enforcement, from providing pertinent information to ICE regarding criminal aliens. Metro Councilman Colby Sledge, one of the two chief co-sponsors of the ordinance is married to the co-Director of TIRRC. The proposed ordinance was withdrawn, however, due to overwhelming grassroots opposition and pressure from state legislators, but a 2017 report released by Openthebooks.com still lists Nashville as a sanctuary city. Tennessee’s current anti-sanctuary city law passed in 2009, only prohibits written policies that obstruct cooperation with federal immigration authorities. It’s not clear whether this narrower definition of “sanctuary city” would have applied to the proposed Metro ordinance. Other states like Georgia…

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IT’S OFFICIAL: Carol Swain Launches Campaign for Mayor of Nashville

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Carol Swain runs for Nashville Mayor'

Former Vanderbilt University professor Carol Swain announced late Monday afternoon she is a candidate for Mayor of Nashville in the upcoming special election to name a new mayor to serve the balance of former Mayor Megan Barry’s term, which ends in August 2019. In a statement, Swain said she “secured the necessary petition to become a candidate this morning, obtained more than the 25 signatures required to become an official candidate, and filed the petition this afternoon, which will qualify her to appear on the special election ballot.” That date is currently set for August 2, but the Tennessee Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a legal challenge next Monday that could set the election date earlier, either on May 1 or May 26. “The reason I’m running is that Nashville needs a choice between two different visions for the city. I believe the city is headed in the wrong direction, like many large cities headed by Democratic mayors,” Swain said in the statement, adding: “Nashville is currently following the ‘tax-and-spend’ prescription that has resulted in so many of our cities becoming wastelands of poverty, crime, failing schools, and high taxes,” Swain noted in announcing her plans to run…

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Vast Majority of Tennessee House Republicans – 58 Out of 74 – Are Co-Sponsors of Anti-Sanctuary City Bill

Chris Alto
Jay Reedy

Fifty-eight Tennessee House Republicans are named co-sponsors on the anti-sanctuary city bill HB2315. Adding the bill’s chief sponsor, State Rep. Jay Reedy (R-Erin), means that 80 percent of the House Republicans support strengthening and closing the loopholes in Tennessee’s existing anti-sanctuary city statute. (Seventy-four of the 99 members of the Tennessee House of Representatives this session are Republicans, while 25 are Democrats.) Tennessee’s anti-sanctuary city law passed in 2009, only addresses written policies that prohibit local governments, officials and employees from cooperating with federal immigration authorities. This narrower definition of “sanctuary city” would likely not have applied to at least one of the sanctuary city ordinances proposed by the Metro Nashville Council last June. The two ordinances proposed by the Metro Nashville Council would have made Nashville the most liberal sanctuary city in the country. One of the bills included a “don’t ask so you don’t have to know or tell” practice prohibiting Davidson County and Nashville employees, including law enforcement, from providing pertinent information to ICE regarding criminal aliens. Reedy’s bill expands the definition of sanctuary city to include practices that obstruct cooperation with federal immigration authorities and help shield illegal aliens who have also committed crimes. North Carolina and Georgia…

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65th Annual Youth In Government General Assembly Convenes in Nashville

Tennessee Star Staff

NASHVILLE, Tennessee–More than 500 high school student delegates from across Tennessee gathered in Nashville on Thursday to attend the first day of the 65th Annual Youth In Government General Assembly, a Tennessee YMCA Center for Civic Engagement program. Susan Moriarty, executive director of the Tennessee YMCA Center for Civic Engagement, who, along with associate director Elise Addington Dugger runs the annual event, told The Tennessee Star that more than 2,500 Tennessee high school students in grades 9 through 12 participate in Youth In Government events scheduled throughout the year. On Thursday, delegates met at the Nashville First Baptist Church. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday they will meet at the House Chambers, the Senate Chambers, and the Cordell Hull Building of the State Capitol. The closing ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. on Sunday in the House Chambers. Delegates are assigned specific roles, either as members of the General Assembly in the House or Senate, judges on the Supreme Court or lawyers arguing before the Court, lobbyists, members of the Governor’s Cabinet, or members of the Press Corps. The 30 member press corps this year publishes two to three editions of the newspaper each day, as well as a daily video…

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Nashville Metro Council Buries True Cost of $9 Billion Transit Plan

Jason M. Reynolds

A PAC opposed to a $9 billion transit plan calls Nashville Metro Council’s vote Tuesday a “shameful” effort to pull the wool over the voter’s (sic) eyes.” NoTax4Tracks made the statement in a press release in response to Metro Council voting 21-14 not to accept an amendment to the light rail transit plan that would have shown the $9 billion cost on the May 1 ballot. The Tennessee Star broke the latest story on Mayor Megan Barry’s plan Wednesday morning. Once the amendment failed, the council voted on the Barry administration’s favored language for the referendum, citing a price tag of just over $5.3 billion. The council voted 30-6, with three not voting, to create the ballot language. The third and final reading will be Feb. 6. NoTax4Tracks said, “We know the city and the pro-light rail groups leaned hard on council members today. They did so because their own polling and political advisors told them that if Cooper’s amendment passed, their entire plan was in big trouble. So, they laid the wood to the council. It’s clear, they’ll do just about anything to win.” Council member John Cooper proposed the ballot language for the city’s Transit Improvement Plan be open and transparent…

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Nashville Mayor ‘Moonbeam’ Megan Barry Attacks President Trump in Speech on MLK Day

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At an event billed to celebrate the life and times of Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, Nashville Mayor “Moonbeam” Megan Barry went out of her way to blatantly accuse President Trump of racism. In a video clip posted by The Tennessean, Mayor Barry is seen onstage, bundled in black against the frigid afternoon. “You know, this week, we went from whose button is bigger, to a payoff.” After a short pause, Barry added, “And in between all of that was a whole lot of racism.” In the audio of the short video clip, the audience reaction – if there was any – is not picked up by the microphone system. Only few stray voices in the background can be heard as Mayor Barry nods in agreement with herself onstage. Moving on, she said, “And what we need is all of you in this org– audience to make sure you are standing up. And that starts with making sure our kids who are our DACA recipients get to stay here, and dream here and that’s all up to us.” The Tennessean abruptly ends the 32-second video before any ovation in reaction to Ms. Barry’s remarks can be heard from the audience. The left-leaning…

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Sanctuary Cities, Ft. Negley To Be Discussed Saturday At Southeast Nashville Conservatives’ Breakfast

Wendy Wilson

Two hot topics in Nashville will be discussed Saturday at the Southeast Nashville Conservatives’ Breakfast. Sanctuary cities and the proposed redevelopment plan for Ft. Negley will be addressed by guest speakers. Metro Councilman Robert Swope will speak on the council’s recent push to make Nashville more welcoming to illegal immigrants. Proposed sanctuary city ordinances received strong support from council members but faced opposition from citizens. In addition, Metro’s law director raised concerns about the legality of a provision that would have required the sheriff to get a criminal judicial warrant to detain inmates believed to be in the U.S. illegally, instead of simply following procedures established by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Other measures would have further restricted Metro employees from cooperating with immigration authorities. At the end of June, the councils’ lead sponsors of the ordinances withdrew their two bills but vowed to accomplish their goals in other ways. On Saturday, Swope, who represents District 4 and who opposed the legislation, promises to give a behind-the-scenes look at what took place and what to expect as sanctuary city proponents continue their fight. Chris Cotton, a board member of the Friends of Ft. Negley, will speak about Nashville Mayor Megan Barry’s controversial…

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Early Voting Starts Today for Nashville Metro Council District 33 Seat

Wendy Wilson

Early voting begins today for a special election to fill a vacant seat on Nashville’s Metro Council. The District 33 seat was vacated by former councilman Sam Coleman, who was recently sworn in as a Nashville judge. Early voting continues through Aug. 10 and election day is Aug. 15. District 33 covers part of Antioch. To see a map of District 33, click here. The Metro Council has 40 members, 35 of whom are elected by district and five who elected at large. Nashville elections are nonpartisan, but the city, long a Democratic stronghold, has been on an increasingly progressive trajectory. A recent Metro Council push to make Nashville a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants was evidence of the trend. However, in part because of growing public opposition, the council members who sponsored the sanctuary city bills eventually withdrew them, revealing that progressivism in Nashville has its limits. A poll commissioned by The Tennessee Star showed that likely voters in Nashville and Davidson County were divided on the issue. In District 33, there was a statistical tie between supporters and opponents. Despite the attention on sanctuary cities in Tennessee and across the country, the five candidates in the District 33 race have made little or…

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The Battle for Nashville Begins: Tim Herndon Takes on Liberal Establishment in 33rd Metro Council District Special Election

Tennessee Star Staff

NASHVILLE, Tennessee–About a dozen volunteers gathered on Saturday morning at the Travel America center in Antioch to begin a day of door knocking for Tim Herndon, the conservative candidate in the special election to pick a new Metro Council member from Davidson County/Nashville’s 33rd District that will be held on August 15. The special election will be the first test of public opinion in Davidson County and Nashville since the Metro Council sponsors of a sanctuary city ordinance withdrew their proposal in late June, barely a week before it was scheduled for a third and final reading. The ordinance passed on a second reading June 20 by a 25 to 8 vote, with 4 members abstaining, and 2 members not voting, but without a vote cast by a council member representing the 33rd district, since that seat has been vacant since May, when the incumbent, Sam Coleman, accepted an appointment as a judge. The special election will be held on August 15. Early voting runs from July 26 to August 10. At full strength there are 40 members of the Metro Council-5 are elected at large, and 35 are elected by Council District. A recent Tennessee Star Poll showed that,…

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Metro Nashville Council Member Erica Gilmore Tells the State & Congress ‘We Make the Laws’

Chris Alto

  In the last moments of Metro Council’s debate over the second reading of the now withdrawn sanctuary city ordinance before the June 20 vote, Nashville Council Member-at-Large Erica Gilmore, tried to assert non-existent local authority over illegal immigration, claiming “[w]e make the laws. We decide whether something is legal or not.” When the vote was held later that evening, Gilmore was among the 25 members of Metro Council who voted yes. Only 8 members of the Metro Council voted no. Had it not been for a vast grassroots uprising, an unfavorable legal opinion from Metro Legal Director, and a letter signed by more than 63 members of the Tennessee House of Representatives telling the Metro Council the Tennessee General Assembly would not let such an ordinance stand, the ordinance may have passed on a third reading. But the ordinances sponsors, Council Members Bob Mendes and Colby Sledge permanently withdrew the ordinance in light of the public backlash, and it never came to a vote on a third and final reading. But on the evening of June 20, Gilmore let her constituents know exactly where she stands on the issue. “I’m concerned when we have to talk about what’s American,…

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Eleven Metro Council Members Who Voted ‘Yes’ on Sanctuary City Ordinance in Re-Election Jeopardy

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennessee Star

  Eleven members of the Metro Nashville Council who voted “yes” on the second reading of the sanctuary city ordinance on June 20 are in re-election jeopardy for 2019 because they are in favor of a policy that many of their constituents oppose, according to the results of a recent Tennessee Star Poll. Five are at-large members, and six represent districts in which their constituents opposed the now withdrawn sanctuary city ordinance by a significant margin. As The Star reported last week, the poll, conducted between June 28 and June 29,  found that likely voters in Nashville were evenly divided over the proposed sanctuary ordinance, not in “overwhelming support,” as one of the co-sponsors At-Large Council Member Bob Mendes claimed: When asked, “Metro Nashville Council was scheduled to vote on a proposal next week that would, in effect, turn Nashville into a sanctuary city where illegal immigrants are protected from arrest and deportation. Do you support or oppose the proposal for Nashville to become a sanctuary city?,” 49.4 percent supported, while 47.1 percent opposed, a statistical tie since the 2.3 percent differential is within the poll’s 4.2 percent margin of error. Though the poll found that voters were in a…

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Report: Knoxville Among ‘Twenty-One Mostly Sanctuary Cities’ Promising to Make 1 Million US Citizens in Year

Tennessee Star Staff

The Washington Examiner reported that Knoxville, Tennessee is one of “Twenty-one mostly ‘sanctuary cities’ . . . pledging to make 1 million immigrants U.S. citizens this year” identified in a 4th of July statement issued by Mi Familia Vota, a far left open borders group that is part of the Naturalize Now! Coalition. “The “Naturalize NOW!” campaign, which includes liberal and progressive groups and elected officials, heralded the mayors of the cities in joining the national effort,” the Examiner reported. “The cities that have joined the campaign are: Atlanta, GA; Boston, MA; Cleveland, OH; Charlotte, NC; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Dayton, OH; Jersey City, NJ; Knoxville, TN; Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; Miami-Dade County, FL; Montgomery County, MD; Paterson, NJ; Pittsburgh, PA; New York City, NY; Salt Lake County, UT; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, CA; South Gate, CA & Tucson, AZ,” the statement released by Mi Familia Vota said. The “Naturalize Now” campaign was launched in 2015 by a newly formed group known as the New American Democracy Campaign. The coalition includes Mi Familia Vota, “the National Partnership for New Americans and its state-based member coalitions, Mi Familia Vota, Cities for Citizenship, National Council of La Raza (NCLR), iAmerica, Center for Popular Democracy,…

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Conexion Americas Community Event in Nashville Focused on Progressive Activism And Food From Randy Boyd Funded Kitchen Incubator

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Michael Gilbert has worked in the restaurant industry for 15 years, but he’s only had his own business for about a year. The South Carolina native turned to Conexión Américas for help in getting his food truck off the ground. He is a member of the nonprofit’s culinary entrepreneurship program that offers people like him training in marketing and other skills they will need. Most importantly, it offers them use of a commercial kitchen. Gilbert said he values the chance to interact with other chefs in the program. “It’s a good learning experience,” he said Friday as he served breakfast fare from his City Kitchen food truck parked outside Casa Azafrán, where Conexión Américas held an Independence Day celebration. While Gilbert is an American citizen, the help he has received has come from an organization that promotes relief programs for illegal immigrants and provides services for them, as well as for legal immigrants. Conexión Américas co-founder Renata Soto is chair of National Council of La Raza, a national organization that has protested counterterrorism measures on grounds they violate immigrants’ rights. Conexión Américas’ progressive stances have created a problem for Republican gubernatorial candidate Randy Boyd, who last year donated $250,000 to help…

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La Raza Affiliate That Randy Boyd Gave $250,000 Is Holding Another Anti-Trump Event in Nashville

Chris Alto
Tennessee Star

  Renata Soto, is the co-founder and director of Conexion Americas, a named partner affiliate of the National Council of La Raza (La Raza). In 2015, she was made Chairman of La Raza’s board and the following year, gubernatorial candidate Randy Boyd donated $250,000 to her Nashville organization. Shortly after Trump was elected President, Soto announced that she would begin organizing against the new administration by starting an “Indivisible” chapter in Nashville. “I invite you to join INDIVISIBLE, a campaign bringing together concerned Americans who commit to protect the promise of an indivisible nation that celebrates the roots and possibilities of all its people,” Soto wrote in a December 2016 op-ed published in The Tennessean. On Friday, Soto will hold another ‘Indivisible’ event at the Conexion Americas building Casa Azafran.  Among the activities promoted at the event, attendees of all ages are invited to “RAISE YOUR VOICE Write postcards to our legislators supporting the principles of an INDIVISIBLE community.” Nashville Mayor Megan Barry’s early support for the ‘Indivisible’ campaign is no surprise given her own left-wing open borders, pro-illegal immigrant political philosophy. https://twitter.com/MayorMeganBarry/status/822516452053942274 ‘Indivisible’ organizers are working to obstruct President Trump’s agenda for the nation including the enforcement of U.S. immigration laws. The Indivisible…

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Soros Open Borders Progressives Working to Turn ‘Welcoming Nashville’ into Safe Zone for Illegal Aliens

Chris Alto

  This week, talking points on BL2017-739  were provided to Metro Nashville Council members so they could explain to constituents why they support an ordinance that would effectively convert Nashville’s “welcoming city” into a legally recognized sanctuary city. The talking points were written by Soros funded organizations that work to shield illegal aliens from deportation. Councilman Mina Johnson who is a co-sponsor of the ordinance says “[she] would like to call [the ordinance] “Nashville Together” or  the “Family Friendly City Bill” because it will: give immigrant families peace of mind that their families will not be separated so long as they continue to live their lives abiding by the law. This ordinance will make Nashville a truly warm and welcoming city and a safe place for all to live. The TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) assisted in drafting the ordinance and along with the San Francisco – based Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC), also helped draft the talking points being circulated by Metro Council members. Both TIRRC and the ILRC are recipients of funding from the George Soros Open Society Foundations and the Soros front group Neo Philanthropy. The Soros funded Open Society Foundations grants help support “organizations that promote open borders,…

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Randy Boyd: ‘If I’m Elected Governor, I Will Work to Make Sure There Are No Sanctuary Cities in Tennessee’

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennessee Star

Gubernatorial candidate Randy Boyd posted on his campaign’s Facebook page late Tuesday evening that he is opposed to sanctuary cities, and urged residents of Davidson County to tell their Metro Council members to oppose the proposed sanctuary city ordinace. “Sanctuary Cities are illegal,” Boyd’s post began. “Washington has made a complete mess of our immigration system. But here in Tennessee, we will follow the law and must say NO to illegal immigration and Sanctuary Cities,” Boyd said. “I encourage everyone in Metro Nashville/Davidson County to quickly contact their Metro Council members and encourage them to strongly oppose these Metro ordinances that would ignore the law. If I’m elected Governor, I will work to make sure there are no Sanctuary Cities in Tennessee on my watch, ” Boyd concluded. Later on Tuesday evening, Boyd released a slightly longer version of his Facebook post as a statement on his campaign website, which included an extra sentence in which he “commend[ed] our state’s legislative leaders for speaking out.”: Nashville, Tenn. – Randy Boyd, Republican candidate for Governor, released the following statement today regarding proposed Metro Council ordinances and current Sanctuary City debate in Nashville: “Sanctuary Cities are illegal. Washington has made a complete…

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State Rep. Judd Matheny Pledges ‘To Orchestrate a Massive Response to Davidson County’s Attempt at Embracing Sanctuary City Status’

Tennessee Star Staff

State Rep. Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma) gave it to the Metropolitan Davidson County/Nashville Government with both barrels in a brief speech he delivered at the Cannon County Republican Party Reagan Day Dinner in Woodbury on Friday night. “I pledge, along with my colleagues in the House, to orchestrate a massive response to Davidson County’s attempt at embracing sanctuary city status,” Matheny told the crowd. Matheny then spelled out exactly how opponents of the Metro Nashville Council’s proposed sanctuary city ordinance in the Tennessee General Assembly will respond. “They come to us every year for a lot of money, for professional sports teams, mass transit, tourism, business development and other initiatives they ask the state to support,” Matheny said. “If the council won’t yield to the pressure they will face prior to the July 6 third reading of the proposed ordinance, then my colleagues and I will do everything in our power to deprive Metro Nashville of funds,” he vowed. “On July 7, there will be all out political war after July 6,” Matheny said. The crowd, estimated to number about 125, appeared to be unanimously in agreement with Matheny’s sentiments. In addition to Matheny, State Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet) and…

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Councilman Robert Swope Speaks Out Against ‘Sanctuary City’ Ordinance

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  Councilman Robert Swope told WTN 99.7 FM talk show host Dan Mandis this week that the proposed “sanctuary city” ordinance would create a new class of citizens that would conflict with existing laws. The measure, which would restrict local cooperation with federal immigration officials, was passed on a second reading Tuesday and is up for a final vote next month. Swope has been against the measure from the start, being the only Metro Council member to vote against it on the first reading June 6. Seven other council members joined him this week in voting against it, but 25 voted for it. “If you are breaking the law, then you need to be punished, not be put into a separate class of citizens that says, OK, well, you can break the law but nobody else can,” Swope said in his interview Wednesday with Mandis. Swope spoke of the dangers involved in obstructing the sheriff’s ability to detain criminal illegal immigrants for deportation. Opposition to the ordinance is not about “rounding up” Davidson County’s estimated 33,000 illegal immigrants and “throwing them back across any single single border,” Swope said. In a recent week, 19 illegal immigrants were detained for deportation by the Metro Nashville…

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Speaker Harwell and Speaker Pro Tempore Tracy Request AG Opinion on Metro’s Sanctuary City Ordinance

Laura Baigert

  House Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) and Senate Speaker Pro Tempore Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) issued a press release Friday morning that included a letter over their names to the State Attorney General (AG) requesting an opinion on Metro Nashville Council’s recently proposed sanctuary city ordinance, which passed a second of three required readings on Tuesday in a 25 to 8 vote. Accompanying the letter to the AG was a statement from Speaker Harwell: Our local, state, and federal enforcement officials must be able to work together to keep our families and communities safe.  The Tennessee General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a ban on sanctuary cities in 2009, and this ordinance demonstrates a reckless disregard for state and federal law.  Speaker Pro Tempore Tracy and I are seeking clarity from the Attorney General so we can determine how best to proceed.  This is not only public safety issue for Nashville, but for our whole state. – Speaker Beth Harwell Harwell’s statement included a link to the 2009 legislation. The letter, on official 110th General Assembly letter head, dated June 23, 2017, and addressed to The Honorable Herbert H. Slatery, III, Attorney General and Reported, signed by Senator Jim Tracy, Speaker Pro Tempore and…

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Partnership for a New American Economy Promotes Legal and Illegal Immigration in Nashville

Chris Alto

  The Partnership for a New American Economy (PNAE) whose named members include gubernatorial candidates Randy Boyd and Karl Dean, awarded twenty cities “Gateways for Growth” (G4G) grants designed to “integrate immigrants as part of an economic growth strategy.” Openthebooks.com’s report Federal Funding of America’s Sanctuary Cities identifies half of the G4G grant recipients as sanctuary cities, including Nashville. The Tennessee Star asked the Randy Boyd campaign specifically for a comment on the Metro Nashville ordinance that would make Nashville a sanctuary city but has received no response. PNAE’s “15 key economic issues of immigration reform in America” include: Supporting legal status for the 11.4 million undocumented immigrants. In a 2014 Wall Street Journal oped, PNAE co-founder Rupert Murdoch said that illegal immigrants who are already here should be provided a path to citizenship. Supporting resettlement of refugees who PNAE says that after living in the U.S. between 16-25 years are earning well above the income of refugees who have been here for five years or less. Moreover, PNAE believes refugees are the answer to reviving aging and declining communities. Pushing state and local policymakers to support in-state college tuition for illegal immigrant students. The PNAE, now shortened to “New American Economy,” is a powerful and well-funded…

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Davidson County Republican Party Opposes Proposed City Ordinance To Restrict Cooperation With Immigration Officials

Wendy Wilson

The Davidson County Republican Party is urging people to call their city council representative to voice opposition to proposed legislation limiting Nashville’s cooperation with federal immigration officials. On its Facebook page Wednesday, the party chapter posted the roll call from Tuesday’s vote advancing the legislation. The Metro Council voted 25-8 to move the ordinance forward to a third and final reading July 6. There were four abstentions and two council members did not vote. The bill passed a first reading June 6. Many believe the ordinance will lead to Nashville effectively operating as a sanctuary city, though drafters of the legislation say it won’t violate the law. Nashville Mayor Megan Barry routinely rails against immigration enforcement and last week wrote a letter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) criticizing the way agents were carrying out final orders of removal issued by an immigration court. Most were for individuals with criminal convictions. The proposed city ordinance “ties the hands of our law enforcement” and will lead to “losing millions in federal funding,” said the Davidson County Republican Party’s Facebook post. President Trump has vowed to crack down down on sanctuary cities harboring illegal immigrants. The city ordinance would also set the stage for conflicts…

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Nashville’s ‘Sanctuary’ Ordinance Forces Local Law Enforcement to Violate Federal and State Law

Chris Alto
Tennessee Star

The Mendes/Sledge Ordinance BL2017-739  that passed on second reading by twenty-five Metro Nashville Council members on Tuesday will, if passed on a final vote, force Davidson County and Nashville law enforcement personnel to violate federal and state laws. The sponsors’ other bill, BL2017-743 seeking to terminate a 1996 contract that reimburses the Davidson County jail when it detains criminal aliens for ICE pick-up, has been deferred to the Council’s August 1, 2017 meeting. Both bills are in line with Nashville Mayor Megan Barry’s left-wing open borders, pro-illegal immigrant political philosophy. BL2017-739 expressly prohibits the “use of any funds, resources or facilities” to assist ICE and also prohibits Davidson County and Nashville employees, including law enforcement, from providing pertinent information to ICE regarding criminal aliens. Federal law, however, specifically addresses these information exchanges: a Federal, State, or local government entity or official may not prohibit, or in any way restrict, any government entity or official from sending to, or receiving from, [federal immigration authorities] information regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual. The Mendes/Sledge bill attempts to circumvent this law by prohibiting the collection of immigration status information, possibly inviting the Tennessee General Assembly to pass a law…

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Rep. Diane Black Condemns Proposed City Ordinance That Would Restrict Nashville’s Cooperation With Immigration Officials

Wendy Wilson

Rep. Diane Black, who is considering running for Tennessee governor, issued a press release Tuesday strongly condemning action taken by the Metro Council to push forward a bill that would limit Nashville’s cooperation with federal immigration officials. Critics believe the bill would lead to Nashville effectively becoming a sanctuary city, putting federal funding in jeopardy and also also creating clashes with the state. The press release issued by Black, a Republican, said the legislation would “obstruct immigration law, putting illegal aliens first and the safety and security of Tennessee families last.” Black gave the following statement: First and foremost, as a mother and a grandmother, I implore the Council members to start holding illegal immigrants accountable for crime and acts of violence.  Sanctuary city policies to help and support criminal illegal immigrants pose a direct threat to our citizens and undermine the rule of law.  In Congress, I’m working with my colleagues to pass the Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act to cut off funding for any municipality that helps illegal immigrants hide from the law.  It’s time for Mayor Barry to stop borrowing liberal policies from California and New York and start putting the safety and security of Tennessee families…

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Nashville Mayor Megan Barry Slams ICE Agents Trying To Enforce Court Orders of Removal

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  Nashville Mayor Megan Barry wrote a letter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) this week strongly criticizing agents for what she views as inappropriate enforcement of immigration laws, despite the fact that the individuals the agency sought were subject to final orders of removal issued by an immigration court. “Over the past few days, we have heard disturbing reports of members of our community being stopped, questioned, and even harassed as part of an increased effort to enforce deportation orders for individuals who had previously been convicted of criminal activity,” Barry wrote in her letter Tuesday, which was published by WSMV Channel 4. The letter was addressed to an ICE community relations officer in New Orleans. Barry’s complaints centered around enforcement efforts among Kurdish immigrants, many of whom are from Iraq. She said she saw a video in which a “Kurdish-American citizen” was “being stopped and questioned by an ICE official for no apparent reason.” Barry took issue with the word “Police” on the officer’s vest. “Our Metro Nashville Police Department has gone to great lengths in building relationships with our New American community in order to promote public safety,” Barry wrote. “This effort can be undermined when ICE agents…

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Metro Council Pushing Illegal Aliens Who Commit Crimes Back into Nashville Communities

Chris Alto

  This week, two proposed ordinances intended to effectuate sanctuary city practices that will protect illegal aliens who commit crimes in Davidson County, were introduced and processed through a first reading. The TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), a formal affiliate of the National Council of La Raza and recipient of funding from George Soros, assisted the bills’s primary co-sponsors, Bob Mendes and Colby Sledge, in drafting the language. Sledge is married to TIRRC’s co-director Lindsey Harris. Two days after President Trump issued his Executive Order calling for enforcement of U.S. immigration laws and the removal of criminal aliens, TIRRC called for local governments to stop cooperating with federal immigration authorities, a key feature of sanctuary city policies and practices. Councilman Mendes denies that the bills create sanctuary policies. However, Mayor Megan Barry, Mendes, Sledge and TIRRC, have consistently used coded language reflective of their bias and objectives with references such as “undocumented immigrant,” “non-citizens,” “welcoming” and “family reunification” to signal their support for open borders and shielding both criminal and non-criminal illegal aliens from deportation. Openthebooks.com’s report which includes Nashville as a sanctuary city, says that “operationally, the DOJ enforces a legal definition of sanctuary city,” relying on…

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Nashville Metro Councilmen Collude with TIRRC to Shield Criminal Aliens

Chris Alto
Tennessee Star

  Claiming that their bills do not conflict with federal or state immigration statutes, Metro Council members Colby Sledge and Bob Mendes have introduced two sanctuary city bills that will help shield criminal and non-criminal illegal aliens in Nashville. The Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), whose co-director Lindsey Harris is married to Sledge, helped draft the bills. Shortly after President Trump issued his Executive Order calling for appropriate enforcement of U.S. immigration laws, TIRRC issued a state-wide call to organize against efforts by U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement to follow the President’s orders: Last week the president shared his blueprints for mass deportation and made clear he needs state and local agencies to act as his deportation force. Join with TIRRC members in your local area to stop your city/county from collaborating with ICE and to create communities of trust where all residents feel safe. Sign up here: www.tnimmigrant.org/trust . The Mendes/Sledge bills are scheduled for a first reading on June 6. Mendes’ website claims that his bills “would not create ‘sanctuary city’ status” even though the bills are designed to obstruct and possibly prohibit cooperating with ICE detainer requests, which the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) says are…

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