Governor Bill Lee on Tuesday signed legislation into law making it a felony offense to smuggle illegal immigrants for profit in Tennessee, adding to the laws criminalizing similar behavior in the Volunteer State.
Introduced as Senate Bill (SB) 392 by State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) and House Bill (HB) 322 by State Representative Chris Todd (R-Madison County), Taylor on Tuesday confirmed the governor signed the legislation into law with a post on the social media platform X.
“Today Governor Lee signed my human smuggling bill making Tennessee’s laws tougher on human trafficking and smuggling people into the state illegally,” wrote Taylor, adding that the law will empower Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti with “more tools to combat human trafficking,” specifically the authorization to levy charges for such crimes, while also establishing the new, state-level offense of human smuggling.
According to the state senator, Tennessee’s definition of the crime is “when someone knowingly moves or hires illegal aliens, usually to make money from such smuggling.”
He added, “I appreciate Gov. Bill Lee taking human trafficking and illegal immigration seriously and showing so with a bill signing ceremony. To #MakeMemphisMatter, we must crack down on those who commit crimes by trafficking and smuggling humans for profit!”
Today Governor Lee signed my human smuggling bill making Tennessee’s laws tougher on human trafficking and smuggling people into the state illegally. This law:
✅ Gives the AG more tools to combat human trafficking
✅ Creates a new crime of human smuggling (when someone… pic.twitter.com/nAHPvbhOsE
— Senator Brent Taylor (@SenBrentTaylor) May 28, 2025
Engaging in human smuggling in Tennessee is now a Class E felony, which carries a sentence of up to six years in prison and a fine of up to $3,000. However, under the new law, it is a Class A felony if a child under age 13 is smuggled, and those guilty of Class A felonies face between 15 and 60 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000 in Tennessee.
The offense is separate from Tennessee’s existing laws forbidding human trafficking, which includes prohibitions against involuntary labor servitude, trafficking people for forced labor or service, trafficking for commercial sex, as well as both promoting or patronizing prostitutes.
Lee notably signed the law just weeks after The Tennessee Star was first to report that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a citizen of El Salvador deported by the Trump administration in March, was stopped by the Tennessee Highway Patrol in November 2022, when the “Biden-era FBI” ordered troopers to release him.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed Abrego Garcia was driving a vehicle registered to a convicted human smuggler, and that troopers suspected Abrego Garcia of being engaged in human trafficking during the stop.
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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].
Photo “Bill Lee” by State Senator Brent Taylor.Â
