The Tennessee State Senate last Thursday approved legislation that would make certain nonprofits and charities liable to civil lawsuits if they provide housing to illegal immigrants that are convicted of crimes.
A summary for Senate Bill (SB) 227 by State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) explains it would modify Tennessee tort law to create a civil claim for individuals who say they were harmed by crimes committed by an illegal immigrant who was knowingly housed by a nonprofit or charity, so long as the harm involved some form of financial loss, damages, physical injury, or death.
It would create this legal claim by modifying Tennessee Code Annotated 29-34-213 to include a new section which states, “a charitable organization that provides housing to a person who the charitable organization knows is unlawfully present in the United States may be held liable for a loss, damages, injury, or death resulting from a criminal offense committed by the person who is unlawfully present in the United States while the person is receiving housing services from the charitable organization if the charitable organization’s conduct in providing housing constitutes negligence, gross negligence, or willful and wanton misconduct.”
The bill passed the State Senate with 24 votes in favor, four votes against, and one lawmaker present but not voting.
Taylor’s legislation received criticism from some faith-based charities and churches, who have suggested they should not be required to obtain citizenship information from those who help, and the senator responded to The Tennessee Lookout over these concerns in February.
“I would remind the churches that even heaven has an immigration policy,” Taylor told the outlet. “You can’t climb over the wall in heaven. You can’t slick talk St. Peter into the gates of heaven. There’s a very specific way you come into heaven to become a resident of heaven. They’ve got a very strict immigration policy, and I don’t think it’s unreasonable for Americans to have an immigration policy that people follow.”
House Bill (HB) 811 by State Representative Rusty Grills (R-Newbern) was approved by the House Civil Justice Subcommittee last week, and will be considered by the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.
Lawmakers consider the legislation after reports revealed private charities associated with major religious organizations raked in billions of dollars during the immigration crisis that characterized the Biden administration.
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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].
Image “State Sen Brent Taylor” by State Sen. Brent Taylor.
Works for me. These “charities” make a wad of money off of “helping” illegals. Some of whom eventually cause harm to legal Tennesseans.
Best quote of all time;
“I would remind the churches that even heaven has an immigration policy,”
Now all we need is a list of the “charities”.