Tag: illegal immigration

Gubernatorial Candidate Randy Boyd Supports La Raza Chairman’s Nashville Organization

Chris Alto
TEnnessee Star

In September 2016, gubernatorial candidate Randy Boyd and his wife Jenny donated a quarter of a million dollars to Conexion Americas, a non-profit Latino advocacy organization headquartered in Nashville founded by Renata Soto. A letter signed by Soto described the “historic investment” as “the single largest individual gift” to her organization in its 14-year history. Boyd made the donation while he was serving as the Haslam-appointed Tennessee Commissioner of Economic and Community Development.  He resigned from his post as commissioner in January, and announced several days ago that he will run for governor in 2018. The Tennessee Star asked the Boyd campaign to confirm the $250,000 donation, but received no response prior to publication deadline. Soto and Boyd met when they were both enrolled in the 2013 inaugural class of Leadership Tennessee, a 10-month leadership education program hosted by Lipscomb University. The program was founded and is funded in part by The Haslam Foundation, Haslam family’s Flying Pilot J, the Hyde Family Foundation and the Cornerstone Foundation of Knoxville, whose board at one time included Haslam. Cathy Cate is the executive director of Leadership Tennessee.  Her husband Mark served as the governor’s chief of staff during Haslam’s first term. The Boyds’ donation was celebrated on…

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Tennessee Latino Group Backs Trump’s Immigration Plans

Wendy Wilson

Latinos For Tennessee has issued a statement backing President Trump’s plans to crack down on illegal immigration while keeping protections for those who entered as minors. “The reality is that if we are to remain free and prosperous, no one can be above the law,” said Raul Lopez, the conservative group’s executive director. “What’s more, to rebuild trust with the American people to push for a permanent immigrant solution, our government needs to immediately expel those that have come here to our country to commit crime and be a burden on society.” Lopez noted that prior administrations have taken similar steps and that even President Obama was called “Deporter in Chief” by the National Council of La Raza for deporting millions during his administration. Lopez said his group is supportive of immigrants and that “we must discourage continued illegal immigration and work to improve the legal avenues for legal immigration.” “We are confident that President Trump understands this and we support him and his administration for doing what is necessary to ensure that we remain a country of laws, and also a country of immigrants,” Lopez said. Lopez said President Trump showed compassion in “accommodating young adults that were brought to…

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TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition Pushes for Sanctuary City

Chris Alto

On January 25, 2017, President Trump issued his executive order “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States” calling for appropriate enforcement of U.S. immigration laws, including a directive to withhold non-mandatory federal funding to jurisdictions that don’t comply with deportation of illegal aliens, aka, sanctuary cities. Several days later, the TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (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 . TIRRC advocates for what they describe as “just and humane immigration reform,” using the lexicon of amnesty such as “undocumented immigrant” and “family reunification” and advancing a platform that violating immigration laws should not a bar to any benefits available to U.S. citizens. Before leaving office, then Attorney General Loretta Lynch issued guidance that city officials must be in compliance with 8 U.S.C. 1373 which:…

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Openthebooks.com Includes Nashville As a Sanctuary City

Chris Alto

“Federal Funding of America’s Sanctuary Cities” a report released this month by Openthebooks.com, includes Nashville as a sanctuary city that has received a total of $231,115,291.00 in direct payments and pass through federal grants that was part of the $26.741 billion federal dollars directed to 106 sanctuary cities. The report includes an interactive map that includes the details of federal funding for each identified sanctuary city. On January 25, 2017, President Trump issued an executive order “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States” which included a directive to withhold non-mandatory federal funding to jurisdictions that elect not to comply with federal immigration laws regarding deportation of illegal aliens.  Authors of the report suggest that the executive order was the impetus to collate the data and quantify how much federal funding could be in jeopardy. Ironically, the report’s first page states: OUR REPORT MADE POSSIBLE BY: The “Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006” Sponsors: Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) & Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) (Public Law 109-282, 109th Congress) USAspending.gov, was the resulting mandate of this bipartisan legislation. The publicly accessible searchable website enables taxpayers to see how their money is being spent. Former senator Tom Coburn is…

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Nashville ‘Indivisible’ Organizer Leads Soros-Funded National Council of La Raza

Chris Alto

Renata Soto, a native of Costa Rica and resident of Nashville, was elected to chair the board of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) in 2015 after serving as vice-chair since 2012. In December 2016, she also became a Nashville “Indivisible” organizer. La Raza lobbies for Hispanic racial preferences, bilingual education, mass immigration, and amnesty for illegal aliens. La Raza’s commentary and position statements characterize the U.S. as a nation with widespread white racism and discrimination. The organization has opposed most of the post 9/11 U.S. counterterrorism efforts. George Soros has generously funded Soto’s NCLR organization over the years in amounts typically exceeding $2 million. Soto became an Indivisible organizer almost immediately after the election. In her December 2016 opinion piece, Soto invited others to join Indivisible, a campaign intended and designed to obstruct President Trump’s agenda for the nation including enforcing U.S. immigration laws. Soto’s December Indivisible event was held at Casa Azafran, the community space built and owned by Conexion Americas, the Nashville Latino advocacy organization founded and led by Soto. Casa Azafran has been developed to serve multiple purposes including as an Election Commission polling site and housing a Metro Nashville Public Schools pre-K program. It also…

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Christie Defends Trump Immigration Raids Deporting Illegal Aliens

Tennessee Star Staff

TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie on Sunday defended President Donald Trump’s order for weekend immigration raids in six states in which unauthorized immigrants without any violent criminal past were deported along with gang members being targeted. The president on Sunday tweeted that the immigration and customs enforcement raids cracking down on the estimated 11 million immigrants…

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Two Legislators Push for In-State Tuition for Illegal Immigrant Students

Chris Alto

Florida and Texas are moving to repeal in-state college tuition for illegal immigrant students, including grantees of Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. In Tennessee, two legislators will try a third time to give illegal immigrant students the in-state tuition benefit. In 2014, Sen. Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga) and Rep. Richard Floyd (R-Chattanooga) introduced the first bill, SB1951/HB1992 that tried to give in-state college tuition to illegal immigrant students living in Tennessee. The bill was shelved and Rep. Floyd retired at the end of that legislative session. In 2015, Sen. Gardenhire and Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis) introduced SB612/HB675. During the bill’s debate they identified DACA grantees as the intended beneficiaries. The “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” was a unilateral directive issued by President Obama that granted a renewable two-year deferred deportation, work permit and social security number to individuals meeting the program’s criteria.  DACA did not grant legal immigration status. In committee Rep. White described DACA applicants as children brought to our state “when they were 2,3,4,5,6,7 years of age and they have grown up here due to no fault of their own.” According to the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Customs & Immigration (USCIS), DACA applicants must have…

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Commentary: Advocates for Tennessee’s Illegal Immigrants Need to Come Clean on Remittances

Chris Alto

The Partnership for a New American Economy (PNAE) founded in 2010, is a powerful and well-funded coalition of business leaders and mayors, including former Nashville mayor Karl Dean and Nashville Chamber of Commerce president Ralph Schulz. PNAE’s formed to convince the public and policymakers that comprehensive immigration reform like the 2013 “Gang of Eight” amnesty bill would help grow the economy and create jobs for Americans. The PNAE has published reports for all 50 states in which they attempt to quantify positive economic benefits that immigrant workers (without differentiating between legal and illegal immigrants), bestow on receiving communities. The 2016 Tennessee report puts the number of the “undocumented population” in the state at 128,620. Other sources estimate that 33,000 to 50,000 live in the Nashville area. Regarding illegal aliens working in Tennessee, the PNAE report claims that: “[l]arge numbers of undocumented immigrants in Tennessee have also managed to overcome licensing and financing obstacles to start small businesses. In 2014, an estimated 10.3 percent of the state’s working-age undocumented immigrants were self-employed — meaning Tennessee was the unique state where unauthorized immigrants boasted higher rates of entrepreneurship than either legal permanent residents or immigrant citizens of the same age group.” The…

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