SANCTUARY CITY LEGISLATION: LESSONS LEARNED FROM NASHVILLE
Nashville’s metropolitan government was on a path just a few weeks ago to introduce bills that would have established it as a sanctuary city without using the terminology explicitly. Comparing similar legislation from Boulder, Colo., Seattle, and even San Francisco, Tennessee’s capital city was set to become one of our nation’s most liberal about its laws protecting or harboring illegal immigrants.
Existing Tennessee law specifies that, “A local governmental entity or official shall not adopt any ordinance or written policy that expressly prohibits a local governmental entity, official, or employee from complying with applicable federal law pertaining to persons that reside within the state illegally. An official shall not materially interfere with the ability of a local governmental entity, official or employee of a municipality or a county to comply with applicable federal law pertaining to persons that reside within the state illegally.”
So, why does this matter to Chattanooga? Clearly, as precedent is set, it can easily find followers. In this case, Chattanooga’s Mayor Andy Berke, as recently as June 1 of this year, joined Nashville’s Mayor Megan Barry and Knoxville’s Mayor Madeline Rogero in signing a pledge to continue to uphold the climate standards of the Paris Climate Agreement despite America’s exit from the unfair arrangement that essentially penalized the U.S. for its productive economy and sent billions to Third World nations for having zero pollution and zero jobs.
Berke, along with these two other elected Democrats, must’ve forgotten that a municipal government as an entity within a state is prohibited from entering “into any treaty, alliance or confederation” in Article 2, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution, speaking specifically to powers only found in the federal government.
But, back to Nashville.
The two bills, both introduced by Metro Councilmen Bob Mendes and Colby Sledge, died on the final reading before the 40-member legislative council, as public opposition swelled. However, on second reading, 25 out of 39 members present for the meeting voted to pass the Mendes/ Sledge ordinance. What changed?
The two ordinances blocked city resources to assist or collaborate with federal authorities in enforcing legal immigration, specifically, in the detention of illegal immigrants who had committed crimes in the U.S. and were being sought for deportation. Further, the Mendes/ Sledge bill would terminate a 1996 contract between the Nashville Metro government and the U.S. Marshals Service, ending the Davidson County jail’s use for temporary holding of criminal aliens.
The Metro government-created mandates upon the Office of the Davidson County Sheriff, a constitutionally elected official with jurisdiction over the jail and whose duties are determined by state law and our state’s charter, were deemed unenforceable by Nashville Metro Law Director Jon Cooper.
As the sanctuary-city-but-don’t-reallycall-it-that attempt was failing, even Sheriff Daron Hall warned of public safety issues and noted, “Clearly, this would be a substantial shift in public policies that have been in place more than 30 years.”
Right on cue, Mendes injected racism as he withdrew the bills. Deflecting from the issue of legal immigration, public safety and any other legitimate concern, he declared, “It’s almost become a race to the bottom to see who can criticize Nashville more, who can criticize immigrants more.”
The issue is and has always been legal immigration and deporting those who’ve committed crimes, including rape and murder.
President Donald Trump is correct. If cities choose not to enforce immigration laws, funding from the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security should be withheld.
Learn from others, Chattanooga. Robin Smith, a former chairwoman of the Tennessee Republican Party, owns Rivers Edge Alliance.