NASHVILLE, TN– Tennessee law that He threatens local officials With criminal charges and the possibility of prison if they vote for so-called “sanctuary policies” on immigration, they were ruled unconstitutional after the state refused to defend them in court.
On Wednesday, Nashville Councilor Russell Perkins signed an agreed-upon order that includes the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office, the local district attorney and the seven Nashville-Davidson Metro Council members who are plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging Politics.
For months, Attorney General Jonathan Scrimetti’s office made clear that it would not defend the provision. Scrimetti, a Republican, told reporters in September that the Constitution has “absolute immunity for all legislative votes, whether at the federal, state or local level” even though it is illegal Tennessee cities and counties are not Sanctuary laws.
The outcome of the case ensures that Tennessee’s elected officials can represent their constituents “without consideration of criminal penalties,” Councilman Clay Kapp said in a press release.
“This settlement affirms a fundamental American principle: The government cannot sue you because of how you vote,” Kapp said in a news release from the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, one of the legal groups representing the plaintiffs. “Tennessee has tried to silence local officials with threats of imprisonment, but the Constitution does not allow that.”
Earlier last year, the super-GOP Legislature and Republican Governor Bill Lee approved legislation to help the Trump administration enforce immigration laws. It includes a potential Class E felony — punishable by up to six years in prison — against any local elected official who votes for or adopts a so-called sanctuary policy, as defined in state law. This may include voting in favor of local government restrictions that hinder ICE’s efforts to detain immigrants in the United States without authorization.
Republican lawmakers kept the provision in a broader immigration bill despite warnings from legislative counsel that the penalty may be unconstitutional.
GOP legislative leaders defended the punishment, including House Majority Leader William Lamberth, who called it “the easiest felony in the world to avoid.”
In 2019, sanctuary cities became illegal in Tennessee, threatening governments that don’t comply with losing state economic development funds.