The Tennessee legislature approved a new state division to enforce immigration laws Thursday, mirroring a push from President Donald Trump to expel a record number of migrants from the country.
The Centralized Immigration Enforcement Division will coordinate federal and state efforts to detain and deport people without legal status, led by a governor appointee.
The new division, which comes with an annual price tag of $545,700, is just one part of an omnibus immigration bill lawmakers passed Thursday, at the urging of Gov. Bill Lee.
Under the new law, state officials can be removed from their positions and charged with a Class E felony if they vote in favor of “sanctuary” policies for immigrants — a practice already prohibited by state law.
Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, was the lone Republican in either chamber to vote against the bill.
“We’re telling an elected official, elected by the people in their district, their county, their city, who pledged to do the best job and obey the Constitution of the United States and the state of Tennessee … you can’t cast a vote,” Gardenhire said. “That, to me, is not part of being a Republican.”
Rep. Gabby Salinas, D-Memphis, and her family immigrated to Tennessee when she was a child, seeking medical treatment for her bone cancer. She said that the support from former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson and local officials in Memphis helped her family stay in the country.
“People, like Sen. Fred Thompson, could be considered a felon with jail time — and every single local politician that helped us all in West Tennessee,” Salinas said. “So, I know that for y’all it’s talking points. But I hope that by sharing my story, you will see that there is a human cost to this.”
The ACLU is preparing to challenge the legislation in court.
Gov. Bill Lee has said that Trump’s win is a mandate for tighter restrictions on immigration. A recent Vanderbilt poll found that roughly half of Tennesseans support general deportations, regardless of the individual’s criminal record.
“President Trump has made it clear that states will play a major role in partnering with his administration to enforce immigration laws and keep communities safe, and Tennessee is heeding the call,” Lee said.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement already has means of deputizing local law enforcement to act as ICE agents through its 287(g) program, but as of last month, only sheriffs’ offices in Greene and Knox counties were participating. The new law will create $5.6 million in incentives for local law enforcement agencies that join the program in its first year.
Another provision creates a separate driver’s license design for Tennesseans without citizenship.
That could worsen racial profiling, said Judith Clerjeune with the Tennessee Immigration and Refugee Rights Coalition.
“Part of the goal is to terrify folks,” Clerjeune said. “We’re seeing kids just not show up to school, and a lot of parents and families are afraid for their safety.”
Students protesting after the Antioch High School shooting criticize the governor’s timing. Josselin Corea Escalante, 16, who lost her life in the attack, fled Guatemala with her family.
“Are they going to be doing anything about the guns?” college student Jermaine Cole Jr. asked a crowd of protesters on the steps of the Capitol. “No, because they’d rather attack our immigrant and refugee neighbors.”
Marianna Bacallao WPLN News
Students protest for gun reform on the steps of the Tennessee State Capitol on Jan. 27, 2025, days after a shooting at Antioch High School.
If ICE agents request access to students or their records in Nashville, it will be fielded by the district’s lawyers, Metro Nashville Public Schools spokesperson Sean Braisted told WPLN News. Parents would also be notified if a request was made.
