Special Session: Federal Immigration Crackdown Fuels State Legislation

Immigration is among the top legislative priorities for lawmakers heading into the Jan. 27 special session, mirroring the federal immigration crackdown already underway following the return of President Donald Trump to the White House.

Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) is sponsoring Gov. Bill Lee’s signature immigration proposals, which aims to create the Centralized Immigration Enforcement Division, a new division in the state Department of Safety, with a governor-appointed Chief Immigration Enforcement Officer who will “coordinate directly with the Trump Administration on federal immigration policies and implementation.”

Lee’s proposal could also see “local officials who adopt or maintain sanctuary city policies” be charged with a Class E felony and would allow the Attorney General to “initiate removal proceedings for officials convicted of violating anti-sanctuary city provisions.”

The bill would also allocate grant funds and create incentives for local law enforcement agencies to enter into agreements with federal authorities under the 287(g) program, and restrict who can be issued a state identification card.

“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 in a Jan. 22 statement.

When asked why a new state division was needed, especially as federal immigration enforcement efforts have been unchained and immediately increased following the inauguration of President Donald Trump, Johnson told the Williamson Scene that the proposed division would work as a “liaison between ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and our local law enforcement,” but adding that U.S. immigration enforcement would remain the “ultimate responsibility of ICE.”

Johnson has also been working in conjunction with local law enforcement officials to understand their resources and capabilities, including getting feedback from Williamson County Sheriff Jeff Hughes.

“Obviously, since he runs our jail here in Williamson County, I want his feedback on what he thinks of what we're trying to do and certainly directly from him,” Johnson says. “But also through the [Tennessee] Sheriffs' Association.”

The Tennessee Sheriffs' Association did not return numerous requests for comment from the Williamson Scene.

Law Enforcement Responds

In December 2024, Hughes affirmed the Williamson County Sheriff's Office’s willingness to play a role in any potential national immigration action, but he wasn't willing to comment on specific legislation at that time.

“I take a strong and firm stance against illegal immigration, and so to that extent, I want to support legislation that helps us address that issue, and when it comes down to what that's going to look like from a cost perspective, we'll cross that bridge when we get there,” Hughes says.

“It's going to cost us resources and money, and we will, again, we'll address it when that time comes and whatever we can do to address this issue as a whole.”

Hughes says that he's been in conversations with sheriffs across Tennessee, and nationally, to determine to what degree they can and will be involved in immigration enforcement, as well as conversations with state and federal agencies.

“We're having conversations with ICE and looking at programs that are already in place, programs that have been around for a while, and detention programs that will empower us to do a little more as it relates to illegal immigrants once they are in our custody and in our jail,” Hughes says.

At the time of publishing, Hughes has not returned a followup request for comment on his reaction to Lee’s specific policy proposals.

Two days after Trump’s inauguration, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security rolled back a more than decade-long policy that barred immigration raids from taking place in schools, churches and other “sensitive” areas.

WCS Superintendent Jason Golden tells the Williamson Scene that the district is currently barred by federal law from collecting information on student’s citizenship or immigration status. He says that the district is required to cooperate with law enforcement who may serve a legal warrant, which now could include immigration enforcement.

“What I can tell you is that if a warrant is being served on anyone in the schools, we've had the responsibility to allow law enforcement in for years,” Golden says. “A warrant for immigration purposes has been an exception to that, and what we have read is that that exception has been lifted, and that we will still be under that responsibility if a warrant is served to allow law enforcement in.”

More Possibilities

Before the special session was announced, Lee’s initiative was just one of many immigration-related bills filed for the general session which came on the heels of unsubstantiated fears of Venezuelan gangs promoted (and later backtracked by) the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

The following immigration bills are sponsored by other members of the Williamson County delegation.

Freshman Rep. Lee Reeves (R-Franklin), introduced his first bill, HB 177, which “urges” the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security to “study the enforcement of federal immigration laws, detentions and removals, investigations in this state, and immigration-related progress and challenges.” It would require the department to submit a report to the governor and General Assembly on or before Jan. 1, 2026. The bill doesn't currently have a sponsor in the Senate.

HB 145, sponsored in the House by Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood), would require a financial institution to verify the immigration status of anyone sending funds electronically outside of the U.S., as well as changing “the definition of resident or citizen of this state to mean citizens of the United States and aliens lawfully present in this state.” It would also require the parent, guardian or legal custodian of a student “who is not lawfully residing in this state” to pay tuition for public school. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald).

In November, Rep. Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill) filed his first bill of the session which, as introduced, would require local law enforcement agencies who have arrested an undocumented person to “request an immigration detainer and detain such individual for the maximum period as specified in the detainer,” and to transport any undocumented defendant to a “sanctuary city,” if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement hadn't placed them into custody within 48 hours.

“After 48 hours, we would then, instead of turning them loose on the street, we would then transport them up to 700 miles to the nearest sanctuary city,” Warner told the Williamson Scene in November, specifying that the destinations would have to be outside of Tennessee. This could include areas such as Chicago, Atlanta or Washington D.C.

The bill, which is sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Hensley, would also have the Tennessee Department of Revenue request reimbursement from the federal government “for costs of detention and transportation of illegal aliens and to withhold federal petroleum taxes collected in this state if such reimbursement is not received.”

“If the federal government's not going to do their jobs, then we the states need to step up and do it,” Warner said. “If this problem continues to get worse, [then] I think we have no other choice as states than to start standing up and pushing back.”

The Williamson Scene spoke with several Middle Tennessee law enforcement officials who characterized Warner's proposed bill as difficult or impossible to be implemented due to limited resources, including funding and continued staffing challenges.

Lack of Data

On Dec. 18, Warner appeared on Fox and Friends and stated that "over one-third of the criminal court cases coming through [Williamson County] are due to illegal immigrants."

Neither the Williamson County Circuit Criminal Court Clerk's Office nor the 21st Judicial District Attorney's Office was able to provide the Williamson Scene with any data as to how many undocumented immigrants are currently defendants within the Williamson County court system.

That statistic, according to the state representative, came from an unnamed Williamson County judge who Warner simply referred to as “he,” in a meeting between members of the Williamson County delegation and Williamson County judges.

Warner did not name the judge or lawmakers who were a part of the meeting, but previous reports have said the meeting happened on Dec. 11 at the Franklin home of Judge Deanna Johnson and her husband, Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson.

Warner did not confirm the date and location of the meeting to the Williamson Scene, but he did push back against a report that he was “being told to pipe down.” Judge Johnson did not return a request for comment for this story.

On Jan. 24, Sen. Johnson confirmed to the Williamson Scene that he and his wife, Circuit Judge Deanna Johnson, did host an annual “mix-and-mingle” of the Williamson County delegation and judges at their home but said he was not involved in Warner’s conversation. He also couldn’t confirm that data was an accurate reflection of undocumented defendants.

The Williamson Scene spoke to several practicing Williamson County lawyers who disputed the one-third statistic and said that the number of undocumented defendants is likely not even known. They estimated that the number is likely only 5 to 10 percent of cases.

That number, according to the lawyers we spoke to, would include defendants in the court system for non-violent crimes such as driving without a license. But without the data, the complete picture is unclear.

On Jan. 14, the first day of the 114th general session, the Williamson Scene asked Warner if he was able to provide data or sources on the claim about the number of undocumented defendants but he was not.

“I just know what I was told that night,” Warner says, adding that he is now working to amend his bill which was filed for the general session and could be moot after the special session.

He says his legislation would be amended with the goal of seeing undocumented defendants deported instead of being transported to an out-of-state “sanctuary city” as originally filed.

The realities and challenges of this renewed immigration enforcement in Middle Tennessee will likely grow clearer as federal efforts ramp up throughout 2024 and the state determines what it can and can’t do throughout this new Trump era.