NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee filed a lawsuit today challenging Tennessee’s newly enacted law that violates the First Amendment rights of locally elected officials voting in favor of policies supporting immigrants. This law is an unprecedented effort to criminalize legislative speech, debate and deliberation. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 7 members of the Nashville Metropolitan Council, including members of the Council’s Immigrant Caucus, who could face felony charges simply for casting votes in favor of policies intended to support Tennessee’s immigrant communities.
In enacting this law, Tennessee went beyond every other state in the nation by imposing felony criminal liability, including the possibility of 1 to 6 years of imprisonment, for local officials who adopt, enact or even vote for policies that conflict with the state’s mandated views on immigration enforcement. By making it a class E felony for local officials to vote in favor of vaguely defined “sanctuary policies,” the state is effectively punishing officials for doing their jobs and responding to the needs of their constituents.
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