Tennessee lawmakers to take immigration cues from White House

House Speaker Cameron Sexton, left, and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally are working with the Trump administration on a package of immigration bills to be introduced in legislative session. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)

Tennessee Republicans will be taking orders from the White House when they unveil a slate of bills to crack down on undocumented immigration as the 2026 legislative session opens.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton told reporters the House Republican Caucus will roll out a package of legislation on immigration this week after he made several trips to Washington, D.C., to meet with the Trump administration.

With the Tennessee legislature set to convene Tuesday, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally also said Republicans will work closely with the president to protect people from an “illegal immigration scourge.” 

Sexton declined to detail the set of bills, but Tennessee is expected to be a model for the rest of the country, according to a report by Knox News. It published a video of Republican Rep. Jason Zachary of Knoxville telling a group that Sexton had been working with the White House for six weeks on immigration policy.

“It is strong legislation,” Zachary said on the video. “The president’s behind us. The president has promised his support on social media for us, and we are being told Tennessee will go first.”

Zachary confirmed Monday that Sexton met with White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, believed to be largely responsible for the zealous efforts by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport immigrants without permanent legal documentation. 

Massive deployment of ICE nationally has led to at least five deaths, including the shooting of 37-year-old Rene Nicole Good by an ICE officer in Minneapolis last week, sparking protests nationwide. 

The Trump administration claims the shooting was justified, while critics of ICE deployment say it was avoidable and want the agency to stop its operations.

Immigration traditionally has fallen under the purview of the federal government. But Tennessee lawmakers have grown more active on immigration restrictions, last year creating an immigration enforcement bureau whose operations are exempt from the Public Records Act. 

In addition to setting up an immigration czar and division, the bureau makes grants to local law enforcement agencies for immigration enforcement.

Zachary, a Knoxville Republican, said Tennessee House and Senate leadership met four to five weeks ago and discussed plans for immigration bills.

“Everybody is on board,” he said on the video.

Lawmakers are likely to bring back a bill that passed the Senate requiring school districts to check students’ immigration status and either charge tuition or block enrollment. The House version of the bill ran into constitutional problems and the possibility it could cost the state $1.1 billion for violating laws against discrimination.

McNally, an Oak Ridge Republican, said Monday, “Tennessee has long been a beacon for state-led immigration restriction and this session will be no different. The federal government under President Trump has put a priority on sealing our borders and hastening the return of illegal immigrants to their native lands. We will do all we can to assist in that effort.”

None of the bills have been filed yet, but the Republican-led legislature will work to “aggressively enforce” and strengthen laws against undocumented immigration and improve cooperation with federal authorities, McNally said.

Legislation is expected to ensure no immigrants without legal documentation receive public benefits and that people who live in the state, including students, are in the country legally, McNally said. He added that legislation will target those who interfere with ICE enforcement to punish them “severely.”

“Now that we have a willing federal partner in this fight, the legislature will be working hand in hand with the Trump administration to protect our citizens from the illegal immigration scourge that has gone on far too long,” he said in the statement.

Tennessee law already prohibits immigrants without legal documentation from receiving public benefits. It also requires students without documentation to pay out-of-state tuition at public universities.

Local officials and governments that decline to participate in immigration actions could be a target.

Metro Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell caught the ire of key lawmakers and federal officials this summer because of an executive order requiring city employees’ interactions with immigration officials to be reported promptly. He was also accused of “doxing” federal agents in publishing several of their names on a public website, though those were said to be inadvertent and then redacted.

Scrutiny of the Nashville mayor started after he made critical comments about immigration stops by ICE and the Tennessee Highway Patrol over two days in May in South Nashville, home to many immigrant residents.

Democrats are not expected to support the bills, saying lawmakers should focus on kitchen table issues such as cutting the cost of living.

Sen. London Lamar, a Memphis Democrat, said immigrants are being forced to bear the brunt of a Republican agenda.

“Tennessee Republicans have already made life extraordinarily difficult for undocumented people in our state. So when the majority signals yet another round of ‘crackdown’ legislation, we should be honest about what this is: not a thoughtful public safety strategy, but a political strategy — one that targets immigrant families to score points while working people are struggling with rising costs,” Lamar said.

Memphis lawmaker wants to make safe havens from ICE

Democratic Rep. Gabby Salinas has filed a bill that would prohibit ICE from going into public schools and churches, creating a safe haven for immigrants.

The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition criticized the plan, saying lawmakers are avoiding important matters such as fully funding schools, reducing the sales tax on groceries and making health care more affordable.

“This reveals how desperate these elected officials are: they’re collaborating with Stephen Miller, a known white supremacist, to distract us from their failure to help our families put food on the table or fully fund our schools,” said Lisa Sherman Luna, executive director of TIRRC.

Luna said Miller has “proudly” separated families as part of the administration’s deportation policy and stated that he wants “zero” refugees or immigrants in the country regardless of legal status.

She predicted more people than ever will be ready to turn out at the Capitol and contact representatives in protest of the legislation.

TIRRC reported a new national poll shows 42% of Americans want to abolish ICE amid grassroots support for removing the agency from the state. More than 1,100 people signed a letter calling for ICE to leave Tennessee, and nearly 1,000 residents attended Nashville and Memphis vigils to mourn Good’s death and seek accountability. 

ICE is playing a key role in the Memphis Safe Task Force where federal agencies are combining with state and local law enforcement, as well as the Tennessee National Guard, for suppression of crime and undocumented immigration.

Fifty percent of those surveyed by Civiqs opposed abolishing ICE, led by males at 58% and Republicans at 85%.