Legal immigration resolution a preview of acrimonious debates ahead in Tennessee legislature

House lawmakers on Monday debated a resolution to urge the president and Congress to streamline legal immigration. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)

A resolution urging Congress and the president to streamline the legal immigration process and “prioritize the safety, security, and economic interests of the United States and its citizens” drew testy debate in the Tennessee House Monday before it was ultimately adopted. 

The resolution by Rep. Lee Reeves, a Republican from Franklin, carries no force of law. But the acrimonious discussion on the House floor that followed its introduction provided a preview of the expected debates ahead over a lengthy slate of bills Republicans have introduced that target immigrants.

Reeves said he brought the resolution to highlight the current legal immigration process as “burdensome with unnecessary bureaucracy, lengthy delays and, because of that, excessive cost on lawful applicants.” The system makes it difficult for those trying to “follow the law the right way,” he said.

Rep. Jason Powell, a Nashville Democrat, said that while he supported immigrants, he took issue with the resolution’s language. 

The resolution says the “United States has always welcomed legal immigrants who contribute to our nation by respecting its laws, embracing its values, and pursuing the American Dream through legal means.”

“When you look at this resolution, it talks about American values,” Powell said. “We’ve got to question the values that we are really upholding as Americans. Are you satisfied with the types of values that you see out of this current administration? I’m not. I’m disgusted by them.”

Rep. Gabby Salinas, a Memphis Democrat and an immigrant herself, stood to accuse Reeves of introducing the resolution to “run cover” for the unpopularity of Republicans’ immigration policies. 

“So what you are trying to do here is that all the policies that you are espousing regarding immigration are unpopular, and it’s an election year, and it’s not American values to take (on) kids and provide and inhibit them from getting an education,” said Salinas referencing a Republican bill to verify immigration status in public schools. 

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“It’s not popular, all the things that are happening,” she said. “So you are trying to run cover for the unpopular things that y’all are doing, bill after bill after bill.”

Tennessee Republicans have introduced more than a dozen bills, many of them seeking to impose immigration verification on a range of government services, as part of an “Immigration 2026” package that arose out of a series of  meetings between Tenneseee Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. 

The resolution also drew opposition from Republican Rep. Monte Fritts of Kingston, who recounted “great, great so many times back grandfather” who immigrated from Germany in 1738. Fritts suggested it was time, however, for immigration to come to an end.

“I must vote no on this, because I think we have reached a saturation, or perhaps even a super saturation point in our culture in America today, and I hear from so many people, especially the young, that we should suspend immigration for a while,” he said.