GOP bill would oust, arrest elected officials who share immigration enforcement information
Tennessee Republican lawmakers unveiled legislation this week that would make it a felony for public officials to release the names of immigration officers in yet another public swipe aimed at the Democratic mayor of Nashville.
The bill, filed by a half dozen lawmakers who comprise Tennessee's GOP House and Senate leadership, would also subject state and local officials to ouster from office under the state's moral turpitude laws for revealing the names of immigration agents or information 'related to specific future immigration enforcement operational activities.'
The bill's filing, announced in a news release, is the latest effort by Republicans in Tennessee and members of the Trump Administration to target Mayor Freddie O'Connell, who decried mass immigration sweeps on Nashville streets in early May.
'The people of Tennessee expect their elected leaders to protect law enforcement — not endanger them,' said Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson of Franklin, who is sponsoring the measure.
'When a public official like Mayor O'Connell chooses political activism over public safety, especially by interfering with federal immigration enforcement, he has no business holding office in the state,' Johnson said.
The bill, he said, 'sends a message not only to Mayor O'Connell, but to any other blue-city mayor who may consider following his lead.'
Republican leaders have focused on an executive order by the mayor requiring certain city employees to report any interaction with federal immigration officials to the mayor's office.
The order, originally issued by former Nashville Mayor David Briley in 2019, was revised by O'Connell to require reporting within 24 hours, instead of three days.
The mayor's office then began publicly posting notes of those reports in an online spreadsheet.
'There will be repercussions' Homeland Security official targets Nashville mayor over immigration
The initial public posts identified three federal immigration officials by their full names and one by her first name. The posts were inadvertent and later removed, the mayor's office said.
Trump Administration officials highlighted the posts as an effort by O'Connell to disrupt immigration enforcement activities and 'dox' immigration agents. White House 'border czar' Tom Homan pledged to 'flood the zone' with immigration enforcement activities in Nashville in response to the mayor's public statements condemning immigration raids.
Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton publicly called on O'Connell to rescind the executive order.
Two Republican-led U.S. House panels — the House Judiciary and Homeland Security committees — also launched an inquiry into the response by Nashville's mayor to federal immigration enforcement activities.
Asked Tuesday to address O'Connell's statement that the release of immigration agent names was inadvertent, Johnson noted the bill addresses both intentional and negligent actions, calling them 'unacceptable and dangerous.'
House Speaker demands Nashville mayor ax order to report federal immigration interactions
'This bill ensures that such breaches are not tolerated,' Johnson said. 'Regardless of the intention behind the release of the information, public officials have a duty to protect sensitive information. Any failure to do so puts both public safety and the lives of law enforcement officers and their families at risk.'
The bill makes clear that sharing information between local, state and federal agencies to support the enforcement of immigration laws remains 'fully permitted,' he said.
Johnson did not address a question about whether a mayor had a right or responsibility to ascertain whether immigration enforcement actions were taking place in his city.
O'Connell's office did not respond to a request for comment about the bill filing Tuesday.
At the height of immigration sweeps, which took place in the heart of Nashville's busy immigrant enclave in early May, O'Connell spoke out against the actions he said were conducted by 'people who do not share our values of safety and community and have the authority to cause deep community harm.'
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