Tennessee Takes Action: Stopping Illegal Immigration & Saving Taxpayer Dollars

As your representative from the mountains of East Tennessee, I understand the importance of following the law and respecting those who do things the right way. That's why I'm proud to report that during the 114th General Assembly, we passed the strongest illegal immigration enforcement legislation in the nation.

What We Accomplished:

Created Centralized Immigration Enforcement - We established a new division within the Tennessee Department of Safety to coordinate with federal and local governments, ensuring every level of law enforcement works together to enforce our immigration laws.

Enhanced Criminal Penalties - We passed legislation allowing judges to sentence illegal immigrants to life without parole if convicted of violent crimes or offenses involving deadly weapons. We also created new felony offenses for smuggling and trafficking illegal immigrants.

Strengthened Our Sanctuary City Ban - We made our existing sanctuary city ban even stronger by imposing Class E felony charges on local officials who adopt or maintain sanctuary city policies in violation of state law.

Protected Our Elections - We enhanced state-issued ID standards to distinguish between citizens and non-citizens, ensuring only individuals with permanent IDs are eligible to vote in Tennessee elections.

The Numbers That Matter:

• Illegal immigration cost Tennessee taxpayers $971 million in 2023 alone

• That's an average of $4,456 per illegal immigrant that hardworking Tennesseans had to shoulder

• From October to December 2024, we had 2,719 reports of illegal immigrants charged with crimes in Tennessee

• This included 11 homicides in just three months

Standing with Texas - We also authorized Governor Lee to deploy Tennessee National Guard troops to help Texas secure our southern border. We allocated $6.4 million to fund this deployment because when the federal government fails to do its job, states must step up.

This isn't about being anti-immigrant - it's about being pro-legal immigration and pro-taxpayer. Resources should be available only to legal residents, and we must ensure fair opportunities for those who follow the legal immigration process.

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Campaign Media Contact:

Zach Stephens

zach@zdstephens.com

Fred Atchley serves House District 12, which includes Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Pittman Center, Seymour, Wears Valley, and part of Sevierville.