by Anita Wadhwani, Tennessee Lookout
February 17, 2025

A pair of bills by Republicans lawmakers that would penalize charitable organizations that serve immigrants — and potentially lead to their employees’ arrests — are drawing pushback from Tennessee faith leaders as an infringement on their religious freedom.

One bill (HB322/SB392) would create a new “human smuggling” crime for those who transport, encourage or induce ten or more adults to illegally enter or remain in the state by “concealing, harboring or shielding” them.

Organizations, including churches and other nonprofits, that commit or are “about to commit” the offense could be dissolved by the Tennessee Attorney General. And individuals who participate in inducing or encouraging activities –  such as church staff, nonprofit employees or private company workers – could be subject to a Class E felony, punishable by up to six years in prison and a fine of up to $3,000. 

A second bill (HB811/SB227) would open up charitable organizations to lawsuits if they have provided housing services to an individual without permanent legal immigration status and then that individual goes on to commit a crime. 

Both measures could directly impact the routine charitable programs Tennessee churches and other nonprofits provide to individuals regardless of their immigration status, faith leaders said.

Tennessee House passes immigration enforcement bill; ACLU plans legal challenge

“I’m deeply concerned about how broad these bills are, and my fear is that any church that is seeking to help any immigrant could be penalized in some way,” said The Rev. Eric Mayle, pastor of Edgehill United Methodist Church in Nashville.

“And that prevents us from exercising our religious freedom to care for the vulnerable or stranger in our midst who we are commanded by Christ to care for,” he said.

Sen. Brent Taylor, a Republican from Memphis who is the chief sponsor of the bill aimed at housing services and a cosponsor of the human smuggling legislation, said both bills are designed to hold non governmental agencies, or NGOs, accountable for their roles in providing services that keep immigrants without legal status in Tennessee communities.

The bills are not intended to interfere with the charitable work of faith based groups, such as those that provide temporary shelters or English as a Second Language programs, as his own church offers, he said.

“I would remind the churches that even heaven has an immigration policy,” Taylor said. “You can’t climb over the wall in heaven.  You can’t slick talk St. Peter into the gates of heaven. There’s a very specific way you come into heaven to become a resident of heaven. They’ve got a very strict immigration policy, and I don’t think its unreasonable for Americans to have an immigration policy that people follow.”

The bills are among an unprecedented slate of immigration-related legislation filed in the Tennessee Legislature this year. More than three dozen bills have been filed to restrict immigrants’ access to public services, including K-12 schools, or penalize those who aid them. 

A sweeping measure signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee on Thursday offers to significantly ramp up state involvement in immigration enforcement in collaboration with the Trump Administration. 

The measure creates a new state enforcement office, provides grants as incentives for local law enforcement to take on immigrant enforcement duties, creates distinct drivers licenses for noncitizens and makes it a felony for public officials to back sanctuary policies. The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee pledged to bring a legal challenge to the law.

New ‘human smuggling’ offense

The proposal to create a new “human smuggling” offense would create a felony for knowingly transporting at least 10 adults or 5 children who lack permanent legal immigration status “for the purpose of commercial advantage or private financial gain.”

The bill, Taylor and Rep. Jody Barrett, a Republican from Dickson, also creates a second misdemeanor offense for those who “encourage” at least 10 adults or 5 children without legal immigration status to enter or remain in Tennessee by “concealing, harboring or shielding” them from detection.  The misdemeanor comes with a $1,000 penalty attached to each individual who was concealed, harbored or shielded.

Tennessee GOP bills target public school education for immigrant children without legal status

Taylor referred questions about the granular details of the bill to its Barrett, its chief sponsor, who did not respond to messages seeking comment about the bill on Friday.

Lisa Sherman Luna, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, noted the felony offense could broadly apply to construction site employees driven by van to worksites or nonprofits providing adults and children bus passes as part of their services. 

The use of the word “encourage” to define the proposed new crime creates an added layer of vagueness to the bill,Luna said.

“By providing people food maybe you’re encouraging people to stay?” Luna said. “The point is they don’t define ‘encourages.’

The broad nature of the language could apply to nonprofit legal services providers that provide legal advice, food banks that distribute goods, churches that offer community services, immigrant-serving nonprofits that educate individuals about their rights, Luna noted.

‘The state cannot tell me how to operate my church’

Pastor Kevin Riggs of Franklin Community Church said he is concerned the bill to penalize organizations that provide housing assistance would have a direct impact on his church.

The bill is sponsored by Taylor and Rep. Rusty Grills, a Republican from Newbern. Neither lawmaker responded to a request for comment about the bill.

Riggs’ church assists low income individuals access housing programs, funded through a federal Housing and Urban Development program whose rules are at odds with the bill being proposed.

“It would affect the work, Riggs said. “It’s put us in a bind, because you got the state telling you, you have to do one thing, and you have the federal government telling you, you can’t do that.”

Regardless of whether the bill ultimately becomes law, Riggs said his church would not veer from its Christian mission to help those in need.

“The state cannot tell me how to operate my church,” Riggs said. 

“If there’s a person in front of us who has got need, we’re going to meet the need,” he said. “That’s part of our church’s mission, and for the state to tell us we cannot is a violation of our First Amendment rights to practice our religions in the way I believe we have been called.”

Taylor, in an interview with the Lookout, said his intent was for the bill to apply only to long term housing services provided by charitable organizations in Tennessee communities. While the language of the bill filed does not specify long term housing, Taylor said he would review the bill to possibly amend it.

“I’m not envisioning a homeless shelter,” he said. “What I envision is an NGO assisting them finding a longterm rental in a house or apartment, not an overnight stay in a homeless shelter. No one is trying to prevent illegal immigrants from seeking shelter on a cold winter night or from rain storm.

Nonprofits a new front in immigration enforcement

Churches, faith-based and other nonprofit organizations that work with individuals regardless of their immigration status are increasingly becoming targets of Republican-led efforts to clamp down on illegal immigration, according to Kristen Etter, director of policy and services at the Texas Immigration Law Council.

On Wednesday, Congressional republicans sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem demanding an investigation into non-governmental agencies receiving public funding to work with immigrant populations. The letter, without evidence, accused nonprofit agencies of “knowingly assisting criminal aliens violating our immigration laws” and  “operating a human smuggling campaign on the backs of U.S. taxpayers.”

‘Be prepared’ Nashville leaders caution immigrant communities about looming crackdowns

Last month, influential conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation listed as its No. 1 immigration-related policy goal to repurpose public funding from immigrant-serving nonprofits – whom they accused of “facilitating the border crisis” – to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

As one of his first executive orders after taking office, President Donald Trump called on the U.S. Attorney General and the Department of Homeland Security to investigate the funding of immigrant-serving nonprofits.

And in Texas, ongoing lawsuits are challenging Attorney General Ken Paxton’s efforts to issue investigative demands to immigrant-serving organizations he has accused of facilitating illegal immigration, among them: Catholic Charities Rio Grande Valley and Annunciation House, a Catholic organization. The organizations have argued  in court that Paxton’s efforts violate their First Amendment right to free speech, association and religion.

“They want to criminalize all organizations that work with immigrants,” Etter said. 

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.

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