Robin SmithNashville’s metropolitan government was on a path just a few weeks ago to introduce bills that would have established it as a sanctuary city without using the terminology explicitly. Comparing similar legislation from Boulder, Colo., Seattle, and even San Francisco, Tennessee’s capital city was set to become one of our nation’s most liberal about its laws protecting or harboring illegal immigrants.
Existing Tennessee law specifies that, “A local governmental entity or official shall not adopt any ordinance or written policy that expressly prohibits a local governmental entity, official, or employee from complying with applicable federal law pertaining to persons that reside within the state illegally. An official shall not materially interfere with the ability of a local governmental entity, official or employee of a municipality or a county to comply with applicable federal law pertaining to persons that reside within the state illegally.”
So, why does this matter to Chattanooga? Clearly, as precedent is set, it can easily find followers. In this case, Chattanooga’s Mayor Andy Berke, as recently as June 1 of this year, joined Nashville’s Mayor Megan Barry and Knoxville’s Mayor Madeline Rogero in signing a pledge to continue to uphold the climate standards of the Paris Climate Agreement despite America’s exit from the unfair arrangement that essentially penalized the U.S. for its productive economy and sent billions to Third World nations for having zero pollution and zero jobs.
Berke, along with these two other elected Democrats, must’ve forgotten that a municipal government as an entity within a state is prohibited from entering “into any treaty, alliance or confederation” in Article 2, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution, speaking specifically to powers only found in the federal government.
But, back to Nashville.