A bill making it a crime for any individual without legal immigration status to set foot in Tennessee cleared a house subcommittee Tuesday.
The legislation, criminalizing the act of being in Tennessee without legal immigration status, would come with both jail time and an eviction notice from the state. Judges would be required to issue 72-hour warnings to leave Tennessee to anyone charged or convicted of the crime.
The first offense would be a misdemeanor, but would rise to a felony if someone is charged a second or subsequent time.
“This bill is a measured, responsible step toward protecting Tennessee communities, enforcing the rule of law and demagnetizing our state to illegal immigration,” Rep. Lee Reeves, a Republican from Franklin, told members of the House Departments & Agencies Subcommittee.
Sen. Jack Johnson, also a Franklin Republican, is the measure’s other sponsor.