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A Memphis Democrat wants to block civil immigration enforcement activities from school grounds and require Tennessee to inform school employees, students and security staff about their rights regarding school entry by federal agents.
Rep. Gabby Salinas’ legislation, House Bill 1482, would block civil immigration enforcement from using public, charter and private campus grounds, as well as religious institution property, as a staging area for assembling or deploying equipment or personnel.
The bill is written to include federal immigration enforcement such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Tennessee’s Centralized Immigration Enforcement Division, which launched last year.
With a Republican supermajority in the General Assembly, it’s unlikely Salinas’ bill has a path forward when the legislature reconvenes next week. Tennessee Republicans in recent years have encouraged increased cooperation with civil immigration enforcement and strengthened state laws that prevent sanctuary policies.
Salinas, who immigrated from Bolivia to Memphis as a child to undergo cancer treatment at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, said in a statement that she filed the bill after an ICE agent fatally shot a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis on Wednesday.
Minneapolis Public Schools canceled classes after the killing and an incident where armed U.S. Border Patrol officers came onto school property and handcuffed staff members, according to Minneapolis Public Radio.
Salinas’ bill also comes after months of immigration and law enforcement surge in Memphis, her home district.
“Incidents like the one experienced in Minneapolis, Minnesota, yesterday demonstrate how lawless and dangerous these ICE interactions have become in our country,” Salinas said in a statement. “Now is the time that we as Tennesseans come together and to reject fear and violence and recognize our shared humanity. We are all children of God.”
The bill would not restrict criminal law enforcement activity on school or church grounds.
There have been no reports of civil immigration enforcement entering school property in Memphis, but officials and educators this fall said they were alarmed by the enforcement surge’s impact on students. The Memphis-Shelby County school board last year considered increasing bus routes in the city to help families concerned about transporting their students to school, though the idea was tabled over financial concerns.
Melissa Brown is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact Melissa at mbrown@chalkbeat.org.
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.