Now well into year two of President Donald Trump’s second term, his promised mass deportation campaign has only been ramped up — leaving millions of immigrants in this country, including those in Chattanooga and Tennessee, vulnerable to this cruel xenophobic machine.
In Tennessee, our state government, controlled by a GOP supermajority, is an all-too-willing participant in the administration’s anti-immigrant schemes.
The statehouse has put millions into the new Centralized Immigration Enforcement Division, which, among other things, shares data with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
Numerous laws have been enacted against Tennessee immigrants. The latest is a law, set to take effect Wednesday, requiring government agencies to verify and report the immigration status of people applying for certain public benefits.
Affected agencies include those in Hamilton County, such as the local health department.