In recent weeks, Tennessee lawmakers have pushed for more to be done about the growing number of illegal immigrants in the Volunteer State. During the recent special session that was held the last week of January, the Department of Safety received the first greenlight to create an immigration division… That was State Representative Robert Stevens of Smyrna.

The Rutherford County School Board field a resolution asking for the federal government to close our borders to illegal aliens, citing the costs are too high to manage. Stevens agrees and stated…

A 2019 analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by the Migration Policy Institute estimated that approximately 128,000 undocumented immigrants were residing in Tennessee, with an estimated 10,000 school-aged children enrolled in the state’s public schools.

Under one piece of legislation being proposed in Tennessee, local schools may be able to opt out of enrolling children who are unlawfully in the United States, according to a bill filed by Representative William Lamberth and Senator Bo Watson (Click Here for Story).

House Bill 793 seeks to challenge Plyler v. Doe, a 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court ruling from 1982 that granted children unlawfully present in the U.S. the right to a free public education.

"The influx of illegal immigrants in our country has placed an enormous strain on American tax dollars and resources, with our schools feeling the impact first," Lamberth said.

According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, illegal immigration cost American taxpayers $151 billion in 2023 at the federal, state, and local levels.

Since 2021, approximately 17,713 unaccompanied migrant children have been taken into custody and released to sponsors in Tennessee.

• Hear a recent interview with State Sen. Dawn White and Representatives Mike Sparks and Robert Stevens in our podcast section, under the Action Line or Click Here.