Image Credit: TN General Assembly
The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
On Wednesday, after a delay of two weeks, Conservative lawmaker Representative Gino Bulso’s (R-Brentwood-District 61) highly anticipated TRUMP Act failed in the House Banking and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee when the four members present split the vote.
Republican Representative Pat Marsh (R-Shelbyville-District 62) chose to vote against the bill along with the lone Democrat in attendance, preventing the legislation from moving forward.
As pointed out by Brandon Lewis, founder of The Tennessee Conservative, three other members of the subcommittee “Didn’t Even Show Up To Vote.” Lewis praised Republican Reps Tandy Darby & Susan Lynn for being present and voting in favor of HB0145.
House Bill 0145 (HB0145) or the “Tennessee Reduction of Unlawful Migrant Placement (TRUMP) Act” aimed to do three things, according to its bill sponsor, to demagnetize Tennessee as a desirable location to illegal aliens.
Bulso’s proposed legislation gave a solid definition in state law for the term “resident of the state” which was defined as a United States citizen or a noncitizen who is lawfully residing in Tennessee.
HB0145 also required verification of lawful immigration status of individuals seeking to send, wire, or otherwise transfer funds out of the United States and required that parents or guardians be charged tuition for enrolling noncitizen children with unlawful immigration status in a state public school.
Regarding the other two bills:
Preventing taxpayer-funded education for illegal immigrant children, one died in the Senate Education Committee last week, arguably the more conservative of the two, and the other continues to advance.
All three bills could have challenged the U.S. Supreme Court decision, Plyler v. Doe (1982) which interpreted the Equal Protection Clause to hold that states “cannot prevent children of undocumented immigrants from attending public school unless a substantial state interest is involved.”
Bulso believes that a “ substantial state interest” can be proven by the state of Tennessee.
State law already allows for tuition and fees to be charged for students attending schools outside of their county of residence. The TRUMP Act sought, in part, to apply the same standard of law to illegal immigrants.
“It is obviously on everyone’s top of mind to go ahead and deal with illegal immigration,” Bulso had stated previously. “That was one of the clear mandates coming out of the election this November.”
Meanwhile, a bill aimed at stopping Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) from assisting illegal aliens has been deferred and rescheduled to be heard in the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, April 2nd, 2025.
House Bill 0322 (HB0322), sponsored by Representative Chris Todd (R-Madison County-District 73), would create strong penalties for the crime of “human smuggling” which the bill defines as transporting, encouraging, or inducing ten or more adults (or five or more minors) to either illegally enter the state or to remain in Tennessee through the act of “concealing, harboring, or shielding.”
Contact information for members of the House Judiciary Committee can be found below.
HB0322 Summary: As introduced, creates the offense of human smuggling; creates the offense of harboring or hiding, or assisting another in harboring or hiding, within this state an individual who the person knows or should have known has illegally entered or remained in the United States; authorizes the attorney general to take certain actions against a person or organization who commits or is about to commit a human trafficking offense or an aggravated human trafficking offense.
Rep.andrew.farmer@capitol.tn.gov, rep.elaine.davis@capitol.tn.gov, rep.rebecca.alexander@capitol.tn.gov, rep.fred.atchley@capitol.tn.gov, rep.gino.bulso@capitol.tn.gov, rep.clay.doggett@capitol.tn.gov, rep.rick.eldridge@capitol.tn.gov, rep.johnny.garrett@capitol.tn.gov, rep.torrey.harris@capitol.tn.gov, rep.gloria.johnson@capitol.tn.gov, rep.kelly.keisling@capitol.tn.gov, rep.william.lamberth@capitol.tn.gov, rep.mary.littleton@capitol.tn.gov, rep.jason.powell@capitol.tn.gov, rep.dennis.powers@capitol.tn.gov, rep.lowell.russell@capitol.tn.gov, rep.gabby.salinas@capitol.tn.gov, rep.rick.scarbrough@capitol.tn.gov, rep.tom.stinnett@capitol.tn.gov, rep.chris.todd@capitol.tn.gov, rep.joe.towns@capitol.tn.gov, rep.ron.travis@capitol.tn.gov
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
