How Council members voted on urging the Governor to veto a bill banning santuary cities

Recently the State legislature passed HB2615, a bill that  would prohibit sanctuary cities in Tennessee and require local law enforcement officials to comply with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement requests to hold immigrants for purposes of deportation.  Advocates of illegal immigration, such as Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, opposed the bill. Others opposed the bill the bill on practical grounds, contending it will make it more difficult to get illegal immigrants to cooperation with police if they fear the local police are acting as ICE agents.  Others opposed it due to a stated believe that the State should not be telling cities what to do. Cities do not have sovereignty, of course and derive their power from what is granted by the State. States have every right to set rules for cities.  Liberals do not understand the basic government structure or purposely make an invalid comparison when they claim that the relationship of the Federal Government to the State government is comparable to the relationship of state government to cities.

I support the bill that passed.  The State was right to require cities to cooperate with the Federal government to enforce immigration law. Governor Haslam allowed the measure to become law without his signature.  He had been heavily lobbied to veto it.

At the May 15th council meeting, the council passed Resolution RS2018-1222  requesting that Governor Bill Haslam veto that legislation. The vote was 21 in favor of the resolution, four opposed and four abstaining. Here is how they voted. 

Voting Yes, voting in favor of the resolution urging a governor to veto the bill banning sanctuary cities in Tennessee  (21): Sheri Weiner, Cooper, Gilmore, Mendes, Hurt, Shulman, Hastings, Haywood, Scott Davis, Withers, Anthony Davis, VanReece, Sledge, O'Connell, Mina Johnson, Vercher, Karen Johnson, Potts, Bedne, Dowell, and Lee.

Robert Swope

Voting No, voting against the resolution urging a veto (4): Robert Swope, Steve Glover, Mike Freeman, and Russ Pulley.

Steve Glove

Russ Pulley

 

Mike Freeman

 Casting a vote to Abstain (4): Jeff Syracuse, Roberts, Elrod, and Davette Blalock.

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