Court Strikes Down Tennessee Law Criminalizing Local Officials’ Immigration Votes

A Tennessee law threatening local officials with felony charges for supporting sanctuary immigration policies has been declared unconstitutional. The state's attorney general declined to defend the law, leading to a settlement with Nashville council members who challenged it.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A federal court has declared unconstitutional a Tennessee statute that would have subjected local government officials to felony prosecution and potential jail time for supporting sanctuary immigration measures.

Nashville Chancellor Russell Perkins approved a settlement agreement Wednesday involving Tennessee’s attorney general and seven Nashville-Davidson County council members who filed the legal challenge against the controversial measure.

Republican Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s office refused to defend the law for several months. Speaking to media in September, Skrmetti explained that the Constitution provides “absolute immunity for all legislative votes, whether at the federal, state, or local levels” despite Tennessee’s prohibition on sanctuary policies by municipalities and counties.

Council member Clay Capp announced in a statement that the ruling guarantees Tennessee’s elected leaders can serve their communities “without looking over their shoulder at criminal penalties.”

“This settlement affirms a basic American principle: the government cannot prosecute you for how you vote,” Capp declared. “Tennessee tried to gag local officials with threats of prison time, but the Constitution doesn’t allow that.”

The Republican-controlled Legislature and GOP Governor Bill Lee enacted the immigration enforcement measure last year to support the Trump administration’s policies. The legislation established a Class E felony penalty — carrying up to six years imprisonment — for any municipal official who votes to establish or support sanctuary policies as outlined in state statute. Such violations could encompass supporting local measures that hinder Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations targeting undocumented immigrants.

GOP legislators maintained the criminal provision within the comprehensive immigration package despite legal advisors cautioning that such penalties might violate constitutional protections.

Republican legislative leadership supported the punishment, with House Majority Leader William Lamberth describing it as “the easiest felony in the world to avoid.”

Tennessee banned sanctuary jurisdictions in 2019, warning that non-compliant local governments would forfeit state economic development funding.