The bill to send immigrants to prison without permanent legal status to be in Tennessee was pushed in 2026. (Photo: John Partipillo)

When examining the state of national politics and federal government, there are many things that include President Donald Trump’s enthusiasm for the country’s legal deportation of people, and perhaps in the near future, including US citizens.

Are you worried about freedom of the press? You may think that isn’t the case even if you note that the Trump administration tried to ban the Associated Press (the gold standard of professional and fair journalism) from press conferences and tried to insert right-wing bloggers to get favorable coverage.

It’s easy to get caught up in the fateful spiral of National News, but Tennessees would be better off being more sane, if they were more sane, by returning from the scary, shiny objects of Washington, DC to a home where members of the Tennessee General Assembly pursue an anti-democratic agenda as well.

While monitoring the actions of state legislators won’t make you feel unfurried, it will provide greater access to representatives and senators from nearby states to express your concern.

Anti-transition measures will be prioritized

Gov. Bill Lee called for a special legislative meeting in January to promote his Universal School Voucher Program, but many political observers were surprised when Lee was added to three other items to his agenda.

While vouchers remained a priority, most attention was paid to what Lee called his “illegal immigration agenda.”

Congress has established state immigration agencies exempt from the public records law. This set up measures that allowed civil servants to be prosecuted if they vote for sanctuary city policies that are unconstitutional.

“The Nazi Germans made this a Jew,” said Sen. Sharlan Oliver of Nashville, referring to the Star of David, sewn into his clothes.

Have Republican lawmakers gone far enough to make immigrants feel harassed or unwelcome? Apparently that’s not the case.

As the special sessions ended and the regular sessions were in full swing, Republican lawmakers began to begin filing left and right anti-immigration bills.

• Senate Bill 227/Hospital Bill 11: The bill, sponsored by Senator Brent Taylor of Memphis and Rep. Rusty Grill of New Bern, will be responsible for churches and charities to provide housing aid to immigrants who have no legal status. It passes both rooms and is set to become law.
• Senate Bill 836/Hos of Representatives Bill 793 : Sen. Botson, a Chattanooga Republican, is carrying laws that require the immigration situation of nearly one million students in Tennessee to be public and provide schools with the option to charge students without tuition fees for permanent legal status or to charge students without refusing to education. The House version, sponsored by Portland’s majority leader William Lambers, may hit the Snuggs and not pass.
• Senate Bill 1087/Hospital Bill 0177: A bill that criminalizes immigrants without legal status stagnate in the Senate for more than 72 hours and are postponed until 2026.

Media issues

The year is marked by fewer massive protests at the Capitol than two years ago, but there are many small protests — more committee meetings are confused than Comcast had during the spring storm — and on several occasions, protests have been made by the state’s military in Tennessee to protest anti-immigration measures.

But sometimes, even media members are challenged to cover the procedures.

For several years, reporters were free to enter the House of Representatives as long as they stationed themselves behind a dimly plexiglass barrier near Days and separated them from the power broker.

There’s no more. Currently, reporters must be on a list protected by House Sergeant, and even reporters who are members of the Capitol Hill Press Corps cannot be expected to be listed. Over the past two years, despite being recognized by officials working at the door, observation deck reporters have been kicked out and require a direct call from the chairman of the Capitol Hill Press Corps.

And earlier this month, media members were denied access to the Senate gallery. A spokesman for Governor Randy McNally said the troopers who provide security and sergeant were concerned about “exceptional interest in the lawsuit that day” and pulled the media out of reaching the gallery’s capabilities.

In that example, within minutes, McNally staff took steps to ensure reporters and photographers entered the gallery.

However, it is not so difficult for a reporter to enter a public room to do his job.

Is this chicken or an egg issue? Are Republicans in Tennessee encouraged by Trump’s example, or have they reached these steps themselves? That’s hard to say, as Trump’s influence has permeated Republican-led legislators for nine years. It’s only six years after Republicans became the supermajority of the Tennessee Legislature.

And since we are here, I don’t know if Genesis is important or not. But for Tennessees, tired of a flood of national bad news and a sense of helplessness, there is a kind of cure. Turn off the TV, turn your eyes off from Washington, DC, and turn your eyesight towards the home. So your vote will have a more direct impact on those Trump-like policies and the policies that are violating them.