Aaron Gulbransen with the Tennessee Conservatives Coalition said a bill filed in the Tennessee General Assembly is “designed” to serve as a challenge to the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Plyler v. Doe.
The bill filed by Tennessee House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) and State Senator Bo Watson (R-Hixson), HB 0793/SB 0836, would authorize public schools and public charter schools to refuse to enroll students who are unlawfully present in the United States.
The one-page bill would amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 30 by adding the section, “Notwithstanding another law to the contrary, an LEA or public charter school may enroll, or refuse to enroll, a student who is unlawfully present in the United States.”
The bill, however, is in direct conflict with the Supreme Court’s ruling in Plyler v. Doe that a state “cannot prevent children of undocumented immigrants from attending public school unless a substantial state interest is involved.”
On Thursday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, Gulbransen said the bill is “designed” to turn into a challenge to the Supreme Court’s 1982 ruling.
“At the moment, the General Assembly cannot ban the education of illegal immigrants. They can’t. The governor can’t. I hate to be this blunt, but our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, could not ban the education of illegal immigrants in the state of Tennessee or any of the other 49 states or territories controlling the United States because the U.S. Supreme Court did that decision in 1982,” Gulbransen explained.
“This bill is designed to pass the General Assembly and then be handed over to the greatest attorney general in the United States of America, Jonathan Skrmetti, to take it through the legal process, go to the U.S. Supreme Court, and get it overturned,” Gulbransen added.
Given the Supreme Court’s current makeup, Gulbransen noted, however, that the bill could become law in Tennessee if no legal challenge were to be brought against it.
“The smartest thing the left could do on this, once it becomes law, is to leave it alone. Don’t sue on it, because it’ll be like okay, we’ll cede Tennessee. We’ll give you Tennessee, but not the other 49 states,” Gulbransen said.
Tune in now to hr 2 of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show – your AMERICA FIRST news talk – w in-studio guest @Shawn_Farash
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
