State Representative Gabby Salinas (D-Memphis) introduced a bill last week that seeks to interfere with the operations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Tennessee.
House Bill (HB) 1482 would prevent ICE agents from using areas such as public parking lots, vacant lots, public garages, public schools, and religious institution property as a “staging area.”
The bill defines a “staging area” as an “area that is used to assemble, mobilize, and deploy vehicles, equipment, or materials, and related personnel.”
“No child or person should fear being abducted or risk having their family ripped apart when they leave their home,” Salinas said on Facebook. “We are losing friends, neighbors, caretakers, and community members daily.”
HB 1482 also requires Tennessee state and local governments to identify public properties that have been or could be used as staging areas.
A person responsible for one of these properties would need to secure it by installing physical barriers to limit access, HB 1482 says.
If a school or church employee becomes aware of an ICE operation, they will need to report it to their supervisor, the bill proposal notes.
Based on the church or school’s location, the supervisor, if in the municipality’s jurisdiction, would report it to the city mayor’s office or the county mayor’s office. If the location is outside a municipality’s jurisdiction, HB 1482 requires the supervisor to report it to local law enforcement.
According to the bill proposal, the Tennessee Department of Safety, along with the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office, would need to publicly produce materials that “provide general information concerning the rights of employees, students, security staff, and partitioners regarding entry to real property by federal agents.”
If this bill becomes law, it would come into effect on the day of its signing.
On Sunday, Salinas spoke at the ICE Out rally in Memphis, protesting an ICE agent shooting and killing a protester in Minneapolis.
According to Local Memphis, at the event, she said, “We cannot let people drag us into hate. We cannot let people drag us into prejudice. We have to choose love. We have to choose each other.”
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at zschmidt1717@gmail.com.
