Immigration
Federal judge doesn’t buy IRS ploy in Grainger County slaughterhouse suit
For nearly two years, the Internal Revenue Service refused to reveal its role in a controversial 2018 raid at a Grainger County slaughterhouse in a bid to shield its agents from a civil-rights lawsuit, court records show. When the ploy failed, those records also show, the IRS then tried to use the delay the agency’s […]
Stockard on the Stump: Lawmakers create ‘bureaucracy’ to oversee immigrant child care
Some Republican lawmakers went into shock last year when they heard a plane load of unaccompanied immigrant minors debarked in Chattanooga and left a group of children there. Rumors swirled that the federal government was dropping off immigrant kids across the state, creating fear they would take over the government and start running the state […]
Memphis attorney part of group leading suit against U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
A group of immigration-policy attorneys plan to file a lawsuit against the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in an effort to force the processing of thousands of Green Cards to combat backlogs made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. IMMpact Litigation, a group comprised of several law firms, announced its intent to force the USCIS to process […]
Tennessee’s Arabic speakers work to add their language to driver license tests
When Ashraf Fam, an Egyptian immigrant, first came to Nashville 16 years ago, he quickly sought to get a driver’s license, knowing that transportation was key to survival in the U.S. The Tennessee Department of Motor Vehicles offers its driver license test in five languages—English, Spanish, German, Korean and Japanese—but not in other languages more […]
Grief at The Griff: Nashville construction boom exacts deadly toll on Hispanic workers
Across the street from The Griff, a luxurious apartment complex in Germantown, protesters dressed in black held flowers and crosses in memory of the Hispanic construction workers that have died over the last two years in Nashville’s booming construction industry. Across from the crowd stood a towering chain link fence preventing trespassers from entering another […]
Murfreesboro mortuary settles suit in corpse “abuse” case
A Murfreesboro funeral home named in a federal lawsuit for allegedly abusing the bodies of deceased immigrants has settled with the victim’s family. On April 6, Nelson and Sons Memorial Chapel settled with the family of Freddy Aroldo Cristotomo, who died in October 2019. Nelson was one of five funeral homes named by multiple families […]
Tennessee House bill seeks to gather information on immigrant children
A bill seeking to gather identifying information on unaccompanied migrant children was placed on the state budget for review, despite reservations from legislators as to who would have access to the information. On Tuesday, Rep. Dan Howell, R-Cleveland, introduced to the House Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee a bill to require organizations housing migrant children […]
Biden administration to halt pandemic policy blocking migrants who claim asylum
WASHINGTON — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday the government will terminate a Trump-era policy that prevented migrants from claiming asylum during a health crisis, including the coronavirus pandemic. The policy will end on May 23, the CDC wrote in its notice. “There is no longer a serious danger that the entry […]
E-Verify expansion moves through committee
A bill to expand the federal E-Verify program progressed in the legislature Tuesday as part of an effort to crack down on employment of undocumented workers. The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee voted to amend SB1780 to expand the E-Verify program to businesses with 35 employees instead of 25, as the bill was originally written. […]
Senate committee to vote on expansion of E-Verify program
A state Senate committee will vote today on expanding the use of E-Verify to businesses with 25 employees or more in an effort to crack down on undocumented employment. Sponsored by Sen. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, SB1780 would expand the federal program from being required for businesses with 50 employees, which will affect small workforces and […]
Immigrants find long and complicated road to citizenship
Claudio Vazquez came to the U.S. on a tourist visa in 1997 and planned to stay permanently. Noting the differences between the U.S. and Mexico, Vazquez was shocked to learn how easily people could buy basic commodities in the States, such as a used car. “In Mexico, I would have to work a year to […]
Anti-immigrant bills spark outrage in Tennessee immigration organizations
Four Republican-sponsored bills, including one seeking to prevent undocumented children from attending public school, are sparking outrage among supporters of immigrants and immigrant rights. Rep. Bruce Griffey, R-Paris, is sponsoring HB1648, that would allow local educational agencies or public charter schools to deny enrollment to students based on their immigration status. If a child cannot […]