Immigration
Metro Schools, MNEA launch community schools project with immigrant organizations
In Metro Nashville Public Schools, students speak more than 100 different languages and the majority of immigrants are arriving from non-English speaking countries, but many students don’t currently feel represented in their curriculum. Members of the Metro Nashville Education Association (MNEA) and representatives of immigrant organizations have found over the last year that children of […]
Settled into new homes, refugees in US say they are working for a better life for all
Violence, persecution and wars amid a global pandemic added to the growing number of displaced persons around the world last year. The United Nations reports that 11.2 million people were displaced from their homelands in 2020, bringing the total number of displaced persons in the world to 82.4 million. Of those forced to flee their […]
Gardenhire wants facts to drive solution on unaccompanied children
Taking a different view from firebrand conservatives, state Sen. Todd Gardenhire hopes a Study Committee of Refugee Issues will remove the “rhetoric” and use facts to decide how to handle unaccompanied children coming to Tennessee as part of a migrant wave at the Mexican border. Gardenhire, a Chattanooga Republican, penned an op-ed published Saturday in […]
Rep. Hakeem terms committee on refugee issues ‘extreme partisan effort’
A partisan committee formed by the House and Senate speakers will evaluate the impact of migrant children the federal government is bringing to Tennessee, even though figures show no significant increase since President Joe Biden took office. The Study Committee on Refugee Issues, which is spurred by reports about unaccompanied minors being brought to the […]
Editor’s column: Lee is either ignorant or dishonest in migrant children situation
In this week’s manufactured crisis, I give you the situation of unaccompanied migrant children being transported to shelter in Chattanooga. To hear Tennessee’s Republican leaders, the kids were snuck into our fair state in the dead of night, with no consultation with local leaders and against explicit warnings to the Biden administration that we don’t […]
Immigrant rights, faith groups criticize Blackburn and Hagerty stance on immigrant children
Immigrant-rights advocates and faith-based coalitions criticized statements by U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty about housing immigrant children in Tennessee. Reports by WRCB on Wednesday showed migrant children arriving in Hamilton County through Chattanooga’s Wilson Air Center and then boarding buses later verified to be under contract with the U.S. Department of Defense. Later […]
Funeral board warns consulates against unlicensed Tennessee funeral director as more bodies go missing
Tennessee officials this week cautioned the Mexican and Guatemalan consulates in Atlanta against doing business with an ex-funeral director and embalmer who lost his licenses more than a year ago for failing to send bodies of deceased immigrants overseas for burial.
Tennessee immigrant groups, union organizers push back on preemptive laws
Immigrant rights advocates and community organizers are urging legislators to restore critical decision making to local governments, adding that if COVID-19 has proven anything, it’s that local officials know what’s best for their residents. Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) and Stand Up Nashville (SUN), a coalition of community leaders and union organizers, joined […]
TIRRC pushes Congress to create easier path to citizenship
Immigrants and new Americans made up a large portion of essential workers during the pandemic, and Tennessee immigrant advocates joined a nationwide effort urging Congress to create an easier path to citizenship. Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) held a rally Tuesday night to call on representatives and senators to promote the interests of […]
Tennessee officials warn funeral businesses about unlicensed director
Tennessee officials have issued a warning to funeral businesses about working with an unlicensed, ex-funeral director after a series of scandals, including the negligent storage of bodies. Reid Van Ness surrendered his license as a funeral director and embalmer in March 2020 after state officials found that at least 10 bodies he was paid to […]
U.S. House passes Dreamers bill over GOP objections, as immigration debate intensifies
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House took up two bills Thursday that would grant legal status to broad groups of immigrants living and working in the United States, including a pathway to citizenship for hundreds of thousands of undocumented people brought to the country as children. The measures mark the first step towards what advocates for […]
El Estado de Tennessee investigará nuevas acusaciones contra un director de funerarias que continúa explotando a la familias inmigrantes
Director de funerales y embalsamador de Tennessee entrega sus licencias a principios de 2020 después de no haber devuelto los cuerpos a México, Honduras y Guatemala para su respectivo funerales, aun así siguió ofreciendo servicios funerarios a comunidades de inmigrantes y a descuidado nuevamente, en al menos un caso reciente, la entregar de los restos […]