Tag: Trump

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Politics Politics Feature

Of This and That

State Representative Justin Pearson, whose presence during this year’s legislative session has been fragmentary, has resumed regular attendance as the General Assembly heads into its stretch drive.

Pearson, who has avowedly been dealing with the aftereffects of his brother’s death in December, was a speaker at the meeting of the Shelby County Democratic Party (SCDP) convened Saturday at Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church to elect new party officers. 

Things went downhill after rousing unity speeches by Pearson and others, as the assembled Democrats could not reach agreement on the bylaws needed to continue with the meeting, which was to have elected a new chairman and other officers. Amid chaos, the meeting was aborted, with the professed intent by those present of reconvening within 30 days.

The Tennessee Democratic Party (TNDP), whose chair Rachel Campbell of Chattanooga was on hand, temporarily decommissioned the local party, as it had nearly 10 years earlier during a previous period of public disorder in the SCDP.

• The Democrats’ foreshortened meeting was the site for a fair amount of schmoozing from potential near-term political candidates. One such was Michael Pope, a former sheriff’s department deputy who served a brief tenure as the SCDP’s last nominal chair before its previous shutdown by the state party in 2016.

Pope later became police chief in West Memphis. He resigned during a controversy over allegedly suppressed evidence in the case of the West Memphis Three, who were subsequently released after serving several years for a notorious murder.

Pope is now an announced candidate for sheriff in 2026. An expected opponent is Anthony Buckner, the current chief deputy to Sheriff Floyd Bonner.

• Former state Senator Brian Kelsey will hold a celebration in East Memphis on Saturday for his recent release from prison. “It’s time to party!” say the invites. Kelsey, who had been convicted of campaign finance violations and served only two weeks at a federal prison in Kentucky, was pardoned last month by Trump.

• State Senator Brent Taylor is trying again after his bill seeking the legislative removal from office of DA Steve Mulroy failed to gain traction and was taken off notice. 

Taylor and state Senate Speaker Randy McNally made public their request that the state Supreme Court create a panel to investigate Mulroy, Nashville DA Glenn Funk, and Warren County DA Chris Stanford. Like Mulroy, Funk is a liberal who has ruffled the ideological feathers of the state’s GOP supermajority. Stanford is something of a throw-in. He is under indictment on charges of reckless endangerment after firing a pistol in pedestrian pursuit of an accused serial killer.

The shift in tactics from legislative to judicial was an effort to avoid the appearance of being politically partisan, said Taylor, who acknowledged that any action on the new proposal would be delayed at least thorough the summer.  

• Entities in Memphis and Shelby County seem to have done well in their entreaties for financial aid from the state. Included either in Governor Bill Lee’s original budget or his supplemental budget, announced last week, were such petitioners as the city of Memphis, the Memphis Zoo, the Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum, Agape Child & Family Services, Youth Villages, Memphis Allies, Operation Taking Back 901, Church of God in Christ (COGIC), PURE Academy, YMCA of Memphis & the Mid-South, Tech901, Moore Tech, Southern College of Optometry, Hospitality Hub, Memphis Teacher Residency, Memphis City Seminary, Africa in April, Stax Music Academy, and Tennessee College of Applied Technology (for the Memphis aviation campus).

Also included was funding for an audit of Memphis-Shelby County Schools. Conspicuously missing so far are allotments for Regional One Health and the Metal Museum. Additions and subtractions are to be expected before the session ends.

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Gov. Lee Backs Trump on Dismantling of Education Department, Mulls Voucher ‘Ramp Up’

Gov. Bill Lee and his staff have remained mostly silent in recent weeks regarding questions about the state legislature's current special session. Credit: Martin B. Cherry / Nashville Banner

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee is all-in on dismantling the U.S. Department of Education and is leaving the door open to use federal funds to support his new school voucher program. 

Last week, hours before President Donald Trump signed an executive order instructing his recently-appointed Education Secretary to begin the dissolution of the federal DOE, Lee reissued his support of Trump’s plan, telling reporters the state would be better off without the federal oversight of education. 

“I am one who believes that the federal Department of Education is largely a bureaucratic problem for states,” Lee said, calling the federal government “too big, too cumbersome and too bureaucratic.” 

The governor, who was set to attend the executive order signing, has been supportive of Trump’s plan to dismantle the Department of Education since at least November, when he said he “hopes it looks something like block-granting the dollars to states,” comparing the idea to a Medicaid block grant waiver that Trump approved in his first term, allowing Tennessee more discretion in spending money intended for Medicaid recipients. 

In an op-ed published Wednesday, Lee called the DOE an “$80 billion failure,” and said that states were better off managing federal education funding, as had been the case prior to the DOE’s formation in 1979.

When he initially endorsed Trump’s plan, Lee declined to comment on whether he would use the funds to benefit his private school voucher program, which later passed in a January special session, partly urged by Trump to address immigration. For each of the last three years, including 2025 projections, the DOE has reportedly provided Tennessee between $3.36-3.66 billion.  

On Thursday, with the voucher bill signed into law and the end of the DOE in sight, Lee suggested that the legislature could conceptually tap into the DOE money for vouchers. 

“The funding from the federal government shouldn’t impact that strategy,” Lee said. “It should just continue to give us the resources necessary to fund the education for all the children of the state, both public and private, through education freedom scholarships or through traditional funding to our public schools.”

Lee noted that he expects to see a “ramp up” in the voucher program, but added that “the law, as it stands today in Tennessee, is how I view that it will be going forward, until the Legislature makes a decision to change.”

Educators and parents across the country have expressed concern that a lack of federal oversight could prevent some students, like those with disabilities or special needs, from receiving adequate and fair education. 

“If successful, Trump’s continued actions will hurt all students by sending class sizes soaring, cutting job training programs, making higher education more expensive and out of reach for middle-class families, taking away special education services for students with disabilities, and gutting student civil rights protections,” National Education Association President Becky Pringle said in a statement, calling supporters “anti-public education.”

Lee dismissed those concerns, arguing that the state is better equipped to manage those students than the federal government, repeating a common refrain that the states know best how to handle education.

“I don’t have one bit of concern about a lack of services or a lack of educational opportunities for children when the federal Department of Education is removed,” Lee said. 

Lee’s wholesale support of a Trump plan before the details have been shared echoes his alignment with Trump’s deportation policies, which Lee loudly supported and urged other Republican governors to support before Trump was in office or had shared specifics. 

On the other hand, Lee continued his streak of refusing to comment on pending Tennessee legislation when he was asked about several measures that have been through statewide legislative committees, including a bill that would allow school boards to deny undocumented students education, in a direct challenge to U.S. Supreme Court precedent. 

“I can’t speak to how I feel about that, because that’s not been decided yet,” Lee said, adding that he was broadly supportive of addressing what he described as issues caused by illegal immigration, “including how they impact our education system.

Though he lacked details, the governor said ending the DOE would benefit Tennessee because more money would be spent at the state level.

“That’s more dollars directly spent on education services for children, and not on jobs in D.C.,” Lee said. 

Asked if the state would have to replicate any of the administrative roles being axed in the federal department of education — or the “bureaucracy” described by Lee — the governor was unsure. 

“We have no idea what’s coming,” Lee said. “We’ll know a lot more, probably after today, and then we’ll begin to plan to work with the federal government on being a good partner.”

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At Large Opinion

Big Boss Man

Elon Musk (Photo: Frédéric Legrand | Dreamstime.com)

I’ve been the editor of several publications in my career. I managed teams of writers and editors — and did my best to empower them, motivate them, and get them to work together to produce newspapers and magazines we could all be proud of. I was, to use the term loosely, a “boss.” I made my share of mistakes, but I always tried to treat my employees with respect and compassion.

I’ve also been an employee for most of my career, working for publishers in Missouri; Washington, D.C.; Pittsburgh; and Memphis. Almost all of my bosses were great people, but I’ve had a couple of stinkers, and they had something in common: They had no idea what their employees did to create the product and didn’t really care to learn. They’d never written, edited, interviewed, researched, reported, or had to meet a printer’s immoveable deadline. They were bottom-line guys who treated their employees as though they were working in a widget factory. 

One of them (in a city that shall remain nameless) called a staff meeting in the conference room on his first day. (This, I should mention, was after we’d watched for a week as the publisher’s office underwent a massive redo: plush Oriental carpet, gleaming teak desk, sleek lamps, cushy couch and chairs.) Anyway, our new boss looked around at the 15 or so writers, art directors, and editors gathered in front of him and said: “You’re probably asking yourselves, ‘What does this dude know about magazines? He’s a real estate guy.’ Well, let me tell you, folks, I read lots of magazines and I know a good one when I see one. And we’re going to put out a great magazine and we’re going to add 25 percent to the bottom line. And if you’re not ready for some big changes, you should leave this room right now.”

Nobody left the room, but everybody knew one thing: We were now working for an asshole. His first directive was to have everyone write down what they did each week and how many hours it took. (If you think anyone’s response didn’t add up to 40 or more hours, you’re pretty naive.) A month later, he called me into his office and told me he was firing our popular food writer, the senior copy editor, and an associate art director. We didn’t need them, he said. The remaining staff could pick up the slack. He didn’t bother to ask how I thought we might be able to save some money on editorial costs; he just made an arbitrary decision.

Any of us who has had to deal with that kind of capricious overlord should be able to relate to what hundreds of thousands of federal employees have been going through recently, as Elon Musk, a man with little understanding of (or respect for) what any of them do, runs a chain saw through their agencies, eliminating people who inspect and direct our airplanes, protect our food from contamination, provide disaster relief, run our national parks, and administer Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid funds. 

Most horrifying of all, Musk has fired 6,700 people at IRS and is seeking access to the financial information of every taxpayer, business, and nonprofit in the country. Giving that kind of power to anyone, let alone an erratic South African billionaire with no official government title, is incredibly foolish. 

Speaking of which: On Saturday, Musk sent the following email to more than a million federal employees at the F.B.I., State Department, Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Personnel Management, Food and Drug Administration, Veterans Affairs Department, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: “Please reply to this email with approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished this week and cc your manager.”

Sound familiar? This kind of directive is so utterly stupid. Who thinks any employee would be unable to come up with five things that they did at their job? And who’s going to review the hundreds of thousands of responses? It’s pointless busy work, meant only to intimidate and induce fear. It’s the tactic of a weak man, someone who thinks he’s running a widget factory, someone with no idea of how to be a real leader. Unfortunately, the Democratic party hasn’t found the courage to call out this reckless deconstruction of our public agencies in any organized or meaningful way. That window is rapidly closing, and it’s time to stand tall. Like a boss. 

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At Large Opinion

Donald. Eric. Ivanka.

A dang woke ATM. (Photo: Bruce VanWyngarden)

Diversity. Equity. Inclusion. 

Those three words are making a lot of people angry these days. And that’s part of the plan. Thanks to the new president and his minions, the shorthand version, “DEI,” has become one of the key weapons in the latest campaign to distract Americans from real issues by getting them angry at each other because of race and gender.

Trump was clear about it during his campaign: “I think there is a definite anti-white feeling in this country,” he said. “I think the laws are very unfair right now.” That message went straight to the heart of his core followers, those inclined to also believe that lazy, white-hating brown people were eating cats and dogs — the beloved pets of real Americans. 

Hate and ignorance are a powerful combination, and those afflicted with it are easily manipulated. “DEI” is now racist code for “smart white men are being replaced by incompetent Black, brown, female, and LGBTQ people.” DEI was blamed for the California wildfires, the mid-air collision over the Potomac River, the flooding in North Carolina, you name it.

I was moved to ponder all this yesterday, as I pulled up to my bank’s drive-through ATM and read these words: “Please select the language you wish to use. Por favor, seleccione el idioma que desea usar.” The ATM screen has offered that option for years, maybe even decades, but now I guess it’s become offensive to some folks. A dang woke ATM. 

But take a moment to think about why that option is there. It’s not because it was mandated by the government. It’s there because a bank — not exactly a woke institution — decided to put it there. And they did it because it was good for business to offer customers the opportunity to use a language that might make it easier for them to do their banking. It was a business decision.

There have been many studies on DEI and its influence on corporate and institutional America. Some findings: Corporations identified as more diverse and inclusive are 35 percent more likely to outperform their competitors. Diverse companies are 70 percent more likely to capture new markets. Diverse teams are 87 percent better at making decisions. Diverse management teams lead to 19 percent higher revenue. Companies employing an equal number of men and women manage to produce up to 41 percent higher revenue. The GDP could increase 26 percent by equally diversifying the workforce. Gender-diverse companies are 15 percent more likely to notice higher financial returns. I could cite references for all of the above, but you know how to google. Bottom line: DEI is good for the bottom line.

Also consider: It was not until 1959 that the then-named Memphis State University allowed Black students to attend. It wasn’t until 1969 that the Ivy League schools began accepting women. (Harvard held off until 1975.) It wasn’t until the 1960s that many Black Americans were able to get into a voting booth in the South.

And it wasn’t until 1974, when the Equal Credit Opportunity Act came into effect, that women in the U.S. could get a credit card or a bank account. The ECOA made it illegal for financial institutions to discriminate based on sex, and later extended that right to anyone, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, age, or receipt of public assistance. In 2011, in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was created to ensure banks and lending companies complied with the ECOA and didn’t defraud their customers. 

On Sunday, Russell Vought, the newly installed director of the Office of Management and Budget, directed the CFPB to stop any investigative work and not begin any new investigations. Consumer protection from business scams is now “woke,” apparently. 

Legislative protections against discrimination toward minority groups have proven to be an essential tool for leveling the playing field in business, education, and other elements of American life. Getting rid of DEI is just another variation of the GOP’s grievance-based politics, another sop for those who think white people are getting screwed. And they are, just not in the way they think they are. Maybe it would help if they took a second to think about those three words — diversity, equity, inclusion — and decide which ones they’re opposed to, and why. 

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State Dems Work to Hold Elon Musk Accountable in Tennessee

The Greater Memphis Chamber's tribute to the xAI decision to move to Memphis last year. (Credit: Greater Memphis Chamber via X)
Posted to X this week by Elon Musk

State Democrats are taking aim at Memphis businessman Elon Musk’s activities involving government benefits and sensitive government data at the federal level. 

House Democratic Leader Rep. Karen Camper (D-Memphis) asked Tennessee General Attorney Jonathan Skrmetti and the District Attorneys General Conference to investigate Musk’s “potential unauthorized access and misuse of sensitive federal data.”  

Meanwhile, state Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville) and state Rep. Jason Powell (D-Nashville) filed a bill to “hold people accountable for unlawfully interfering with the distribution of government benefits that Tennessee families rely on.”

Last year, Musk’s company xAI chose Memphis as the site of his massive artificial intelligence facility. The site powers Grok, the AI program from X.  

Camper on sensitive data

Camper sent a formal letter to Skrmetti and the conference Tuesday to investigate press reports of Musk’s activities through his new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Report say Musk and his office have wide-ranging access to federal payment systems and personnel files of government employees. Camper said these activities could cause data breaches of sensitive information affecting Tennesseans and Tennessee-based federal employees. 

Specifically, Camper wants the AG to review: 

• If any data on Tennesseans of Tennessee-based employees has been accessed or extracted in DOGE’s activities.

• Where is this data now stored and who has custody over it?

• What is the chain of custody for such data?

• Has any data been given to any agency prohibited from handling such information? 

“Additionally, considering Mr. Musk’s public statements regarding his desire to see the United States default on its debts and his history of data misuse for personal gain, it is imperative that he be deposed regarding his intent and purpose in accessing these systems,” Camper wrote in her letter. “The risk of a ‘shock default’ — where the U.S. could default without actionable warning to Congress — poses a serious national security and economic threat that must not be ignored.”

Also, Camper said if Musk was not authorized to access federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM) systems, including disciplinary records, this could allow federal workers grounds to contest or block disciplinary actions. 

The STOP ELON Act

The Trump administration also caused a national shockwave of confusion last week as it paused federal funding to nearly every agency served by the federal government. This meant funds to any government contractor, like nonprofits or research groups, was halted, though they rely on that funding to continue work. 

This policy decision came from Musk’s DOGE. President Donald Trump reversed course on the matter after nationwide concerns on how business could get done. 

For this, Tennessee lawmakers Yarbro and Powell introduced the Shielding Tennesseans from Oligarchic Power & Eliminating Lawless Obstruction of Necessities Act  (The STOP ELON Act). 

The bill would create criminal penalties and a private right of civil action against any individual who obstructs or denies access to federal, state, or local government benefits, including Social Security payments, Medicare benefits, grants, and other financial distributions.

“If Elon Musk illegally hurts Tennesseans, he should go to jail regardless of being a trillionaire or whatever and regardless of whether he’s got a permission slip from the president,” Yarbro said in a statement. “Whether through malice or incompetence, if he unlawfully blocks our citizens from getting their Social Security checks or reimbursement from Medicaid or Medicare, his vast wealth should be on the table to compensate the people who get hurt.”

Rep. Powell emphasized the intent of the bill is to prevent abuses of power and ensure accountability, regardless of a person’s wealth or connections. 

The law would put fines and prison time on those who would obstruct lawful government payments. Obstructions of benefits valued at $1,000 or less would be a Class A misdemeanor. As the amount of benefits go up, so do the fines and penalties, up to $250,000 and prison time. Those harmed would be given a legal pathway to sue for damages in state courts.   

“Tennesseans who work hard and play by the rules should never have to worry about a billionaire meddling in their financial security,” said Powell in a statement. “People like Elon Musk need to understand that they are not invincible and the STOP ELON Act makes it crystal clear — no one is above the law. If you interfere with a person’s rightful benefits, you will be held accountable.”

It’s not yet known how state Republicans will respond to Camper’s request or the STOP ELON Act. However, House Majority Leader Rep. William Lamberth (R-Portland) reposted this from Musk on X Tuesday.

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At Large Opinion

Cold Play

Greenland: We “need” it. Apparently. (Photo: Rokas Tenys | Dreamstime.com)

If you had Greenland being invaded by the United States on your 2025 bingo card, congratulations! You may be a winner. The Financial Times reported last Friday on a 45-minute phone call made by Donald Trump, the newly elected president of the U.S., to Mette Frederiksen, the premier of Denmark, a longtime NATO ally. The results weren’t encouraging.

According to the Financial Times, Frederiksen “emphasized” to Trump that the world’s largest island — a self-governing territory of the kingdom of Denmark — was not for sale. That apparently went about as well as you would expect, given the intellectual maturity of our current commander in chief.

The FT spoke to “five current and former senior European officials” who had been briefed on the call, each of whom said the conversation had gone badly. Trump was “aggressive and confrontational,” said one of the officials. “He was very firm. Before, it was hard to take it seriously. But I do think it is serious, and potentially very dangerous.”

You have to forgive the Danes for being a bit shocked. They have had dibs on Greenland for a long time — since 986 A.D., to be semi-exact. That’s 1,039 years, certainly long enough to have gotten a little attached to the place. Now, out of the blue, comes a call from the leader of the most powerful nation on Earth and his message is, basically, “Gimme your biggest piece of land.”

To quote The Don more precisely: “People really don’t even know if Denmark has any legal right to it, but if they do, they should give it up because we need it for national security.” Simple as that. Give it to us because we “need” it. It’s a geopolitical version of The Godfather. “It’d be a shame if something were to happen to your cute little kingdom, Mette. So hand over the island, capiche?” She’s lucky she wasn’t in the same room with him. No telling what he would have grabbed.

The truth is, “people” actually do know if Denmark has a right to Greenland. And the answer is yes, they do — and have for over a millenium. Equally true is the fact that the United States has absolutely no claim to the place. Zero. Yet Trump is on record as saying he wouldn’t rule out military action to seize Greenland, which is an act of war. Forcibly taking the territory of one of our NATO allies is such a bonkers concept that some pundits are writing that Trump is just posturing — playing three-dimensional chess — in order to distract us from his horrible cabinet appointees and batshit presidential orders by making these outlandish (Ha-ha!) feints at taking sovereign territory from our allies.

Nope. He’s not that clever. Yes. He really does appear to be that delusional.

According to the NATO treaty, an act of aggression toward one NATO member is seen as an attack on all members. So what Trump is dancing around by threatening Denmark is a circumstance that could put the U.S. in a military stare-down against Great Britain, France, Germany, and all the other NATO powers. Like World War II, only this time we’re the bad guys. 

Trump seems to see Greenland, like Canada (who he’s pitched as a “51st state”), and the Panama Canal (“We’re taking it back.”), as nice additions to his North American Monopoly collection. Oh, and we’ve renamed the Gulf of Mexico because why not? (No word yet on whether my hometown of Mexico, Missouri, will become America, Missouri.)

If it weren’t so insane, all of this would be comedy gold, ripe material for a wacky Broadway farce: The Emperor Has No Clues. But imagine how terrifying all this is to the rest of the world. Imagine how we’d feel if China or Russia or some other nuclear power was suddenly being led by an erratic buffoon who was calling Australia and demanding they hand over New Zealand.

To most of the other civilized countries on planet Earth, the United States appears to have lost its freaking mind. How do you begin to comprehend a country that elects Barack Obama, then Donald Trump, then Joe Biden, and then Trump again? It’s not normal. None of this is normal. We’re all in Greenland now.

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Opinion Viewpoint

The Pain of Not Knowing

Photo: picture.jacker | Dreamstime.com

At work, the therapist often shares a psychoeducational handout that describes ways to cope with anxiety. The recommended tools of deep breathing and meditation can be helpful, and yet she doubts they are adequate in the present situation. Even classic cognitive restructuring — scaling back worst-case-scenario thinking — seems to her duplicitous. She wants to conjure exercises that banish all anxiety, particularly worries around Trump’s threats of mass deportation. But she isn’t that good. 

Undocumented immigrants living in the United States have been in this spot before, and so has the therapist, who worked in this small office eight years ago, when Trump first set up residence in the White House. She has waited for this fear to resurface as a concern for those who visit the family medicine clinic to treat diabetes or high blood pressure and then stop in to discuss their life stressors. Soon after the 2024 presidential election, a patient brought up Trump’s aggressive threats. “I don’t belong anywhere in this country,” she said sadly. Some patients report difficulty controlling worrying, trouble relaxing, and feeling as if something catastrophic might happen. 

Trained to maintain confidentiality, the therapist nevertheless believed back in 2017 that it was important to move outside the bubble of therapy and raise awareness of the toxic impact Trump’s immigration policies had on mental health. During Trump’s first term, she wrote an article for Memphis Parent magazine introducing Karla’s story. An article reflecting similar concerns could be written today. “Sixteen-year-old Karla plans a special Mother’s Day celebration. The high school junior will serve breakfast in bed to her mom, honoring her mother’s presence in her life. Throughout the day, she’ll try to push aside the anxiety she has experienced the past few months. ‘I try to cherish every moment.’ Inevitably, though, she will read a news report or social media post outlining President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. Karla is a U.S. citizen, and her parents are undocumented immigrants from Mexico. ‘I worry that one day my parents may not come back to my house,’ she said. ‘My 9-year-old sister looks at the news and worries when someone knocks on the door.’” 

When at school, the distracted girls found it difficult to concentrate on academics. In many ways, Karla’s parents were typical — they worked hard, paid taxes, and built strong relationships in the community. The children looked forward to attending college. 

Another source for the article was Mauricio Calvo, the director of Latino Memphis, who said, “Children are hearing the conversation at the dinner table, ‘What happens if I don’t come back today?’ For a community where family is everything, the fear of separation touches us at our core. People fear that any interaction with the government will result in deportation — applying for food stamps for their U.S. citizen families, or going to any court, not just immigration court. Some skip doctors’ appointments, and fear of deportation may prevent crime victims from filing police reports. Even if nothing happens, anxiety makes people sick.”

He noted that at one elementary school, parents from four families approached a teacher, pleading with her to take custody of their children in the event of their deportation. 

That year, local artist Yancy Villa shared her perspective with the Barrier Free installation displayed in pop-ups around the country. In silhouettes portraying a father carrying a child and a caregiver pushing a wheelchair, the artist left void spaces representing missing persons. Her project built on the controversial idea of Trump’s proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Instead of concrete, the installation consisted of portraits of local families and individuals representing Memphis’ diverse tapestry. “Everyone is an essential part of our community, and separating us, physically, emotionally, or in any other form, makes our community incomplete,” she said.

It is now early 2025 just after the festive holiday season. In some areas of Mexico and the United States, children recently celebrated Epiphany, commonly known as Three Kings Day or El Día de Los Tres Reyes, by leaving out shoes filled with hay for the kings’ camels. It is a happy and joyful time. Weeks later, the 60th presidential inauguration ceremony took place, ushering in a period with many unknowns. It is vital for undocumented immigrants to know their rights, and the Latino Memphis website describes those rights and how to apply them.

The therapist is not fluent in Spanish, the “heart language” of many patients, and relies on medical interpreters to facilitate conversations about the ways of the heart and mind. Still, the pain comes through loud and clear, and Mauricio Calvo’s words from eight years ago return to the therapist. “Even if nothing happens, anxiety makes people sick.” 

Stephanie Painter is a behavioral health consultant and freelance writer.

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Nonprofit Immigration Organization Prepares For Increased Vigilance Under Trump Administration

Photo by K E on Unsplash

A local nonprofit is working to increase awareness of the services they offer for immigrants as promises made by Governor Bill Lee may soon come to fruition – with harmful consequences.

Earlier this week the governor called for a special session of the Tennessee General Assembly on January 27 to discuss a number of topics such as illegal immigration. Officials said this is to prepare for the implementation of policies introduced by the incoming Trump administration.

“The American people elected President Trump with a mandate to enforce immigration laws and protect our communities, and Tennessee must have the resources ready to support the Administration on Day One,” a statement from Lee’s office said.

Prior to this announcement, Lee said he would  work with state law enforcement agencies to conduct deportations. He also signed a statement along with 25 other Republican governors announcing their commitment to the Trump administration’s effort to deport what they referred to as “illegal immigrants who pose a threat to our communities and national security” and “dangerous criminals, gang members, and terrorists.”

“We understand the direct threat these criminal illegal immigrants pose to public safety and our national security, and we will do everything in our power to assist in removing them from our communities,” the statement added.

Casey Bryant, the executive director and founder for Advocates for Immigrant Rights is making sure that the community is aware of the resources available to them in light of these threats. 

“The real danger in that is creating a police state where someone who looks suspicious in some way to someone could be wrapped up in a system that doesn’t grant basic due process rights to people,” Bryant said. “It doesn’t just make this world more dangerous and insecure for people who are non-citizens, but it makes it more dangerous and insecure for people who look like non-citizens — whatever that means.”

When policies like these, which rely on visual identification, Bryant added they end up “degrading the rights of the whole.”

Bryant started Advocates for Immigrant Rights in October 2018, after realizing the gap in resources for immigrants given the landscape that the previous Trump administration created. The organization has evolved from a two-people operation to one with 17 staff members, including five staff attorneys – three of which are located in Memphis. Bryant and her team represent people in immigration courts and immigration offices across Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi.

Advocates for Immigrant Rights also provides wraparound services such as social services.

Bryant said that this increased vigilance could also lead to resources having an increased workload such as the facilities needed to process and hold noncitizens if they’ve been detained. These include the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities along with places in between arriving there.

She added that immigration courts that already have an “immense” backlog of cases could be affected.

“Adding more cases to that means that they won’t get processed for like 10 years,” Bryant said. “It puts people in a state of limbo for a long time, and it’s just impracticable. In the meantime it creates fear and suspicion in communities and non-citizens aren’t going to be able to engage confidently in society.”

In hopes of helping immigrants engage in society confidently, Bryant and her team make sure to stay visible in these communities as well.

“Our relationship isn’t just moored in a service provision,” Bryant said. “Even if our interactions are only transactional, each interaction has the same mentality that we’re not above them. We’re not sitting in an ivory tower. We’re just people wearing jeans and a t-shirt interacting with people who may not know what we know, but obviously they know other stuff, so we try to build rapport and confidence.”

Bryant stressed that there are way more people who need their services, than those who can provide. As a result Bryant encourages people to donate to their organization as they are a nonprofit.

“Another thing individual people can do is acknowledge the shared humanity and dignity of our neighbors who may not have the same kind of privilege to have been born in our country and take it for granted,” Bryant said. “Non-citizens have to know more than we do before they get to be a citizen.”

It’s extremely important to refute ill-informed rhetoric that can be spewed by media outlets and “mouths at family dinner tables.”

“We have a community here that has to deal with different issues and being more understanding of what those issues are will help us unite as a people,” Bryant said.

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Lee Confirms He’ll Use National Guard If Trump Wants It

Governor Bill Lee speaks at TCAT Nashville. Photographs by John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout ©2025

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee confirmed Wednesday for the first time he would deploy National Guard troops to deport undocumented immigrants if President-elect Donald Trump makes the request.

Speaking to reporters after a groundbreaking event at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology on White Bridge Road in Nashville, Lee said no plan exists for Trump’s strategy to remove criminals who came into America illegally and no requests have been made to use Tennessee National Guard troops for deportation. 

Yet Lee said he fully supports Trump’s plan to remove criminals that are undocumented immigrants, even though the next president has talked, not necessarily about removing criminals, but about deporting some 18 million immigrants, including U.S. citizens who are the children of undocumented parents.

“What I believe is that President Trump was elected saying what he wanted to do and the people elected him in a very strong fashion,” Lee said. “And I am supportive of his strategies going forward, and if that includes utilizing the national guard at the president’s request, then I’ll work together with governors across the country to do that.”

Lee previously issued a statement saying he asked state agencies to prepare to support Trump’s efforts to secure the nation’s borders and keep communities safe. That came after he spoke vaguely about the matter in a December press conference, saying the next president will set his strategies and the state would work to “implement strategies that work for Tennessee.”

Tennessee immigrant rights group condemns Gov. Lee’s commitment to support Trump deportations

He said that a day before the Republican Governors Association issued a letter signed by Lee saying it stands “united” in supporting Trump’s commitment to deal with the “illegal immigration crisis and deporting illegal immigrants who pose a threat to our communities and national security.”

The governor declined to speculate Wednesday about whether troops from some states might go into other states to deport immigrants if governors refuse to follow Trump’s orders to deploy their national guards.

A one-time mass deportation of about 11 million people who lack permanent legal status and 2.3 million more who crossed the U.S. southern border from January 2023 through April 2024 could cost an estimated $315 billion, according to the American Immigration Council.

The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition previously condemned Lee’s commitment, saying the move would hurt families and the local economy. The immigrant rights group said business leaders, economists, faith leaders and legal experts believe such a plan would be “disastrous.”

Republican leaders in the Tennessee legislature back Lee’s willingness to use troops, while Democrats criticize it as an attack on the immigrant community.

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.

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Gov. Lee Readies State Agencies for Trump Deportations on “Day 1”

Gov. Bill Lee addressing members of the Tennessee National Guard while on a trip to the Texas-Mexico border in July 2021. Lee has indicated he may use state personnel, including National Guard troops, to aid in the deportation of millions of immigrants.(Photo: tn.gov)

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee is set to use state personnel, likely National Guard troops and highway patrol officers, to back President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to deport millions of immigrants when he takes office in January 2025.

The Republican governor issued a statement on the social media platform X last week saying, “I have asked key state agencies to begin making preparations & stand ready on Day 1 to support President Trump’s efforts to secure our Nation’s borders & keep communities safe.”

The statement marked the governor’s first confirmation that he is willing to use Tennessee personnel, which could include troops and state officers, to remove undocumented immigrants as part of a national effort by Trump to deport millions of people.

Lee sent the message on the heels of a statement from the Republican Governors Association saying it stands “united” in supporting Trump’s commitment to deal with the “illegal immigration crisis and deporting illegal immigrants who pose a threat to our communities and national security.”

Via X: “I have asked key state agencies to begin making preparations & stand ready on Day 1 to support President Trump’s efforts to secure our Nation’s borders & keep communities safe.”

Read more here: https://t.co/qWl7FJbM2A

— Gov. Bill Lee (@GovBillLee) December 16, 2024

A one-time mass deportation of about 11 million people who lack permanent legal status and 2.3 million more who crossed the U.S. southern border from January 2023 through April 2024 could cost an estimated $315 billion, according to the American Immigration Council. 

The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition condemned Lee’s commitment, saying such a move would hurt families and the local economy. The group said Lee and 25 Republican governors signed a letter committing to “utilize every tool” at their disposal, which would include state law enforcement and the National Guard.

The immigrant rights group said such a plan has been deemed “disastrous” by business leaders, economists, faith leaders and legal experts.

“Whether fleeing danger or seeking opportunity, immigrants enrich our state and strengthen our communities. Rounding up families is not just a moral disaster, but an economic one, crippling our businesses and agriculture and grinding production to a halt,” the coalition said in a statement. “Further, the state resources wasted on mass deportations could instead provide housing, healthcare, and education for Tennessee working families.”

“I don’t think ICE is big enough to handle all that due to the number of people who’ve come across the border who are criminals and committed crimes,” said House Speaker Cameron Sexton of using state resources. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Yet key Republican lawmakers are in the governor’s corner.

In a statement to the Tennessee Lookout, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally said, “The illegal immigration crisis, which has been untenable for many years, exploded under the Biden administration. The voters of our state and our nation have made it clear that they want the crisis resolved and President Trump is committed to resolving it. Activating the National Guard to secure our border and assist with deportations is entirely appropriate. I believe the legislature would and should approve such an effort.”

House Speaker Cameron Sexton told the Lookout last week governors would make decisions with the federal government but added that he supports removal of some immigrants.

“You’ve gotta get illegals who’ve committed crimes in our country out of the country,” Sexton said. “I don’t care where they are, you’ve gotta get them out. I don’t think ICE is big enough to handle all that due to the number of people who’ve come across the border who are criminals and committed crimes.”

While Sexton spoke about immigrants charged with crimes since coming to America, Trump hasn’t always differentiated between that group and other immigrants who make up a large sector of the nation’s workforce.

Trump’s pick for “border czar,” Tom Homan, has said the president-elect made it clear he would prioritize deportation for immigrants who are gang members and considered dangerous, while also saying anyone in the country illegally “shouldn’t feel comfortable.”

Although the Republican Governors Association accused President Joe Biden of failing to secure the border, a report by the Migration Policy Institute shows the Biden Administration is on track to remove nearly as many people as the Trump Administration — 1.1 million for the roughly three years from the start of fiscal 2021 through February 2024 — compared to 1.5 million deportations during Trump’s four years of 2016 to 2020.

The report says the Biden Administration also undertook 3 million migrant expulsions during the Covid pandemic era from March 2020 to May 2023 for a total of almost 4.4 million repatriations.

Since the Covid ban on migration ended, the Biden administration increased deportations and removed or returned 775,000 migrants, the most since 2010, according to the migrationpolicy.org article.

Still, Trump has touched on using federal troops to assist in deportation, and Republican governors are showing a willingness to put state troops and officers into the fray.

The immigrant rights coalition said the governor’s statement gives local law enforcement and the National Guard a “rubber stamp” to “overstep their jurisdiction and forcefully detain our neighbors,” which sets a “dangerous precedent for all Tennesseans.”

If illegal immigration is as big a problem in Tennessee as Lee now claims and we have the legal authority to do something about it, then Tennesseans should ask Gov. Lee and this Republican supermajority why the state has failed to do more.

– Rep. John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville

The coalition’s statement adds the governor is “placing a dark stain on our state” and that it is “ready to defend our communities and protect one another.”

State Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville) said the governor’s use of “bigoted talking points” is causing hostility toward his constituents. He encouraged the governor to visit his district in South Nashville to see the “thriving” businesses and children studying in local schools.

Clemmons acknowledged that dangerous criminals, gang members and terrorists in the country illegally should be removed. He added that the legislature approved $161 million for the Department of Homeland Security, $110 million to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and $18 million to the Military Department for related purposes.

“If illegal immigration is as big a problem in Tennessee as Lee now claims and we have the legal authority to do something about it, then Tennesseans should ask Gov. Lee and this Republican supermajority why the state has failed to do more,” Clemmons said.

Clemmons, though, said he believes the state’s jurisdiction and ability to enforce federal immigration policies could be entangled in “complex legal questions.”

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.