Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights
The TIRRC (Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights) is at every turn to stop anything they deem anti-illegal immigration, though they disguise it as anti-immigration Many in Nashville recognize what is happening to a very well known southern city and the transformation due to an enormous illegal alien population.
The seriousness of the situation has resulted in implementation of the 287 (g) by Sheriff Daron Hall and other measures such as the English only bill etc.
Illegal Landlord/Business Bills Deferred Indefinitely
English Only Bill Advances to Third Reading
Thank you so much to everyone who came to the Nashville Metro Council meeting last Tuesday night, and who has contacted Nashville Metro Council members in recent weeks to oppose the three anti-immigrant bills under consideration. Approximately 200 community members showed up on November 21st to oppose the discriminatory ordinances, and our efforts have been rewarded. Two bills down, one to go. The third and final reading for the English Only bill is on December 5th, and we have just one week to prevent our city from joining an unseemly club—the host of local governments around the country that believe making life harder for immigrants will somehow fix our broken immigration system or safeguard our national identity.
EMAIL THE METRO COUNCIL HERE
What Happened at Tuesday’s Meeting?
(Tennessean coverage / City Paper coverage)
Illegal Landlord / Illegal Business ordinances (Jim Gotto, 883-3087), DEFERRED INDEFINITELY —In a welcome show of respect for constitutionality and the law, Councilman Gotto said that it would be in our city’s best interest to wait until the Hazelton case is resolved in the courts before pursuing similar measures in Nashville (our ordinances are taken from a single ordinance in Hazelton, PA; in fact, the name "Hazelton" is still included in the text of one of the Nashville bills). While these bills are only deferred and not defeated, it is unlikely that Councilman Gotto will choose to ignore the concerns so vocally expressed by the Nashville Chamber of Commerce, the Metro Council legal department, civil and immigrant rights organizations, and thousands of immigrant community members.
English-only ordinance (Eric Crafton, 352-7808), PASSED ON SECOND READING—The sponsor argued that it’s "a curse" to be a bilingual nation, and such legislation is necessary to prevent the US from becoming one. "No nation can withstand the antagonism, tension and conflict brought about by multilingualism and multiculturalism." He went on to argue that forcing people to speak English will "allow [them] the dignity of taking responsibility for their own lives and actions." Apparently, immigrants can’t be dignified if they need some translation assistance.
As expected, the English-only ordinance did pass on second reading. The encouraging news is that it passed with only 21 votes in favor, the bare minimum of support it will need to pass on third reading and become law. (On third reading, a bill needs the majority of council votes, and there are 40 council seats in all; any "no" vote, abstention, or absence counts against the bill). Click here for a printable vote count.
Also on an encouraging note, the council voted to support Councilwoman Neighbor’s pro-immigrant/pro-English resolution, which asks the Mayor to study the impact of English Only legislation, and to determine if it might actually slow English acquisition among immigrants who are linguistically isolated. We need to highlight the passage of this resolution when we talk with our council members, and point out the potential unintended consequences of restrictive and punitive legislation. We can all agree that English acquisition is vital for the success of new immigrants; we wouldn’t want to advance public policy that actually slows this acquisition or prevents further integration into our communities.
SIX DAYS LEFT TO CONTACT COUNCIL MEMBERS!!
Please continue to contact your council member to oppose this bill (see talking points and how your council member voted below). Every council member can be reached collectively at the group email address: councilmembers@nashville.gov. If you prefer, you can go to the council’s webpage and find each council member’s individual email address and phone number.
Please also consider contacting council members in bold letters below. It is very important that we contact council members who abstained from voting or were absent, and make sure they don’t shift to the "yes" column. There are also several council members who voted "yes," but who are known to be open to reasonable arguments. Finally, please take a minute to thank your council member if he or she had the courage to vote "no" on second reading.
ABSTAIN votes (5)
Buck Dozier (Madison), buck.dozier@nashville.gov, 615-868-4042
Diane Neighbors (At-large), diane.neighbors@nashville.gov, 615-262-2807
Walter Hunt (Whites Creek), walter.hunt@nashville.gov, 615-876-3367
Anna Page (Nolensville Road), anna.page@nashville.gov
Jim Hodge (Haywood Lane), hodgedistrict30@bellsouth.net, 615-255-2703, ex17
ABSENT for vote (4)
Jamie Isabel (Bordeaux), jamie.isabel@nashville.gov, 615-255-1506
Erik Cole (East Nashville), erik.cole@nashville.gov, 615-228-1337
Randy Foster (South Davidson), randy.foster@nashville.gov, 615-834-0562
Jason Alexander (Antioch), jason.alexander@nashville.gov, 615-367-4424
YES votes (21)
Rip Ryman (Goodlettsville), rip.ryman@nashville.gov, 615-859-0409
Billy Joe Walls (West Nashville), billyjoe.walls@nashville.gov, 615-353-6248
Emily Evans (Belle Meade), emily.evans@nashville.gov, 615-356-6294
John Summers (Sylvan Park), john.summers@nashville.gov, 615-386-9660
Greg Adkins (Crieve Hall), greg.adkins@nashville.gov, 615-832-2767
Sam Coleman (Antioch), sam.coleman@nashville.gov, 615-641-5168
Carolyn Baldwin Tucker (At-large), carolyn.tucker@nashville.gov, 615-868-4060
Michael Craddock (Madison), michael.craddock@nashville.gov, 615-226-0521
Pam Murray (Cleveland Park), pam.murray@nashville.gov, 615-248-3556
Jason Hart (Inglewood), jason.hart@nashville.gov, 615-262-6010
Feller Brown (Old Hickory), feller.brown@nashville.gov, 615-847-3958
Jim Gotto (Hermitage), jim.gotto@nashville.gov, 615-883-3087
Carl Burch (Donelson), carl.burch@nashville.gov, 615-883-3695
Harold White (Donelson), whw777@comcast.net, 615-889-6572
J.B. Loring (Donelson), j.b.loring@nashville.gov, 615-885-0780
Ludye Wallace (Downtown), ludye.wallace@nashville.gov, 615-329-4356
Edward Whitmore (North Nashville), edward.whitmore@nashville.gov, 615-321-0795
Eric Crafton (West Nashville), eric.crafton@nashville.gov, 615-352-7808
Vivian Wilhoite (Antioch), vivian.wilhoite@nashville.gov, 615-589-2003
Robert Duvall (Antioch), robert.duvall@nashville.gov, 615-641-7313
Charlie Tygard (Bellevue), charlie.tygard@nashville.gov, 615-646-3295
NO votes (10)
David Briley (At-large), david.briley@nashville.gov, 615-429-6533
Adam Dread (At-large), adam.dread@nashville.gov, 615-485-5683
Brenda Gilmore (Bordeaux), brenda.gilmore@nashville.gov, 615-876-3665
Mike Jameson (East Nashville), mike.jameson@nashville.gov, 615-227-5940
Jim Forkum (Madison), jim.forkum@nashville.gov, 615-868-4164
Ronnie Greer (Woodland-in-Waverly), ronnie.greer@nashville.gov, 615-385-2893
Ginger Hausser (West End), ginger.hausser@nashville.gov, 615-291-6718
Jim Shulman (Green Hills), jim.shulman@nashville.gov, 615-292-4344
Parker Toler (South Davidson), parker.toler@nashville.gov, 615-376-2952
Lynn Williams (Green Hills), lynn.williams@nashville.gov, 615-385-3859
Talking Points
English Only Ordinance (BL2006-1185, Crafton)—declares English the official language and prohibits all Metro communications from being translated/interpreted. The bill was amended to make exceptions for requirements of "federal law or when necessary to protect or promote public health, safety or welfare."
Hurts Nashville’s Attempts to Welcome Diversity—This ordinance targets and discriminates against all foreign-born people in Nashville, including refugees who have come to this country to escape discrimination and persecution.
Makes Learning English Harder—Today’s immigrants are learning English the same way our grandparents did—by getting out into the community and interacting with native speakers of the language. This ordinance seeks to further isolate immigrants, making it much more difficult to learn English.
Threatens Public Safety—Who will determine what translations are necessary to promote public safety? Individual metro employees? Imposing an artificial language barrier creates confusion, and will threaten public safety for all Nashvillians.
Fails to Address Immigration Issues—This ordinance has nothing to do with illegal immigration, and would harm the lives of all people struggling to learn English, regardless of their immigration status. Immigrants and refugees must learn English before they can apply for U.S. citizenship. Over the many years that they wait for processing, they must be able to access the essential functions of government.
Hurts the Local Economy—This bill says to new businesses and students considering Nashville, foreign people are not welcome. According to the Nashville Chamber of Commerce, investment in Tennessee from Japan alone exceeded $9.4 billion in 2004, creating over 40,000 jobs.
http://www.tnimmigrant.org/TN_Coalition/Mailings/EnglishOrdinance112206.html