Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has joined a coalition of 22 states in supporting Texas's state law SB4. This law makes illegal immigration into Texas a state crime and permits state magistrates and judges to order individuals who have crossed the border illegally to return to their country of origin.
"Tennessee stands with Texas as it protects its citizens from the ongoing federal failure to secure our southern border," stated Attorney General Skrmetti. "The federal government has abdicated its duty at the border. Until the federal open border policies are fixed, the states as sovereign governments have both the right and the responsibility to protect their citizens."
The amicus brief submitted by these states argues that they have an obligation to address public crises affecting their citizens. It emphasizes, "States also bear an obligation to their citizens to address the attendant public crisis. That obligation implicates one of Amici States’ core sovereign prerogatives—enacting legislation pursuant to their police powers to protect their citizens’ safety… Relatedly, Amici States have a paramount interest in ensuring that their validly enacted state laws are not improperly held unconstitutional under incorrect preemption analyses."
Legal challenges against SB4 were initiated by the U.S. government and private plaintiffs, leading to an injunction by a U.S. District Court. However, this injunction was temporarily stayed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Attorney General Skrmetti is joined by Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming on this amicus brief co-led by Ohio and South Carolina.