Tennessee Officials Demand Biden Administration Reverse Plan to Send ICE Detainees to State

Tennessee’s governor, U.S. senators, and attorney general are all calling on the Biden administration to reverse a reported plan to release Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees into the state.

Republican Gov. Bill Lee received notice from the Biden administration on Monday afternoon of the intent to transport “multiple busloads of single adult detainees from ICE facilities in New Orleans into Tennessee, beginning as soon as this week,” according to a press release.

The governor’s office said in an email that no further details had been released to state officials. Republican Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee also called on the Biden administration to reverse the decision.

A representative for Blackburn’s office noted in an email that no further information had been released to the state’s federal delegation, either.

“We’ve been informed by ICE that they plan to release single adult detainees into Tennessee while they await court proceedings,” the governor said in the release. “This is irresponsible and a threat to the safety of Tennesseans. Furthermore, we already have a national security crisis at our border, and the Biden administration’s attempt to revoke Title 42 will only incentivize more illegal crossings.”

Title 42 allows immigration officials to quickly expel migrants who enter the United States during a public health emergency. Title 42 was invoked by the Trump administration in March 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. Supreme Court paused the Biden administration’s plan to let Title 42 expire after 19 states filed an emergency application for a stay.

“It’s not compassionate to perpetuate a problem that leads to more exploitation and trafficking,” the governor continued. “Placing the burden on states is not a solution, and we should not bear the brunt of the federal government’s failures. We are demanding the Biden administration reverse their plan for detainee relocation. In the meantime, we’re also discussing options with the Tennessee Attorney General and our federal delegation.”

Tennessee Officials Exploring All Options

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said the state should not be forced to bear the burden of the “federal government’s ongoing failure to secure the border.”

“As Attorney General, I have seen how our porous border has allowed the opioid epidemic to metastasize into a fentanyl epidemic as Mexican factories turn Chinese chemicals into drugs that kill thousands of Americans,” Skrmetti said in a statement. “Every day that we fail to secure our border, we allow these terrible harms to continue.”

Skrmetti’s office said they are exploring “all options” to respond to the plan.

“The lack of appropriate notice and the lack of transparency by both the federal government and its local partners means we must work quickly, but we are committed to ensuring the safety of Tennessee’s citizens,” he added.

Blackburn said that under the Biden administration’s border crisis, “every town is a border town and every state is a border state.”

“Biden created this crisis by terminating successful Trump-era immigration policies, including Remain in Mexico and safe third country agreements,” Blackburn said in a statement. “Tennesseans will not stand for this flagrant disregard for law and order.”

Hagerty echoed other officials, stating that when he visited the border in April, he learned from officials there that drugs and people do not stay along the border.

“Today’s news underscores what I’ve heard from Tennessee law enforcement time and again, which is that our open border has turned every town into a border town,” he said. “This has brought heartbreaking consequences to communities throughout America in the form of increased drug overdoses. It has strained resources for hospitals, schools, and local communities.”

He added the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress have put forth a government funding bill that will “exacerbate the crisis by increasing funding for resettling operations.”

The Epoch Times reached out to the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, and the White House for comment. They did not respond by press time.

Chase is an award-winning journalist. He covers Tennessee and other parts of the Southeast for The Epoch Times.