ICAP, in partnership with the American Immigration Council (AIC) and the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), is challenging the constitutionality of a Tennessee law that criminalizes the harboring of undocumented immigrants, regardless of intent to conceal, if the person doing the harboring receives some financial benefit. This state law extends far beyond the federal law criminalizing the harboring of noncitizens by defining “harbor” as “to provide shelter,” which could make it a crime for a landlord to rent an apartment to a noncitizen or a church to host noncitizens for worship, gatherings, or other services if the church accepts donations for those ministries.
We represent the Southeastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which is composed of 160 congregations across various states in the South, as well as a local landlord and a Tennessee parent. We argue that the law is unconstitutional because immigration regulation in this area is reserved for the federal government, leaving no room for states to operate, and the vague terms of the law make it impossible for an ordinary person to know what conduct is criminal. We have sued every district attorney general in Tennessee and are seeking a permanent injunction prohibiting enforcement of the law.
