newsletter 06/24/25

Challenging Tennessee’s “Anti-Harboring” Law

The Supreme Court has been clear that the federal government has exclusive authority to determine immigration policy for the entire nation, but that didn’t stop Tennessee from enacting its own version of an anti-harboring law that sweeps more broadly than the federal law and leaves people uncertain of what could get them criminally prosecuted.  Whereas federal law criminalizes the knowing harboring of undocumented immigrants with intent to conceal them, the new Tennessee law defines “harbor” to mean “to provide shelter” to someone the person knows has illegally entered or remained in the U.S., regardless of any intent to conceal, if there is some financial benefit to the person.  It could make it a crime for a landlord to rent an apartment to immigrants, a parent to provide housing to an undocumented child who helps pay the bills, or a church to host immigrants in its building for worship, a potluck, or and English-as-a-second-language class if it receives donations for that work.

That’s why ICAP is challenging the law on behalf of a local landlord, a Tennessee parent, and the Southeastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which provides housing and other services for asylum seekers.  We argue not only that the state law is constitutionally preempted by federal law, but also that its unconstitutionally vague terms make it impossible for a person to know what conduct might land it on the wrong side of the law.  We seek an immediate injunction to stop the enforcement of the law. 

Read the full complaint and motion for preliminary injunction for more details.