State House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, speaks about the Republican party's legislative package of bills on immigration during a news conference Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Republican leaders in Tennessee have been working with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller to test the limits of the Trump administration’s anti-immigration agenda.

Last month, Knoxville News Sentinel reported that Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) has been meeting with Miller for months to craft new legislation that will be a blueprint for other Republican-controlled states.

“It’s really alarming,” Lisa Sherman-Luna, executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, told The Guardian. “We have folks in office who are really creating infrastructure for the secret police, with zero accountability, total impunity, legitimizing the way that ICE is behaving, wearing masks or civilian clothes, not identifying themselves and giving these guys license to behave in whatever way they desire without an ability for the public to hold them accountable.”

House Bill 1464, introduced by Sexton, makes it a felony to make public certain records relating to immigration operations and the personal information of local and federal law enforcement officials taking part in them.

Senate Bill 268, which was first introduced last year, would charge tuition to the parents or legal guardians of a “pupil who is not lawfully residing in this state.” The bill did not advance because of concerns that it violates Plyler v. Doe, a 1982 Supreme Court decision that established a constitutional right for undocumented children to receive a public education.

“We’re not clear where the Supreme Court is going to land on certain issues,” Sherman-Luna continued. “And the state legislature doesn’t care that things are unconstitutional. They’re betting on the Supreme Court ruling in their favor, and they’re trying to change the Constitution through these kinds of laws.”

Last month, Sexton and GOP leaders held a press conference announcing the package of bills. During the event, Sexton criticized Minnesota for making it “less safe to be a police officer or federal agent” due to protests in response to the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, among other federal actions.

“Look at Minnesota,” Sexton said. “Is Minnesota holding those individuals accountable? Are they holding them accountable for blocking streets? No. You can’t block streets in Tennessee. You’re going to be held accountable or you’re going to go to jail. And Minnesota is just a wild, wild west. They allow people to do anything. It’s actually a detriment to law enforcement. They’re making it less safe to be a police officer or a federal agent in Minnesota.”