Tennessee neighborhoods prepare to defend immigrants
*Why you should read this: Because it illustrates two things, one, that U.S Latinos are coming together to support the immigrants in their communities; and two, that even in the “boonies,” as one young Tennessee Latino organizer put it, the Latino community is growing. VL
By Ariana Maia Sawyer, The Tennessan (4 minute read) 
Neighborhoods across Tennessee are forming defense committees and rapid response plans to prepare for possible raids by federal immigration authorities.
Read more stories about the resistance to Trump’s immigration plan. >>
The preparations come in the wake of President Donald Trump’s executive orders threatening federal funding to sanctuary cities and directing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to broaden its focus on which unauthorized immigrants should be deported. Any person in the country without a legal status is now at risk of deportation.
In just one week last month, nearly 600 immigrants were rounded up in a half-dozen states. And the Department of Homeland Security implemented Trump’s public registry Monday putting pressure on so-called sanctuary cities or municipalities that decline voluntary requests to detain immigrants without a warrant signed by a judge.
The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, responsible for coordinating the neighborhood defense committees, called DHS’ recent memos on how to implement the executive orders “terrifying.”
The defense committees exist in at least 24 cities across the state so far, including major cities and more rural municipalities such as Gallatin, Columbia, Smithville and Morristown, said Stephanie Teatro, TIRRC's co-executive director. They work to ensure immigrants know their rights, have access to information about policy changes and immigration raids, and lead local campaigns to stop deportations.
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[Photo curtesy of Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition]
