By Michael Gryboski, Editor Wednesday, June 25, 2025

A synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is suing Tennessee over a recently passed law that prohibits individuals from harboring people who entered the country illegally.

The ELCA Southeastern Synod is the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit filed last week in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, joined by two individuals who have close ties to people who unlawfully entered the country. 

At issue is a law signed by Gov. Bill Lee in May that, among other things, bars people from giving shelter to anyone who illegally entered the U.S., labeling it "human smuggling."

"The Synod and its churches, pastors, staff, and congregations provide a number of ministries, including shelter, to people regardless of their immigration status, and they do so as an expression of their faith," reads the lawsuit.

"By burdening these religious practices without substantial justification, and by excepting certain secular activities but not comparable religious activities, [the law] impermissibly infringes on the Synod's First Amendment rights to religious exercise and association."

The plaintiffs are represented by The Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law, the American Immigration Council and the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition.

"This law is not just harmful, it's unconstitutional," said ICAP senior counsel Elizabeth Cruikshank in a statement. "Immigration enforcement is a responsibility of the federal government, not something that states can pick up and weaponize however they choose."

"When individual states start creating their own immigration rules and penalties, it creates confusion, fear, and chaos, not just for immigrants, but for families, employers, and communities across the state. That's why courts have consistently held that immigration policy must be uniform, and why laws like Tennessee's cannot stand."

Known as Senate Bill 392 or House Bill 0322, the measure was introduced by Rep. Chris Todd, R-Madison County, and Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis. In April, it passed the state House of Representatives by a vote of 73-22 and the state Senate in a vote of 36-6.

According to its official summary, the bill makes human smuggling a Class E felony offense, punishable by at least one year of imprisonment and a fine of up to $3,000.

The offense includes if a person transports at least 10 adults or at least five minors "for the purpose of commercial advantage or private financial gain, with the intent to conceal the individuals from a law enforcement officer or a federal immigration officer, while knowing the persons 18 or older or minors have illegally entered or remained in the United States."

The new law makes it a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of $1,000 for each individual hidden, "for a person to harbor or hide, or to assist another in harboring or hiding, within this state an individual who the person knows or should have known has illegally entered or remained in the United States."

An amendment to the bill made before its passage defined the offense of "human smuggling" as including instances when a person purposely "conceals, harbors, or shields from detection, or intentionally encourages or induces another to conceal, harbor, or shield from detection, an individual that the person knows has illegally entered or remained in the United States."

The new law provides an exemption for instances when "an attorney licensed and admitted to the practice of law in this state" gives legal advice to an undocumented individual or when an entity provides "healthcare services or assistance to an individual presenting at a healthcare facility licensed in this state, or the office or other practice site of a healthcare provider licensed, registered, certified, or otherwise permitted to deliver healthcare services."

"The human smuggling industry exploits vulnerable individuals and poses a serious threat to national security," said bill sponsor Todd, as quoted by WBBJ Eyewitness News in May.

"This new law will protect victims, hold offenders and criminal organizations accountable and improve public safety in the Volunteer State. I thank Gov. Lee and my colleagues in the General Assembly for supporting this measure and advocating for a better Tennessee."

At the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in 2019 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, delegates passed a measure declaring their entire denomination a "sanctuary church" for migrants, including those who entered the United States illegally. 

The 2019 measure was not without its critics, as Delegate David Tindell of the Northwest Synod of Wisconsin argued that they should be mindful of "the rule of law."

"The rule of law is clear when it comes to immigration. It may not be the law that we necessarily like and it may not be enforced the way we would necessarily like, but it is still the law. We must be mindful of that,"said Tindell at the time.

"When we want something to be changed in this country in terms of a law, we have the means to do that through our elected representatives."