High profile Tennessee Republicans railed against a federal plan a couple of weeks ago that they said would bring “busloads” of asylum seekers to the state. So far, that hasn’t happened.
But this kind of coordination is what nonprofits that support immigrants have been asking for.
People seeking asylum come to Tennessee all the time, says Lisa Sherman Luna of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition. They may settle in, or Tennessee could just be a pit stop on their way to reuniting with friends and family.
Sherman Luna says usually it’s not very organized.
“For a long time, advocates like (TIRRC) and other organizations have been calling for more coordination from the federal government so that we can be prepared and scale up our capacity and our resources,” Sherman Luna said. “And so we saw this outreach from the federal government as a good first step to establishing order to the process.”
She notes that it’s legal to apply for asylum and that many migrants are fleeing violence and persecution in their home countries.
Sherman Luna says local churches and nonprofits are still working with the government on plans to support asylum seekers when they arrive. It’s still unclear when that may happen.
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