There's Still Hope for the Children

Immigrant children need us- please help: Calls, Emails & Your Presence needed

(NOTE: A fuller report about this past week’s legislative happenings will be posted over the weekend.)

Friends, The most important thing to let you know is SB0836 Watson/HB0793 Lamberth passed in the full Senate this morning. But we can still defeat it in the House!!

This bill allows public schools to refuse to enroll immigrant children who are undocumented, and if they do allow their enrollment, they may charge a fee (about $7,000). They can also use the information about the lack of documentation to inform ICE, which will terrorize the families of these children.

The House will hear this bill in the Finance Ways and Means Sub-Committee at 9:00 AM Monday, April 14th, in Cordell Hull. If you can, please attend this meeting, and if there is an overflow crowd, please wait with others in the hall outside. It is on the 5th Agenda of the Committee, so be prepared to stay until it is heard.

Whether you can attend or not, the members of this Committee need to hear from you, either by email, telephone, or both. You can find the contact information for each of the Committee members by clicking HERE and then clicking on their picture. In your communication, remind them that this bill is NOT a question about money but rather exclusively about loving and protecting children.

Because they are rushing to go home, the House may enter a period this week called “Flow." This means, if the bill passes out of the FWM Subcommittee on Tuesday, it could be heard by the full FWM Committee on Wednesday (click HERE for their contact information) and then scheduled for the full House on Thursday.

Stopping the bill earlier is better, so your calls and emails now and throughout the weekend are critical.

If you have an interest, you can watch the proceedings virtually in real-time by going HERE. If you have to wait until after the actual meeting takes place, you can still go to that site and scroll down to the bottom to watch the proceedings that happened earlier.

Today, three of us experienced the Senate adopting the National Administration’s tactic of preemptively blocking people from proceedings. But rather than allowing this to deter people from coming, we need and encourage MORE people to show up at the Legislature to take the place of those who may be denied entry into Committee and Floor meetings because of Facial Profiling.

Our democracy is at stake right here in our own backyard. But more importantly, if we stop showing up, they will feel even more emboldened to persecute children, immigrants, LGBTQIA+ people, women, and people with a disability- and everyone else that is not a white, middle-class, Christian, and cisgendered adult. Let’s NOT let them divide us like this!! When we show up, we win!!

The Calendar for each of the House and Senate Committees can be viewed by going HERE. And to look up the current status of a bill, go HERE.

We have been told to expect the Legislature not to end until Thursday, April 24th but a lot is happening on key harmful bills next week- yes, Easter week- so if you’ve not had a chance to attend any committee meetings or floor sessions, this is a great time to do it.

Again, the more people who sit in on Committee meetings, make phone calls, and send emails AGAINST THE PASSAGE OF HB0793 Lamberth/SB0836 Watson the more likely it will not pass out of the House. When you arrive, seek out someone holding a sign, let them know that this is your first time at the Legislature, and they will take you under their wing. Community happens when any 3 of us show up to speak truth to injustice together.

In community and good conscience, Michele

THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 2025

The bill that allows public schools to refuse to enroll immigrant children who are undocumented and, if they do enroll them, to charge a fee (SB0836 Watson/HB0793 Lamberth) was heard in the Senate this morning.

Republican Senator Haile was the first Senator to speak about the bill, and he stated clearly and unequivocally that he planned to vote AGAINST it.

Republican Senator Walley came next and also stated he would vote AGAINST the bill.

Democratic Senator Kyle followed, saying she would vote AGAINST the bill:

Democratic Senator Campbell made her stand clear, that her vote was a NO, AGAINST the bill:

Democratic Senator Oliver, quoting scripture, said she would stand AGAINST the bill:

Democratic Senator Lamar also spoke AGAINST the bill:

Democratic Senator Yarbro remained a steadfast vote AGAINST the bill:

Democratic Senator Akbari was clear on her objections to the bill and her plan to vote AGAINST it.

And a tearful Republican, Senator Gardenhire, let the body know that in good conscience he needed to vote AGAINST the bill:

The final vote was 19-13, meaning 7 Republican Senators voted with all of the Democrats against this bill (see tally below). Every one of them deserves our thanks.

Now, let’s join forces to stop this bill in the House!!