Rutherford Reader: Marsha Blackburn shares our concerns on illegal immigration and drug trafficking

By State Representative Bryan Terry

October 18, 2018

Election Day is quickly approaching. With early voting beginning this week, Tennesseans must not only consider who we need at our state level, but who, as a United States Senator, will take our shared Tennessee values to Washington and work with our state officials on issues that matter most to us.  

With the synthetic opioid Fentanyl becoming the deadliest drug in Tennessee and with many illicit drugs coming in from Mexico and other countries, two such issues on the minds of Tennesseans are illegal immigration and illicit drug trafficking.  

Safe neighborhoods are priorities for Tennesseans. So, when it comes to these two issues, Tennesseans are clear about what they expect from their next Senator. They want a secure border. They want an end to sanctuary cities. They want Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to be given the resources they need to do their job. And they want solutions to the illicit trafficking of drugs including opioids like heroin, fentanyl and carfentanyl.

As Chairman of the Tennessee House Health Subcommittee and as someone who has worked extensively on these two issues for our state, I know that we will need a U.S. Senator that shares in our efforts.

There is only one candidate in the U.S. Senate race who we can trust to carry out these expectations, and that is Marsha Blackburn.

Recently, Marsha and visited Murfreesboro where we discussed these issues in depth. She knows that as our Senator in the federal government, one of her priorities is to ensure the safety and security of Americans. She also knows that, despite her own best efforts, Congress has not been doing it’s job in fulfilling that duty.  

With Democrats calling for the abolishment of ICE, they are essentially calling for a decrease in the safety and security that we enjoy as American citizens. Everyday, ICE works to stop the drug, human, and labor trafficking that occurs at our Southern border. That drug flow doesn’t just include the trafficking of opioids. Tennessee is seeing a major increase in the trafficking of meth from Mexico, as well.

If Democrats are really serious about wanting to end the opioid epidemic, providing ICE with the resources it needs to carry out its job should be part of that effort. Laws must be strengthened, not weakened, for ICE to stop illegal immigrants and gang members who are perpetuating the problem.

Legislation I have advanced on the state level goes hand in hand with legislation that Marsha has supported at the federal level. I am a strong proponent of her recent steps to help solve the issue including her bill the “No Early Release for Fentanyl Traffickers Act”.

I’ve seen firsthand her commitment to getting to the root of the issue and providing real results for Tennesseans. Some of these efforts include increased funding to recovery communities and faith-based initiatives. These services will help to bring recovering opioid addicts back to full lives, but we must get to the root of the supply, much of which crosses into our country through our Southern border.

That is why it is so crucial that we address the gaps in our immigration system. Marsha has committed to securing our border, defunding sanctuary cities that refuse to comply with federal law, and supporting the President’s travel ban. These policies are all to achieve the larger goal of keeping Americans safe. 

Chuck Schumer and the liberal elite do not share in our support for these issues which suggests a lack of dedication to our country’s security or concern for dealing with drug, labor, or human trafficking. Though Phil Bredesen is asking Tennesseans to trust that he won’t be New York’s third senator, he was hand picked by Schumer for a reason, and that is to provide Schumer with another vote against TN values.

For U.S. Senate, Tennesseans have the choice of electing Marsha Blackburn who will work with Tennessee officials to take our practical values and ideas to Washington, or Phil Bredesen who will bring Schumer’s broken values down on us.  

With Tennessee and the United States  making gains not foreshadowed by various pundits and politicos, Tennessee needs a U.S. Senator who will work with and for us, not New York. The choice Tennessee needs to make is Marsha Blackburn.

Representative Bryan Terry, MD represents District 48 which is the eastern half of Rutherford County and is the Chairman of the Tennessee House Health Subcommittee.

Read at the Rutherford Reader