Riley Gaines lauds Tennessee advancing bill regarding arresting of illegal immigrants

Former American competitive swimmer Riley Gaines recently applauded Tennessee lawmakers for advancing a bill that would require the police and sheriff departments to inform officials when they arrest an illegal immigrant.

Earlier, the police departments had the option of choosing to report the immigration status of arrested individuals to the federal authorities. However, the proposed bill would make it mandatory for the police departments in Tennessee to inform the arrests of illegal immigrants to federal security officials.

Riley Gaines reacted to this news shared by FoxNashville on their X (formerly Twitter) handle and applauded the lawmakers for advancing the bill, writing:

“Good 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼”

The bill was passed through the House Government Committee on February 6, Wednesday and backed by a majority of the Republican members. Rusty Grills, a member of the Republican party representing Newbern, stated:

"This bill would clarify that all law enforcement including police and sheriff's departments would be required to fully cooperate and communicate with the Department of Homeland Security.”

He added:

"You just have to prove who you are and if you can't prove who you are there's a process through which they operate and those processes take place."

However, the bill is also receiving heavy criticism from lawmakers based in Nashville and Memphis as they believe that this may cause the illegal immigrants to not talk about the crimes in front of the police where they are the victims.

While a member of the Democratic party representing Nashville, Jason Powell asked:

"How do you go about as a law enforcement officer in determining whether you think someone is legal or not legal?"

Another Democratic party member Justin Pearson (Memphis) said:

"We've got enough problems. We don't need to be adding immigration to local law enforcement.”

There will be another committee in the House that will vote on the bill on Thursday. Additionally, a companion bill will also be voted on at the state Senate next week.

Riley Gaines condemns toe-licking competition at an Oklahoma high school fundraiser

Riley Gaines (L) testifies during a House Oversight Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services hearing on Capitol Hill. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Riley Gaines criticized the act of toe licking after students were seen licking peanut butter off other students' toes during a bizarre competition in a viral video.

Gaines reposted the video on her X handle, stating:

“What kind of nation are we living in where this even has to be said? Jesus can't return soon enough”

This incident, which took place at Deer Creek High School during a fundraising event, also received a lot of backlash online.