Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights (TIRRC) Executive Director Lisa Sherman-Nikolaus issued the following statement in response to Governor Bill Lee's announced plans to visit the southern border this weekend:

"Weeks after dealing a blow to families across the state by ending pandemic unemployment benefits, Governor Lee announced he would use tax dollars from working families to pay for airline tickets for people out-of-state to go on a vacation. Now, Lee is using more public tax dollars to fly himself to the border in order to score political points. As Tennessee recovers from the pandemic, we need our governor focused on schools fully re-opening, the economy bouncing back, and sustaining our public healthcare. We urge the Governor to not use time and resources for a photo op, and instead focus on improving the lives of all Tennesseans.