(The Center Square) – Two immigration bills passed by the Tennessee General Assembly require local entities to comply with them or risk losing state funding.
House Bill 1705/Senate Bill 1922 requires local entities to use the federal E-Verify program to ensure applicants are eligible to work in the United States.
The attorney general will investigate complaints that school districts or governments have violated the law. If the attorney general determines the complaints are credible, the entity could lose grants and state-shared taxes, according to the bill.
Gov. Bill Lee signed the bill on April 21. It takes effect July 1.
A sheriff’s office could lose state funding if it doesn’t join the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 287(g) program under House Bill 2219/Senate Bill 2223.
The program allows local officers to perform immigration enforcement duties under ICE supervision.
The bill, still on Lee’s desk, requires all departments to comply by Jan. 1.
Lee has also signed a bill that creates a class A misdemeanor punishable by up to 12 months in jail if a person with a final deportation order doesn’t leave the state within 90 days.
Texas, Iowa and Oklahoma lawmakers passed similar laws that were challenged by the Department of Justice under the Biden administration. The Trump administration dismissed the challenges, but other lawsuits were filed.
“The only rationale that the sponsor offered is, if the federal government is not enforcing it, this gives Tennessee a pathway to enforce it,” said Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, during the bill’s debate. “That actually is like worse for the constitutional case. The people of Tennessee sent us here to adopt laws, not to just create new lawsuits.”
The law takes effect July 1.
The General Assembly passed a bill allowing drivers from other countries to obtain a three-year temporary driver’s license if they pass the test in their own language. After the license expires, the person must pass the test in English.
“Understanding roadway signage and traffic laws is a fundamental requirement for safely driving in our state,” said Rep. Kip Capley, R-Summertown, the bill’s lead sponsor. “This legislation ensures that those granted the privilege of driving here have a basic command of the English language, strengthening fairness, accountability and public safety. Setting clear and consistent standards will protect Tennessee families and improve our roads for everyone.”
A bill that would have required school districts to ask students about their immigration status never made it to the finish line. The Senate passed a version of the bill in 2025 that would have allowed the school districts to charge tuition to students who are not in the country legally. The House amended the bill in 2026, removing the tuition and calling it more of a “data bill” designed to collect information.
Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, the bill’s Senate sponsor, moved the bill to the calendar in March and it was not revived.
