Tennessee Eagle Forum Honors State Sen. Kerry Roberts for Fixing 2022 Law that Granted Professional Licenses to Illegal Immigrants

The Tennessee Eagle Forum on Monday announced State Senator Kerry Roberts (R-Springfield) was awarded the Tennessee Eagle Forum Award for 2024 due to his successful legislation that “effectively repealed” a 2022 law which enabled some illegal immigrants to receive state-issued commercial and professional licenses.

Roberts’ legislation, according to a Tennessee Eagle Forum press release, removed key language from Public Chapter No. 11, the 2022 legislation that allowed illegal immigrants to obtain professional or commercial licenses if they are “either a United States citizen or authorized under federal law to work in the United States as verified by the SAVE program.”

According to the Tennessee Eagle Forum, lawmakers in Nashville were wrong to offer such licenses to immigrants, and the legislation “served to endorse actions taken by the Obama and Biden administrations in violation of immigration law.”

While the legislation was designed to allow those in the country for work reasons to obtain licenses, it was confirmed in 2022 that the legislation would allow illegal immigrants who came to the United States as children, who remain in the country under the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, to receive professional licenses.

The group noted that the Tennessee Senate unanimously voted for Roberts’ bill, SB 2850, on April 3. The House version of the bill, HB 2900, was similarly approved with 82 votes in favor and just 11 against.

Roberts’ amendment effectively returned Tennessee’s licensing procedures to their 2022 state, and the organization noted, “The work authorization open door as eligibility to obtain state-issued commercial and professional licenses was removed.”

“Moving forward, it will be important for the Tennessee General Assembly to understand that Congress does not recognize work authorization as providing lawful presence for purposes of public benefits nor does work authorization provide anyone with an immigration status,” the Tennessee Eagle Forum explained.

The group added that Tennessee lawmakers must understand, “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients, among others, are not considered ‘qualified aliens’ for purposes of state or local public benefits.”

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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].