The Tennessee State House on Monday passed two immigration bills as part of the effort to make the Volunteer State a national model for cooperating with the federal government on immigration enforcement.
House Bill (HB) 1704 by State House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) would create the new Class A misdemeanor offense of intentionally failing or refusing to leave the United States while subject to a final order of removal. It would also make it a Class A misdemeanor to illegally enter the country or be found in Tennessee after being previously denied entry, deported, or otherwise removed from the United States.
The bill passed with 73 votes in favor and 22 against. Its passage comes despite the State Senate version of the legislation, SB 1779, remaining in the Senate Judiciary Committee since it was assigned on January 22.
In a 70-25 vote, the State House also passed the State Senate’s version of legislation that would require Tennessee schools to collect anonymized citizenship information about students, then report the number of students in the country illegally to state officials.
Originally introduced as legislation that would empower school districts to decline enrollment or charge tuition to students in the country illegally, the version of SB 836 passed by the State Senate last year would require only the anonymous tracking and reporting of data.
While the State House substituted this version of the bill, it also made a technical amendment, and the legislation is now on the Senate Message Calendar for Thursday. Senators must now decide whether to finalize the legislation for Governor Bill Lee to sign or send the bill back to the House for further changes.
Lawmakers in the State House additionally passed HB 1705, which would require all state and local government employers to use the federal E-Verify program to determine the citizenship status of prospective employees, in a 73-21 vote.
The State Senate and Local Government Committee on Tuesday also advanced its version of the legislation, SB 1922, setting the stage for a full Senate vote.
Both HB 1704 and HB 1705 were part of the legislative package announced by Republican leaders in January.
“We are sending a very strong message today, with this legislative package, that in Tennessee, we want to be the model for the nation,” said Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin). “That we’re not only going to cooperate with the White House and our federal immigration officials, but we’re going to do everything they can to make sure they’re successful.”
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
