Laura Lara, originally from Mexico, moved to Nashville in 2001 and is now a student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Fueled by a passion to serve others and motivated by what she saw as a lack of bilingual therapists and social workers in Tennessee, Lara has been working toward a master’s degree in social work. However, due to previous licensure requirements, she considered relocating to a different state to obtain a professional license.
Lara is a recipient of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which allows some undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. at a young age to work and study without the threat of deportation. But some opportunities were still unavailable to DACA recipients in Tennessee, like obtaining certain work licenses.
But now, thanks to the Workforce Expansion Bill, Lara and thousands of other qualifying immigrants will be able to apply for professional licenses in their desired fields without having to leave the state they call home. Sponsored by state Sen. Shane Reeves (R-Murfreesboro) and state Rep. Bob Freeman (D-Nashville), the bill makes those who are federally authorized to work eligible for professional and occupational licenses. Gov. Bill Lee signed the bill into law, and it will go into effect July 1.
Lisa Sherman Luna, executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, says this legislation will offer new opportunities for the thousands of immigrants and refugees who have been waiting to advance in their careers and pursue their dream jobs.
“We’re absolutely thrilled,” Sherman Luna says. “This law is going to have an impact not just on individuals and their families, but on whole Tennessee communities.”
“Now we have the opportunity for these folks to be able to thrive not only in our state, but also in our state doing what they love, doing what they’re passionate about and what they want to do,” says Luis Mata, policy coordinator at TIRRC.
Lara says she felt anxious in the days prior to the bill being passed, especially on the day of the Senate vote as she listened to the questions and arguments. She describes the bill’s passage as a relief and a very emotional moment.
“I felt like my body could finally rest from all the tension I had carried for weeks,” she says. “My career goal is to become a licensed therapist. Therefore, it was very important to me that this bill pass. Now that it has, I will be able to pursue my licensure once I’m done with grad school.”
Created to target the labor shortage, the bill was widely supported in the Republican-supermajority state Senate, passing 20 votes to 7.
“I think that the reason this bill was so successful is that it’s a bill that not only impacts individuals but our economy as a whole,” says Sherman Luna. “We need common-sense solutions that address that and allow Tennesseans who are immigrants to thrive, remove barriers and make the licensing process a gateway to opportunity.”
Mata says it is also thanks to the strategic organizing efforts of directly impacted communities that the bill was able to be passed.
“We knew that a lot of their stances are more focused on economic development and stuff like that,” says Mata. “So we took that as an opportunity to say, ‘Hey, this is enhancing workforce opportunities and creating a larger workforce pool to our communities. This is a commonsense piece of legislation here and we need your support.’ ”
Lara says the bill being passed was also meaningful to her family, for all the sacrifices they made so that she could have a better life. One of her parents’ dreams was to provide her with an education for a better future. Now, she says, the new law will play an enormous role in attaining that dream.
“Not only will I accomplish my and my parents’ American Dream, but I will also use my education and learned skills to give back to my community, especially the Latino community,” she says.
This article has been updated to note Rep. Bob Freeman was also a sponsor.
