Republican state lawmakers announced on Thursday a sweeping immigration package — tailored with the help of the White House and other federal agencies — that seeks to make Tennessee a model for immigration crackdowns across the country. Within the package are roughly eight pieces of legislation focused on U.S. citizenship verification and reporting requirements.
Immigration, education expected to remain key issues this year; protesters gather at Tennessee State Museum after legislative business
At a press conference Thursday afternoon, state House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) thanked the White House, the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Stephen Miller, who works as President Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff and homeland security adviser, for their collaboration on the legislation.
Proposed bills include legislation sponsored by House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) that would make it illegal to be in Tennessee if a final deportation order has been issued. The bill would make the action a misdemeanor and subject those in violation to arrest.
“This entire group here and all of our colleagues are going to intend to stand for the rule of law and will completely remove — and work with our federal counterparts to remove — every illegal immigrant in the state,” Lamberth said.
House Speaker Cameron Sexton introduces a slate of immigration bills, Jan. 15, 2026
The legislative package will also include bills that require driver’s license tests to be administered only in English, the mandatory verification of all new hires by state and local governments, proof of U.S. citizenship in order to obtain professional licenses, and court cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Legislation would also prohibit undocumented immigrants from obtaining car tags. Though sanctuary cities are illegal in Tennessee due to state law, Sexton said loopholes are being used and that proposed bills in the package will close them.
Additionally, state Rep. Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville) said he will sponsor a bill cracking down on commercial driver’s licenses used to drive semi-trucks issued to undocumented people in other states. Under the legislation, law enforcement — who interact with CDL drivers who are found to be undocumented — are required to alert ICE.
Another bill would require state and local governments to verify the legal immigration status of every person who receives public benefits. If a person cannot be verified, the governmental entity is required to report them to ICE.
Reporting requirements on state government interactions with undocumented immigrants will also be proposed.
Sexton maintained on Thursday that undocumented immigrants who use public services and benefits are a cost burden on state taxpayers and that the legislative package will save Tennesseans money. He said GOP lawmakers are not concerned about the loss of sales tax funds generated by undocumented immigrants. According to the American Immigration Council, there are approximately 156,000 undocumented immigrants in Tennessee with $3.5 billion in spending power.
“We're committed to protecting taxpayer dollars, reducing fraud, waste and abuse, and once and for all, putting an end to sanctuary cities in our state,” Sexton said. “And honoring those who came here legally by preserving what they did and not allowing illegals to tarnish why they're here.”
Rep. Jason Zachary during a press conference, Jan. 15, 2025
Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) said the package is a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” under the Trump administration.
“We're sending a very strong message today with this legislative package that in Tennessee, we want to be the model for the nation,” Johnson said. “That we're not only going to cooperate with the White House and our federal immigration enforcement officials, but we're going to do everything we can to make sure that they are successful.”
Following the GOP press conference, representatives from the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) held their own press conference denouncing the legislation and calling for community support.
TIRRC Votes executive director Lisa Sherman Luna calls Sexton “a puppet of Stephen Miller,” who is responsible for crafting the Trump administration’s immigration policy.
“Our supermajority is taking marching orders from [Miller,] an outsider in D.C., instead of listening to what Tennessee families need and want,” Luna says.
Luna criticizes legislation that would make it more difficult to obtain driver’s licenses, calling it a “matter of public safety.”
“Rather than limiting those opportunities, we need to be expanding them,” she says. “The federal government is the one that gets to decide who can stay and who gets to leave. It's at the local level where we have to make it work, and making it work looks like creating opportunities for people who are here and contributing to be able to get on the road safely and get to work safely, and that makes us all more safe.”
Luna says TIRRC will respond to the legislation with continued action and community organizing.
The Tennessee Democratic Party condemned the press conference in a release sent to media Thursday afternoon, saying the state GOP’s “misplaced priorities” are a “distraction rooted in extremism and division, not Tennessee values.”
Additional reporting by Hamilton Matthew Masters.
