This story has been republished with permission from Tennessee Lookout. Read the original story here.
Republican House members on Wednesday advanced a bill to create a new state crime for immigrants who remain in Tennessee after receiving a final deportation order — a measure that, by design, is intended to trigger a Supreme Court challenge.
The bill (HB1704/SB 1779) by House Leader William Lamberth, a Gallatin Republican, would create a Class A misdemeanor for immigrants without legal status to be in Tennessee 90 days after a final deportation order issued by a federal immigration judge.
It’s among a slate of bills on Tennessee Republicans’ “Immigration 2026” agenda this year. The broad outlines of the agenda were rolled out in January after a series of meetings between Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, a Crossville Republican, and the White House advisor Stephen Miller.
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Lamberth’s bill, cosponsored by Sen. Jack Johnson, a Franklin Republican, easily cleared the Republican-dominated House Judiciary Committee Wednesday.
“When someone has exhausted all their options and they’ve been told to leave the country, it is illegal for them to stay, both under federal law, and if this bill passes, it would be a misdemeanor for them to enter in, or remain in, the state of Tennessee,” Lamberth said during the committee hearing.
Rep. Gloria Johnson raised constitutional concerns.
“So everything that I’ve read, everyone that I’ve talked to, said that this is currently unconstitutional,” said Johnson, who represents portions of Knoxville.
“Is that a problem for you?” Johnson asked. “Is this one of those Stephen Miller bills, at any cost to the Tennessee taxpayer, that we are passing something that we know is unconstitutional?”
The Supreme Court has held that the authority to enact immigration laws belongs to the federal government alone.
“I’m glad you brought that up. I like our track record with the U.S. Supreme Court,” responded Lamberth, who cited a 2025 Supreme Court decision upholding Tennessee law banning gender-affirming care for minors and the 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade, which triggered Tennessee’s near total ban on abortion to take effect.
“If you’re a legal immigrant, you are welcome in this state,” Lamberth said. “If you’re an illegal immigrant, you need to go home, back to your country. There’s 8.3 billion people in this world, they can’t all fit in the United States, and especially in the state of Tennessee, they have to come here legally.”
Other legislation on the Republicans’ 2026 immigration agenda that advanced Wednesday include a measure requiring all state and local governments to use the federal E-verify system to verify immigration status when confirming employees’ right to work.
The legislation (HB1705/SB1922) gives the Tennessee Attorney General authority to withhold funding from local governments, including school districts, that do not comply with the verification system.
Also advancing Wednesday was a bill requiring drivers’ license tests to be administered only in English, with a three-year grace period.
A key pillar of the Republicans’ 2026 immigration agenda, a bill to require all Tennessee K-12 public schools to verify student immigration status, advanced Tuesday.
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