The Republican supermajority in the Tennessee General Assembly approved a series of immigrations bills, crafted in coordination with the White House.
The Tennessee General Assembly wrapped up its annual session this week, with the Republican supermajority signing off on a slate of bills codifying some of the party’s priorities on education and other issues.
Lawmakers expanded the number of school vouchers. They established new state power over the Memphis-area school district, and they put in place additional oversight of the state’s largest airport authorities.
But a central focus of the legislature’s work this year was undocumented immigrants.
Ahead of this year’s legislative session, Republican leaders worked closely with Stephen Miller, a top White House adviser, to craft another round of bills that are viewed as a way to enforce President Trump’s immigration crackdown at the state level.
Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, has already signed some of the bills, which will go into effect on July 1. He is widely expected to sign the others.
Here’s what some of those bills aim to do.
Driving tests would have an English language requirement.
Despite pushback from Democrats and several immigrant organizations, tests for a drivers license will now effectively have an English language requirement.
If an applicant does not speak English, the person can still take the initial written exam in another language. But the applicant will be able to receive only a nonrenewable, restricted license that expires after 18 months. At the end of that period, the driver will have to take a written exam in English to obtain a permanent license.