Tennessee House to vote on bill requiring public agencies to report immigrants without legal status

The Tennessee House this week is scheduled to take a final vote on legislation requiring immigration status checks of any applicant for public benefits at state and local public agencies, including in each of the state’s 95 public health clinics. 

The legislation (HB1710/SB1915) by Rep. Dennis Powers of Jacksboro and Sen. Ed Jackson of Jackson mandates that government employees also report the names of all individuals who cannot provide proof of legal status to Tennessee’s newly created Centralized Immigration Enforcement Division. 

Failure to check or report immigration status could result in criminal prosecution of frontline public employees – and a potential investigation into a state or local agency by the Tennessee Attorney General. Ultimately, a public agency’s funding could be cut if found to have failed to comply with the law. 

Republican backers say the legislation is intended to prevent immigrants without legal status from taking advantage of taxpayer-funded benefits. The bill cleared the Senate late last month and a positive House vote would send it to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk for a signature before taking effect July 1. 

Tennessee GOP bill would require immigration checks for local government aid

The bill has raised alarms among public health providers, who have cited the added administrative burden on healthcare workers to verify and report immigration status. 

Their broader concern, public health experts said, is the potential impact to overall community health if adult residents who are ill, need immunizations or treatment for a communicable disease and cannot prove immigration status stay away — or are turned away — from treatment.

“We are trained to do a lot of things. We’re not trained to keep immigration records and those things,” said Dr. Sanmi Areola, director of Nashville’s Metro Public Health Department during a board meeting review of the proposed law. 

“There’s an impact on resources, absolutely, but the bigger impact is on the health of the population,” he said.

Tennessee public health departments already require lawful immigration status for adult patients; in some instances, patients may attest to their immigration status  rather than produce documents. Republican sponsors of the bill said some public health departments have quietly ignored the existing requirement to verify immigration status before treating their patients.  

The proposed legislation would, in part, extend the reach of 2012 law —  the Tennessee Eligibility Verification Entitlement Act — intended to ensure public colleges and universities verify student immigration status. 

The bill applies to any state, county or local agency that offers a “public benefit,” which is defined in federal law as food assistance, unemployment benefits, emergency health, public or subsidized housing and disability benefits. Only one agency, the Department of Children’s Services, is exempt.

The federal law, however, contains exceptions. The proposed Tennessee law does not include the federal exceptions, according to a fiscal note prepared by legislative staff, and would apply to short-term, non-cash emergency relief, soup kitchens, immunizations and communicable disease treatment.

During a committee hearing last month, Powers, the bill’s cosponsor, said the measure’s requirement to report patient immigration status would extend to emergency departments in county-run hospitals. Individuals would be treated for their emergency health care needs, he said. But their names would be reported if no proof of legal residency was provided.

“There are exemptions for emergencies, like at a hospital, no matter what their age,” he said, noting federal requirements to treat medical emergencies. “But if they’re over 18, then they would be reported as being a non-citizen at that point. But they would be treated for any type of emergency care.”

Sen. Jeff Yarbro, a Nashville Democrat, warned of the criminal liabilities for local government employees.

“If you show up at a homeless shelter or if you were somebody who lived… in a district in east Tennessee in the aftermath of a hurricane and you seek a blanket or temporary food, which is a public benefit, what happens when you don’t have a birth certificate?” he asked during debate on the Senate floor late last month.

“That means that the person who works for your local government who doesn’t demand a birth certificate is potentially criminally liable.”

Republican supporters dismissed the scenario as implausible. “The language (of the bill) tells me there is wide discretion with the attorney general if there may be a prosecution,” said Sen. Ken Yager, a Republican from Kingston.