Bill requiring reporting of immigrants by public clinics, other agencies heads to governor’s desk

Legislation requiring local and state agencies to verify immigration status for adults seeking public benefits — and mandating reporting of individuals without legal status — is headed to the governor’s desk after clearing the Tennessee House on Tuesday. 

It is one of two bills the House passed in their first meeting of the day targeting immigrants without legal status, a key plank of Tennessee Republican’s’ agenda this year. 

The House on Tuesday also approved a measure creating a new misdemeanor crime for truckers and other commercial drivers who drive in the state without proof of citizenship or legal permanent residence. That bill has yet to receive a vote by the full Senate.  

The public benefits legislation (HB1710/SB1915) by Rep. Dennis Powers of Jacksboro and Sen. Ed Jackson of Jackson, both Republicans, includes criminal penalties for social service and public health agency workers who fail to verify status. Agencies that fail to comply could face an investigation by the Attorney General and loss of state funding.

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

The measure explicitly applies to all 95 Tennessee public health departments, which typically serve low-income and uninsured patients with vaccinations, communicable disease treatment, sexually transmitted disease testing and treatment, breast and cervical cancer screenings and other services. 

“I think that people who are undocumented or immigrants are going to be afraid of going to access vaccinations, routine health care checks because of having to verify their immigration status, and it’s going to hurt us all in our state…” Rep. Justin Jones, a Nashville Democrat said. 

Public health officials have already raised alarms at the potential impact on broader population health if individuals experiencing illnesses are unwilling to access care. 

Powers, the bill’s sponsor, drew a hard line, saying immigrants in Tennessee without legal status must be excluded from all state-funded benefits.

He noted the measure would not bar individuals from receiving treatment in hospital emergency rooms, which is required by federal law. But after obtaining emergency care, individuals would then be reported to the Centralized Immigration Enforcement Division, a state agency created last year to more closely cooperate with federal immigration enforcement efforts. 

“We welcome legal immigrants, but if they come here illegally, then they need to go back,” Powers said. “They can get $1,000 and a plane ticket home. If they have an emergency situation, they will be treated and released, and then whoever treats them for the emergency has to report at the end of the month that, hey, we treated an illegal person, and that person has a right to go home. Nobody has a right to come into our country illegally.”