NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Days after hundreds of Tennessee DACA recipients reported being denied driver's license renewals, immigrant advocates say the problem appears to be affecting other groups with legal authorization to remain in the United States.
Last week, NewsChannel 5 reported that hundreds of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, recipients said they were being turned away when attempting to renew driver's licenses. The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security said applicants for temporary licenses must prove a specified period of authorized stay in the U.S. and that a work permit alone does not establish eligibility.
Now, advocates say similar concerns are surfacing in other immigrant communities.
Dreamers of Nashville shared a video showing a DACA recipient being turned away while trying to renew a driver's license.
"We can't do it. We can't renew it," an employee can be heard saying in the video.
Itzel Sanchez, a Nashville realtor and mother of two, is among hundreds of Dreamers who say they have been denied renewals since October 1.
"I don't even know when this, like, why this took effect. I don't know when this happened," Sanchez said. "And I know a lot of people are like, we just do it the right way, but there is really no right way. I'm doing it the right way, the rightest way I can."
After that story aired, NewsChannel 5 heard from Patricia Heim, a local church volunteer who works closely with Ukrainians living in Tennessee under Temporary Protected Status, or TPS.
Heim said some Ukrainians are facing uncertainty about whether their temporary driver's licenses will be renewed after October 19. She believes federal law automatically extends TPS protections for Ukrainians through April 19, 2027, and says the state has not committed to renewing licenses consistent with that extension.
"How do you get your children to and from school? How do you go to the grocery store?" Heim said. "If you have to start ordering groceries, that creates a bigger expense because you can't shop and make choices to balance your budget and provide the most economical items at the grocery store."
Heim also worries the issue could create broader public impacts if people lose driving privileges, including complications related to transportation and insurance coverage.
The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, known as TIRRC, says it has heard concerns from refugees, asylees, TPS holders, U-visa holders and others.
"And so the immigration system being so complex, it's understandable that folks at the DMV are not too sure how to process all these different things," said Cesar Bautista, TIRRC's campaign director. "They just see a work authorization, and if you don't have the following documentation, then they can't provide a driver's license to individuals."
TIRRC believes changes tied to immigration-related legislation approved during Tennessee's 2025 special session may be contributing to the denials. The organization argues that people with different federal immigration classifications often have different forms of documentation.
"This is the first time that Tennessee has done this for many, many years," Bautista said. "People with a work authorization have been able to get a driver's license. And so again, it is something that can just be adjusted on the language that was passed."
The organization is calling on the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security to provide more transparency about the requirements being used to determine eligibility for temporary driver's licenses.
The department previously said applicants must provide proof of a specified period of authorized stay in the United States and that employment authorization documents alone do not establish eligibility for a temporary driver's license.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Patsy.Montesinos@NewsChannel5.com
September 11, 2001 is a day most associate with terror and tragedy. Austin Pollack shares a story from that day about hope and persistence: the effort to save a little girl’s life – with an organ donation. The problem? The young patient was in Houston, and her life-saving liver here in Nashville. With the grounding of all civilian aircraft, how could it be done? “Nobody ever said this isn’t possible.”
- Rhori Johnston
