NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Tennessee's House has passed House Bill 793, which requires public schools to request immigration or citizenship documents from students and report the data to the state. The Senate must accept changes made to the bill before it heads to the governor's desk.
The bill, sponsored by House Majority Leader William Lamberth, passed despite three Republicans joining Democrats in opposition. Under the legislation, schools would tally how many students are U.S. citizens, how many have legal status, and how many cannot prove their status. Those numbers — no names or addresses — would be shared with the state.
"We must know how many immigrants are in the schools so that we can properly apply the funds we have," Lamberth said.
The bill carries no official cost, but a new Immigration Research Initiative analysis estimates verifying every student's status could cost up to $55 million in the first year.
"Now, what does this mean for my classroom? Am I going to have fewer supplies? Are we going to go on fewer field trips? Am I going to have fewer counselors?" BarrioEd Co-founder Nichole Alsina-Davari said.
Democrats also argued the bill was introduced to challenge a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision — Plyler v. Doe — that bars schools from denying undocumented children an education.
"If this bill leads to a challenge to Plyler v. Doe, that's a reason to vote for it," Rep. Gino Bulso (R–Brentwood) said.
Democrats also questioned why similar data collection isn't applied to voucher recipients.
"We've asked for data on a lot of other things — on how they're paying for rich kids to go to school — but we're scared of that data," Rep. Bo Mitchell (D–Nashville) said.
Two formerly undocumented students — Jazmin Ramirez and Luis Mata — now with legal status, arrived in the U.S. when they were less than 10 years old. Both became recipients of DACA, a 2012 policy allowing hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. as children to live and work without fear of deportation. Both then went on to graduate from college.
"I owe everything to the Tennessee public school system," Mata said. "To my public school teachers who laid that strong foundation for me and hundreds of other students across the state."
Ramirez said the bill could create barriers for children like them.
"We're now asking people to 'show me your papers' in order to enroll in school — and not guaranteeing that safety, that data is not going to get leaked into ICE, that names aren't going to get leaked because they are tracking all that information," Ramirez said.
Democratic lawmakers noted that because Tennessee has no state income tax, immigrants contribute to public revenue through sales and property taxes.
But Republicans say the data is needed to inform future education policy in Tennessee.
Also, on Monday, the Tennessee House passed House Bill 1704, making it a Class A misdemeanor for adults with a valid federal removal order to remain in the state longer than 90 days. The bill also bans re-entry for deported individuals, though that provision would only take effect if federal law changes or the Supreme Court overturns Arizona v. United States to allow states to decide on unlawful presence. Lawmakers adopted an amendment clarifying that the bill applies only to people 18 and older.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Patsy.Montesinos@NewsChannel5.com
Here’s a beautiful story of how one mother turned her grief journey into a gathering of gratitude… and organ donation awareness.
Robb Coles highlights a special event organized by Cari Hollis – whose 26-year old son Austin died two years ago. Austin agreed to be an organ donor – and that single gesture saved multiple lives.
Cari reached out to as many recipients she could find – several of whom traveled to Nashville for an emotional celebration in Austin’s honor. One woman – whose life was saved by receiving Austin’s lungs – put it simply: “He’s my angel”.
- Rhori Johnston
