Groups File Federal Lawsuit Over Tennessee’s New Extreme Anti-Immigrant Law

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Tennessee, and National Immigration Law Center filed a federal class-action lawsuit today challenging a new Tennessee law, HB 1704, that unconstitutionally usurps federal immigration enforcement power by making it a crime for certain immigrants to remain in the state.

Courts across the country have repeatedly reaffirmed that immigration enforcement is a power that belongs exclusively to the federal government — not the states.

Tennessee’s law, however, creates a new crime for people with final removal orders who have not left the state. HB 1704 is part of a larger framework of new extreme anti-immigration state laws aimed at criminalizing noncitizens’ presence within a state either by punishing entry, or in this case, lack of departure.

“The rule has been clear for well over a century: Immigration enforcement is exclusively a federal power. The state’s overreach here is unlawful and inhumane, creating fear and upending lives for families, neighbors, and communities across Tennessee,” said Hannah Steinberg, staff attorney with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project.

Plaintiffs in this case include:

• A 35-year-old Memphis resident who came to the United States on a visa when he was very young. His family applied for asylum, but the application was denied, and he was ordered removed when he was a teenager. He later applied for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and has had DACA ever since. He has lived in Memphis for decades and fears he will now be arrested, detained, and prosecuted under the state’s new failure-to-depart law.

• A 58-year-old woman who arrived in the United States a quarter century ago on a visitor’s visa. After she applied for asylum, her application was denied and she was issued a removal order. She has applied for relief under the Violence Against Women Act. For the past 25 years, she has lived in Memphis. Her entire life is in Tennessee — her sons, including one U.S. citizen son who is starting college and she financially supports; her job, where she has worked for decades; her doctors and immigration lawyer; and her friends and neighbors. She too now lives in fear.

“HB 1704 would threaten our neighbors who have families here and have lived here for years,” said Zee Scout, staff attorney at the ACLU of Tennessee. “This is yet another example of the state of Tennessee improperly wielding its power to baselessly attack neighbors and families who make this a better, richer state for all. We are filing this case to defend our communities against this unconstitutional law.”

“HB 1704 does exactly what courts have warned states not to do for decades. It is a cruel and unlawful attempt to punish people just for living in Tennessee, and the state has no authority to enact this new law,” said Peter McGraw, deputy legal director at the National Immigration Law Center.