NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Trouble renewing Tennessee driver’s licenses is no longer limited to DACA recipients, immigrant advocates say, as more people with legal permission to stay in the country report being turned away at the counter.
Hundreds of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients across the state have said they were denied renewals since October 1. Advocates now say similar concerns are surfacing in other immigrant communities whose members hold federal authorization to remain in the United States.
The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security has pointed to state law. In a statement, the department said T.C.A. 55-50-331(g) requires applicants for a temporary driver license to provide proof of a specified period of authorized stay, and that DACA is a form of deferred action that does not itself confer lawful immigration status.
The department also said an employment authorization card, by itself, does not establish the status needed, and that some people who previously held a license could be affected at renewal if their federal paperwork no longer establishes eligibility under state and federal law.
The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition believes changes tied to immigration legislation passed during the 2025 special session called by Gov. Bill Lee may be contributing to the denials. The coalition argues that people in different federal immigration classifications carry different kinds of documents, and it is asking the department for more transparency about the requirements used to decide eligibility for temporary licenses.
For years the rules worked differently. Since the DACA program began in 2012, recipients who passed a background check were able to get a Tennessee license, and they have paid around $500 every two years to renew their federal status.
The federal side has slowed too. DACA renewals that once took weeks have recently been taking months, which leaves some license holders waiting on paperwork the state now requires.
