Tennessee Work Permit License Denials Under Review

Tennessee work permit license denials, which have kept DACA recipients and other work-authorized immigrants from getting or renewing a driver’s license, are now under review by Gov. Bill Lee, whose administration wrote the rule. Lee said Oct. 28 that he had “just become aware” of the problem and wants to learn “what impact it actually does have and are there changes we need to make,” the Tennessee Lookout reported. It is the first public sign that the state could reverse course without waiting for a lawsuit or new legislation.

That matters because the fix, if one comes, does not have to come from a court. The earlier coverage of the Tennessee DACA license denials focused on the legal fight the state’s position invites, with Arizona’s lost Ninth Circuit case as the template. Lee’s remarks point to a quicker route: the Department of Safety and Homeland Security, a cabinet agency that answers to the governor, decided which documents prove “authorized stay,” and it can decide again.

What the state says the work permit cannot prove

Department spokesperson Jason Pack told the Lookout that the employment authorization card “does not provide sufficient information to verify an applicant’s lawful status.” The department ties the change to one provision of a 2025 law, in force since Jan. 1, that allows temporary licenses for immigrants authorized by the federal government “for a specific purpose and for a specified period of authorized stay.” The statute itself does not list which documents satisfy that test, the Lookout noted. Advocates told the outlet the state began reading it to exclude work permits only in recent weeks.

The state’s argument is narrower than it sounds. An employment authorization document, Form I-766, is evidence of permission to work, not a status in itself. But the card is not silent either. Every card carries a category code drawn from the federal work authorization regulation, 8 CFR 274a.12, along with start and end dates. The code identifies why the holder may work: (c)(33) for DACA, (a)(12) or (c)(19) for Temporary Protected Status, (c)(8) for a pending asylum case. Read together, the code and the dates arguably supply both a “specific purpose” and a “specified period,” which is the gap the department says the card leaves open. Where a clerk doubts a card, the federal SAVE service lets state agencies confirm status case by case.

The harder cases are real, though. A pending asylum applicant has no fixed period of stay; the work permit’s end date reflects the card’s validity, not an approved stay. That is the department’s strongest point, and a revised rule could treat categories differently rather than restore every work permit.

Who is being turned away

According to the Lookout, hundreds of people, including longtime Tennessee license holders, have been blocked recently, and thousands more could be refused when their licenses come up for renewal. The state has released no count. Immigration attorneys and advocates told the outlet that DACA recipients are not the only group affected and that some asylum seekers are among them. Earlier Nashville reporting described TPS holders, refugees and U visa holders facing questions at the counter as well, including Ukrainians whose TPS documents showed an Oct. 19 end date.

Rep. John Ray Clemmons, who chairs the House Democratic Caucus, disputed the department’s reading of the 2025 law and said in a statement that the affected immigrants “are fully complying with the letter of the law.” He said workers now must choose between driving without a valid license and staying home from work.

For employers, the practical effect lands on attendance, not paperwork. A driver’s license is only one option on the Form I-9, and an unexpired employment authorization card is a List A document that proves both identity and work eligibility by itself, so a refused license does not undo a worker’s I-9. The squeeze comes when the federal clock and the state clock collide: with automatic EAD extensions now ended by final rule and DACA renewals running months behind, a worker can lose both the permit and the license in the same stretch.

Three ways this could end

The fastest is administrative: the department revises its document list or tells counter staff to verify work permit holders through SAVE, which would require no vote. The department did not answer whether it is reviewing the change, according to the Lookout, and Lee announced no action. The second route is legislative, since lawmakers could define “authorized stay” when the General Assembly returns in January. The third is litigation, which no one has reported filing. A governor still gathering facts has committed to nothing, but he has made it harder to treat the policy as settled, as other Tennessee status checks face their own tests, including HIV care screening a Nashville judge has paused.

This article is for general information and is not legal advice.

Sources

Vasanth Vaidyanathan, Esq.

Administrator

Vasanth Vaidyanathan is an immigration attorney with over 20 years of experience focused exclusively on U.S. immigration and nationality law. He holds an LL.M. from California Western School of Law, San Diego and advises individuals and businesses on employment and family-based immigration matters, including H-1B, PERM, EB categories, and adjustment of status. He has also been a featured speaker at immigration seminars across the U.S. To reach Vasanth visit: https://www.vnathan.com/

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