Chancellor Russell Perkins Enforces Temporary Restraining Order in Nashville Court
Hundreds of Tennessee residents have faced driver’s license denials and renewal rejections over the last few weeks due to a sudden shift in state policy. Chancellor Russell Perkins intervened on Monday by issuing a temporary restraining order that blocks Tennessee officials from denying driver’s licenses and renewals to immigrants who hold valid federal work permits.
Perkins pointed to the threat of irreparable harm and the public interest as core factors driving the decision. The court action arrives just days after the Tennessee Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights, alongside six individual immigrants possessing valid work permits, filed a lawsuit on Friday against the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security.
The legal challenge alleges that state officials violated state law and exceeded their authority when they instituted new document restrictions. Under the altered rules, state offices stopped accepting federally-issued employment authorization cards as proof of lawful presence—breaking a practice that had stood for nearly two decades.
The Impact on Dreamers and Asylum Seekers Across Tennessee
For many immigrant residents, the employment authorization card represents the only proof they have of their immigration status. This group includes asylum seekers and Dreamers—individuals brought to the country as children who maintain protection from deportation.
Thousands of immigrants statewide with federally-issued work permits are at risk for losing drivers’ licenses that enable them to legally drive to work and school. The Department of Safety and Homeland Security justified the policy shift by pointing to a state law originally passed nearly two decades ago and later revised by lawmakers in 2025. That statute mandates that temporary license applicants provide documentation establishing a specific period of lawful status, though neither the original legislation nor the 2025 revision specifies which documents are acceptable or unacceptable forms of proof of immigration status.
Representatives for the Tennessee Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights stated in a release late Monday that state clerks can no longer demand specific visas or I-94 forms that many federally authorized classes of immigrants never receive. Instead, state licensing facilities must return to long-standing practices by accepting work permits and other federal documents.
The initial court hearing for the case is scheduled for Nov. 16.
Earlier coverage: Immigration Advocates Sue Tennessee Over New Driver License Policy
